ipl-logo

To What Extent Was Britain Was A Democratic Country By 1928

846 Words4 Pages

Nikki Thornton – 1401368 By 1928, Britain was a fully democratic country. How valid is this view? “Democracy, the belief in freedom and equality between people, or a system of government based on this belief, in which power is either held by elected representatives or directly by the people themselves.”(www.dictionary.com) Franchise is the right to be able to vote and in 1830, only one out of ten males could vote. By 1832 it was a privilege afforded only to the upper class and by 1928 it was a right of all eligible adults who were over the age of 21. By 1928, Britain was on the precipice of becoming democratic but wasn’t fully there yet. Before 1850, there was immense political influence from the aristocratic and privileged plus profound corruption. …show more content…

The upper classes and aristocracy had the most clout as they were affluent and owned land. The Great Reform Act 1832 was an attempt to give the working class more rights and power, which the upper classes were not in favour of but eventually agreed to in 1832 for many reasons. One being the French Revolution, where upper classes and royalty were killed, over powered and taken prisoner. Monarchs all over the world were afraid of an uprising in their own countries. The working and middle classes did not have representatives in Parliament, so it was fair to say that their needs and interests we not met or understood. The aristocrats preferred the system this way, but wanted to deter the idea of revolution. They believed that proposing and passing the Reform Act would do just this, increasing ever so slightly the influence handed down through the classes, and abating the divide that had been formed between the two classes. The National Union of the Working Classes was founded by William Lovett and Henry Hetherington. They would campaign for the right to be represented in Parliament. At this time, the working class actually made up the majority of the population of Britain but were looked on as immaterial, and were not included in politics or parliament. Therefore pressure from the working class had little effect on upper classes, mainly due to the fact that people from the working class were thought of as destitute and too insignificant to have a voice in parliament. This was a time where having wealth equalled power, and as the working class had very little or no money, they were given a very meagre amount of power. Charles Gray 2nd Earl Gray’s actions in the early 1830's were key to the passing of the Great Reform Act 1832. Earl Gray became Prime Minister in 1830 and right away after taking office he began plans for reform. The first Reform Bill in 1831 was vetoed and Earl Gray

Show More
Related

How Did The Sons Of Liberty Apush Dbq

346 Words | 2 Pages

They were also the most extensively taxed people in America at the time and, they had no voice in parliament. That is taxation without representation. Thus is why fought against taxes that Britain forced upon the common man, who couldn’t afford them. One of these is called the stamp act. The stamp act was a tax on deeds

Read More

Chartists Dbq

202 Words | 1 Pages

One group of reformers that advocated peaceful social change by granting the power to vote to all workers were called Chartists. They were active in England from 1838 to 1848, and they presented a series of petitions (or "charters") to Parliament advocating political change. The Chartists reasoned that the Reform Act of 1832 did not go far enough in extending political power outside a small group of the wealthy and aristocrats. The Chartists also recognized that the Parliament, in 1833, had adopted some regulations that applied to the textile industry. The Chartists wanted more stringent regulations that would also extend to other industries.

Read More

The Role Of Pa Joad In The Grapes Of Wrath

623 Words | 3 Pages

The Grapes of Wrath portrays contemporary people 's actions during the long journey from Oklahoma to California. As Joad 's family travels from Oklahoma to California, their dreams and hopes are slowly crushed. When Joads struggle while facing difficulties, Ma plays a significant role: the citadel holding family all together in this hectic migration. Regardless of gender rules, Steinbeck demonstrates Ma as the real head of the household instead of Pa, driven by the responsibility and leadership within motherhood. Ma plays both mother and father figure which consequently might make Pa Joad as a useless character.

Read More

Compare And Contrast American Government Vs Colonial Government

788 Words | 4 Pages

Throughout England 's history, the main three social classes were royalty, nobility, and commoners. Over time, the center of power shifted from the higher classes down to the lower classes with documents such as the Magna Carta. This led to Parliament having two houses, the House of Lords for the nobles and the House of Commons for the commoners. The House of Lords was the higher and more powerful house at the time, although this changed in the 19th century when limitations were placed on their power. Their primary responsibility was checking bills passed by the House of Commons to make sure that they were not making a mistake.

Read More

European Workers Dbq Essay

970 Words | 4 Pages

Document 4 shows a petition made by the London Workingmen’s Association in an attempt to, “enact that every person producing proof of his being 21 years of age shall be entitled to have his name registered as a voter.” In 1838, the time that this petition was created, it was mainly nobles and upper class citizens who had the right to vote, so it makes sense that the working men of Europe wish for male suffrage because then they have the ability to elect people whom they believe will better improve their lives. Document 5 introduces a woman activist, Flora Tristan, who wants universal working rights for all citizens in the, “universal union of working men and women.” Document 8 introduces another woman activist, Pauline Roland, who claims that, “as soon as a woman comes of age, she has the right to arrange her life as she wishes.” Women have historically been undermined in the working society through such laws as the Factory Law or the Mines Act, which left women without work or having less hours.

Read More

Influence Of Howard Zinn On The Foundation Of The American Republic

1098 Words | 5 Pages

There was a separation in classes which caused an unequal balance between rich and poor. As the revolution came to commence, the poorer classes felt mistreated by the wealthy and disliked them so they sided with the British and supported and fought for them instead of their own people. The wealthy and rich soon realized that they needed the lower classes to support them and they reasoned with them to gain their trust and support. They started economic policies to appeal to the lower classes and adapt their hold in the war. Zinn announces that the Founding Fathers wanted the lower classes to stay down and wanted to control the profits and economy of the government for their own benefits and appeal to only themselves.

Read More

Compare And Contrast The Immigrants And The Commercial Empire

454 Words | 2 Pages

The wealthiest, most well-bred people in colonial America were the upper class. They came from money and aristocracy. People who were trained in a profession or had a business were middle class. Illiterate, semi-skilled whites were lower class. Then there were indentured servants and slaves, who had basically no rights.

Read More

To What Extent Did American Democracy During The First Half Of The 19th Century

1034 Words | 5 Pages

To a large extent did American democracy become more inclusive during first half of the 19th century. The presence of the Jacksonian democracy, women’s rights movements, and social reform movements helped the democracy in America become more open to different types of people. The presidency of Andrew Jackson came to be known was the “Age of the Common Man” due to Jackson’s beliefs and policies. In the years prior to Jackson’s election, to be eligible to vote a person had to be: white, adult, male, and a property owner. When Jackson became president in 1828, he removed property ownership as a requirement for voting.

Read More

Second Reform Dbq

2127 Words | 9 Pages

The Second Reform Bill was a piece of legislation approved by the British Parliament in 1867 that gave more people, notably working-class males in urban areas, the ability to vote. For all British people, the measure represented a huge step toward democracy and political participation. Since women at the time were denied the ability to vote, the feminist movement of the 19th century was strongly related to the fight for voting rights. Suffragettes and other female activists battled tenaciously for the right to vote because they thought 8attaining social justice and gender equality depended on political representation. The Second Reform Law did not guarantee women the right to vote, but it did provide a framework in which they might demand suffrage

Read More

Industrial Revolution Dbq Essay

890 Words | 4 Pages

The working class, being individuals, advocated reform in the factory/mining industry. An example of someone speaking out in a time of injustice would be Flora Tristan (found in document C). Supporting combined ideas of socialism and feminism, she states that all of the working class must leave behind division and differences and become one voice, and be unified. She says that the working class is the backbone of the nation and they have power to earn their

Read More

What Are Some Historians Views On The Progressive Reform Movement

645 Words | 3 Pages

Huthmacher conveys that liberalism of Americans made the type of political system they were wanting. He asserted that the government got involved because of how the lower class portrayed their rights and voted for legislation. The low class was looking for improvement for working conditions. He provided job security, better wages and working conditions, and gave some benefits of production to consumers. “As a result, we find urban lower-class representatives introducing a large variety of business regulatory measures on the local and state levels during the Progressive Era”(Huthmacher 13).

Read More

Why Is Australia Truly Democratic

1322 Words | 6 Pages

However, only the wealthy landowners had the right and “qualifications” to vote. This changed when the House of Lords halved qualifications for male suffrage in Australia. Does anyone know or can take a guess what is meant by male suffrage? Male suffrage meant that men didn’t have to be wealthy or own land to vote.

Read More

Gilded Age Vs Modern

1089 Words | 5 Pages

Labor strikes and riots were common during the time. Policies were put into place to prevent individuals from gaining this much power ever again. In todays’ modern Gilded Age loopholes have been exploited and the rich are becoming just as powerful as they have ever been. Individuals such as the Koch Brothers have taken up the plutocratic mantle, they “buy politicians” in order to further their agenda and business

Read More

Social Class In The Elizabethan Age

1038 Words | 5 Pages

In the Elizabethan age, social class structure was paramount. The class ranking dictated how the people of each level could dress, the diet and food available, and career standing. Social hierarchy classes consisted of a monarch, nobility, gentry, merchants, yeomanry, and laborer. The monarch was the highest and most superior class ranking, it was based off of bloodline only and the oldest monarch would take the throne and become the most powerful(“Elizabethan Era.”).

Read More

Essay On Democracy In Ecuador

1159 Words | 5 Pages

First of all, it is important to know the definition of democracy and its aspects. According to Peter Joyce (2005), the democratic government was initiated in the Greek city state of Athens in the fifth century B.C., so as a consequence, the word ‘democracy’ derived from two Greek words, demos (meaning ‘people’) and kratos (meaning ‘power’) , which means ‘government by the people’. Secondly, Giovanni Sartori (1997), a Political Science Researcher states that ‘democracy’ is an abbreviation that means Liberal Democracy. He distinguishes three aspects: democracy as a principle of legitimacy (power not derives

Read More

More about To What Extent Was Britain Was A Democratic Country By 1928

Related Topics

Open Document