'A' Level History

Joumal.Articles

.-.

" :~>~~i

Gladstone & Disraeli

Reading and noting

J............................................................................................. .................-.........-.-.-...-.-...-...-.....-.-...-...-...................................................................................................

Eight simple to follow points to gain maximum reward for time and

effort spent reading and noting articles.

Articles in new perspective are centred on themes or arguments. Theycomplement information from class texts and, while they may fill gaps infoundation information, the focus for their use is added insight andunderstanding and contributions toward the development of analysis andsound judgement. It is these skills, when applied to well-groundedinformation, that enable students to write high-grade answers.

To benefit most from the time and effort spent on an article it is advisedthat students be circumspect, rather than straightaway plough througharticles from beginning to end. These eight points to gain greatestadvantage from your reading may, at first, seem cumbersome andcomplicated but once you have followed them for a few articles (or chaptersfrom textbooks) the approach will becomt:?second nature to you and thenyou will really reap the benefits.

1. Read the heading, which is intended as an appetiser, and thesummary.

2. Then skim over the subheadings to gain a fuller view of the directionof content or arguments. If there is a short paragraph at the end with

...the:,.I:'1eading'Conclusion' it is useful to skim read it.3. FaniHiarise yourself with the key concepts and words, which may be

new to you, listed near the end of the article.4. Now, prime your mind by reading the 'Questions to consider' at the

start of the article. You will be able to give answers to the questionsafter you have read the article. Byalerting your mind, you are morelikely to notice the reasons and information that provides the answeras you read through.

5. Now read the body of the article. Your notes should be a summary ofthe themes or arguments, with the information on which they arebased, mentioned by the author, added to support the statements.

6. Aim to write notes only after you have read a whole section, as-denoted by the subheadings. In the content and layout of your notes.the emphasis should be on the writer's arguments and themes. Withnotes written, add your answers to the questions.

7. Always write the source at the top of notes and space out what youwrite, giving prominence to key items. Use indentation (writing thatstarts farther to the right of the margin) to indicate items ofdependent or subsidiary importance. The best notes are concise butnot too short.

8. The books listed at the end of an article are starting points if you wish to takeyour study of the topic further.

';f' -

Making Notes on Historiography

Historians are constantly revisiting the past and often disagree about what happenedand why. One generation of historians often have different views from others.Revisioni~t challenge accepted views of the past. Use the table below to summarisethe t\vo different points of view or interpretations.

Interpretation 1: Accepted View Interpretation 2: Revisionist View

Judgement

-::-<1)<1) 0()

...::.:: ::I

~s~.....<1) .>';;'<1)--e >.e-~~o§

'"0'-'<1) -e e<1)~o..t0..0

~0.....r::: S-~~...r::::::

.....

~c.... >.0 <1)

C...r:::-

0 >."t;j ...r:::

-- :::<1)e>--~0..

'-'--.: X0 <1)

'"<1) e'"0

<1)

--...r:::-<1)'"0> .....

-.;:: a~..... e..... 2~-e -'-' ~~c

.:'" 0=0:..;:;<1) e- --- .....

~0...r:::- '"->.0~~'">.<1)<1)

,~~<1)

'"<1)<1):::...0 -

z~

-

Disrael i and Victorian Conservatismby Dr Ian St John

The nature of the topic

Benjamin Disraeli's political career, which extended over the years 1837 to 1881,generated much controversy at the time and continues to provoke debate amongsthistorians. Disraeli is not merely a fascinating character; he played a key role in a dynamicphase in British history. For success in this topic you need to situate Disraeli's personalagenda within the shifting balance of Victorian political and social forces: to understandhow Disraeli shaped events and how events shaped Disraeli.

The v;tal first steps

There are three steps towards understanding Disraeli's place in Victorian history. First,appreciate the motives, ideas, and tactical thinking of Disraeli. Second, place him withinthe framework of the Victorian Conservative Party and the challenges it was facing in anage of rapid change. Third, relate Disraeli's Conservatism to the wider forces of Victorianpolitics - in particular the role of Gladstone and the Liberal party, the expansion of theworking and middle classes, and the effects of electoral reform. This sounds like a tallorder. Fortunately Disraeli's career can be broken down into more bite-size portions.

Fundamental issues

a. Disraeli's early career 1832-1841. Having campaigned as a Radical,Disraeli entered the Commons as a Conservative. How plausible was hisargument that the Conservatives were defenders of the interests of thepeople? Was this a genuine belief -or a justification for his switch inallegiance? What was Disraeli's attitude towards the New Poor Law and theChartist movement?

b. Clash with Peel 1841-46. Why did Disraeli attack Peel? Was it toadvance his career, or were real issues at stake? What was the ideology ofYoung England and how seriously did Disraeli regard it? Note Disraeli'strilogy of novels: what was their function and what message did theycontain? Why did Disraeli lead the backbench rebellion in defence of theCorn Laws: belief in agricultural protection? Anger at Peel's betrayal ofparty? Personal ambition?

c. Opposition leader 1846-1874. How successful were Disraeli's attemptsto build a Conservative majority? Did Disraeli's tactics help or hinder hisparty? Was Disraeli an asset or liability? Was Disraeli's pursuit of a policy ofmoderate Liberal reform an effective strategy? Was there an alternative?

d. The Reform Act 1867. Why did the Conservatives introduce a ReformAct - fear of public unrest; desire to hang on to power; belief that it was inthe party's interests? Was the extension of the vote to the urban workingclass a realisation of Disraeli's long-standing commitment to ToryDemocracy -or the opportunistic result of the need to maintain a Commonsmajority?

e. Prime Minister 1874-1880. Focus here on two issues. First, socialreform. Did the social reforms of 1874-76 reflect a principled commitmentto the well being of the poor? Or were they, as historians often argue, apragmatic response to immediate problems? How far was Disraeliresponsible for the reforms, and how much was due to the initiatives ofindividual ministers? Did the reforms make much difference to the lives ofordinary people? Second, foreign policy. What were Disraeli's objectives in

Disraeli and Victorian Conservatismby Dr Ian St John

the Eastern Crisis of 1876-78 and how far did he realise them? Did heachieve 'Peace with Honour'? Did Disraeli possess an imperial policy and ifso was it to expand the empire or only consolidate it? How muchresponsibility should Disraeli bear for the failures in South Africa andAfghanistan?

f. Defeat and Death 1880-81. Why did the Conservatives loose in 1880?Was it due to governmental policy failures, or economic recession, or therevival of the Liberals under Gladstone? Was Disraeli's career, ultimately, afailure?

High-grade issues

a. Did Disraeli possess a coherent Conservative ideology? Was his thinkingconsistent over his career? What was the function of Disraeli's ideas - abasis for political action or an exercise in rhetoric designed to appeal to theimagination?

b. How much scope for political initiative did Disraeli have? He wasdistrusted by many Conservatives and until 1868 was subordinate to LordDerby. Could Disraeli have survived without Derby's backing? Who did moreto shape Conservative policy -Derby or Disraeli? More generally, note thatVictorian beliefs in limited government and low taxation precluded activesocial reform or an aggressive foreign policy.

c. Was Disraeli a consistent imperialist? What about his 18505 remarks thatthe colonies were 'millstones around our necks'? Howseriously did Disraelitake the Empire?

d. Was Disraeli a Tory Democrat? Did he seriously wish to extend politicalpower to the working class? Can this be reconciled with his views about thebenefits of aristocratic rule and paternalist policies?

e. How and why have interpretations of Disraeli changed over time? Whydid Conservatives take up Disraeli as an icon, emphasising his commitmentto social reform and empire? How have historians since the 19605undermined these 'Disraeli myths'?

f. Was there such a thing as Disraelian Conservatism -or was Disraeli'scareer a series of tactical decisions driven by ambition?

Further Reading. Several solid accounts of Disraeli's career exist. E. Feuctwanger'sDisraeli (2000) provides basic narrative, but T.A. Jenkins, Disraeli and VictorianConservatism (1996) and J. Walton, Disraeli (1990) give greater attention to analyticalissues. The serious student will need to look at R. Blake's classic Disraeli (1966) and shoulddip into W. Nonypenny and G. Buckle's monumental The Ufe of Benjamin Disraeli (1910-20). Insights into recent debates concerning Disraeli can be gained from P. Smith, Disraeli:A Brief Ufe (1996) and the stimulating J. Vincent, Disraeli (1990). A. Hawkins, British PartyPolitics 1852-1886 (1998) is a good introduction to Victorian politics. For the Conservativeparty, see B. Coleman, Conservatism and the Conservative party in Nineteenth CenturyBritain (1988) and R. Blake, The Conservative party from Peel to Thatcher (1985).

Tackling the Documents paper at AS

Cartoons from PunchHoward Martin. Poynton High School

AN IMPORTANTCOMPONENT IN THE NEW A lEVELis the source very worthwhile. Inthis example of the kind of source questionwork. In the AS level it is worth 40 per cent of the total you may have to tackle at AS Source A is a Punch cartoon from

marks awarded for the exam. 1874 commenting on the general election of that year whenBenjamin Disraeli, leader of the Conservative party, defeatedhis great rival William Gladstone and his Liberal party. Studythat and read the two sources that follow.How you can achieve a good grade

Common-sense pointsI. The first requirement is to know your subject. If you are

studying the unification of Germany, for example, makesure that you have revised the syllabus thoroughly, as thedocuments set you in the exam will cover some keyaspect of the course. Without having a good backgroundknowledge, you will not be able to interpret thedocuments effectively.

2. Read through the documents in the exam paper carefully.They usually contain several different points. Note themark allocation, as it indicates how much you shouldwrite. Each question also tells you which document(s) itis asking you to analyse. Only bring in information fromthe other documents if it is relevant, or tests thereliability ofthe document you are evaluating. If you areasked to use your own knowledge as well, you areexpected to use relevant background information fromyour course.

What analytical skills are needed?I. Accurate comprehension. This is the basis of all

interpretative skills. You need to understand what thesources are saying. Are they a factual account,propaganda or satire?

2. Evaluation. This means making an assessment of theevidence in a document. Ask yourself what the particulardocument you are studying actually shows and howreliable is it as a source. For instance, where does itcome from and what is its date? Use your backgroundknowledge and, if relevant, the other documents, tocheck its reliability and utility -that is, what use is it toyou in solving the question you are asked? A satiricalcartoon may be helpful in shedding light on why aparticular policy is unpopular. Similarly, a governmentpropaganda document can indicate what a governmentwants to hide. In evaluating a cartoon or picture, askyourself what is the overall message the artist wants tocommunicate. Then go on to see what it tells you aboutthe events and people portrayed.

A worked example

Punch first appeared in 1841. From that date its pages, with itsweekly topical and political cartoon, offer a contemporarycommentary on events for the rest of the nineteenth century.Consequently, Punch has become the textbook writers' quarryfrom which appropriate, and to students often impenetrable,illustration can be taken. Many students find the allusions madein the cartoons difficult to understand, and these cartoons,unlike Walt Disney ones, are not always particularly funny. Asillustrations in the textbook it is easy to pass them by withoutgiving them much attention and without making the effort todraw conclusions and inferences from them. That effort can be

16

SOURCE A: Punch cartoon from February 1874 expressing aview on the general election.

We have been borne down in a torrent of gin and beer.Next to this has been the action of the Education Act of1870, and the subsequent controversies. Many of the

Roman Catholics have voted against us because we are notdenominational; and many of the Nonconformists have atleast abstained from voting because we are. Doubtlessthere have been other minor agencies; but these are thechief ones.

SOURCE C: adapted from E.J. Feuchtwanger Democracy andEmpire Britain /865-/914 (1985)

The underlying cause of the Liberal defeat was the simul-taneous loss of working and middle class voters. The work-ing classes were disappointed because Liberal reforms had

not really changed their Jives. The middle classes werealarmed not merely by what the Liberal Party had done, butby events such as the Paris Commune. which seemed to

promise threats to all property and security in the future.The loss of support of particular groups of Liberal activistsmeant that the Liberal Party could probably not realise itsfull voting potential, while the improvements in theConservative organisation in urban. areas had the oppositeeffect in the Tory camp.

Analysing the sources

It is easy to recognise the characters in the cartoon as Disraeliand Gladstone. The suggestion that the election is a contestbetween the two men reminds us that the 1874 and 1880

..:;:i¥.m~".~pp.£!£:m"

general elections were more like modern elections than anyprevious ones. The electorate, Punch implies, had a clear choicebetween the two leaders. In this two chariot race it wasGladstone who had taken the tumble. The ribbons waved bythe exultant Disraeli give us Punch's explanation for the result -'BEER'and 'BALLOT'.The way in which the cartoon is captionedalso adds to the sense that this election was the culminatingcontest between the two politicians -it is 'the final heat' of the'National Spring Meeting'. The Gladstone letter also focuses onthe importance of the drink question, but adds the impact ofthe 1870 Education Act on various religious groups, particularlythe Catholics and the Nonconformists. Both A and B pose thesame question -do they give us a clear view of what happenedand why the Liberals lost? Source C begins to direct attentionto other factors while continuing to stress the importance ofLiberal legislation. There is a hint at the changing politicaloutlook of the middle classes and a contrasting of Conservativeorganisation and positive action with Liberal disintegration andapathy.

The Questions(a) With reference to Source A and your own knowledge

explain the meaning of the 'BALLOT'in the context of the1874 general election. (3 marks)

(b) Study Source B -with reference to it and your ownknowledge comment on the value of Source B as aninterpretation of the reasons for the Liberal electoraldefeat in 1874. (7 marks)

(c) Study all three sources and use your own knowledge.'The main reason for the defeat of the Liberals in1874 was the unpopularity of its policies andlegislation.'

With reference to all the sources and your ownknowledge explain whether you agree or disagree withthis statement. (15 marks)

Using the sources in your answersRemember, the examiner will be looking for the way you referto the sources in your answers. Certainly the mark scheme forpart (c) will restrict the level of mark your response will receiveif you refer only to the sources or only to your knowledge.

Part (a) is the starter question to get you into the task. Itis also designed to test you r understanding of a term or issue inthe context of the topic chosen for the question. In this case areference to the Ballot Act of 1872 would score at the lowerlevel of the mark scheme while some consideration of theimplications of the ballot, as implied in the cartoon, for theliberals in the general election would move the answer upthrough the levels.

Any evaluation of utility or reliability (question (b»requires some comment on the provenance of the source orthe likely attitude of the writer. In this case the writer was in agood position to understand what had happened and he waswriting in the immediate aftermath of the defeat. Gladstone,however, focuses on the issues he felt were important in theresult, the Licensing Act and the Education Act, and their con-sequences within the Liberal party. This is not a completepicture . what about legislation that alienated the workingclass? There is no reference, perhaps understandably, toDisraeli and the changed organisation of the Conservativeparty. The letter is useful in helping us to explain whatGladstone felt about things but it cannot give a completelyimpartial view of what went wrong. Gladstone is not going toadmit to his own mishandling of the situation in the weeks

before the election and his fighting the election on the abolitionof income tax, a policy that had no appeal for the working classand which no longer had the resonance with the middle class itmight have had in the 1860s.

In your response to (c) the examiner will expect you touse both the sources and your own knowledge. Be explicit inyour references to the sources. The Punch cartoon would be agood starting point with its reference to both the significance ofthe secret ballot and of the licensing legislation. Somewhere inyour answer it would be worth pointing out the way in whichthe cartoonist presents the contest -as a clear choice betweenGladstone and Disraeli. Source A agrees with Gladstone'sopinion to the extent that Gladstone's 'we have been bornedown in a torrent of gin and beer' refers to the Licensing Actand the belief that the brewers and publicans had used theirinfluence against the Liberals. The new element in Source B isthe Education Act 'and the subsequent controversies'. Thisshould lead you into a discussion of the significance of theNonconformist revolt. Source C reinforces some of the pointsmade in the other sources but should remind you of the tradeunion legislation of 1871 which protected the funds of tradeunions but made picketing illegal. Working-class defectionswere as important as middle class and Whig defections fromthe Liberals. Source C should also enable you to discuss thepart played by Disraeli from 1872 in exploiting the weaknessesof the government and in encouraging John Gorst in hisendeavours to give the Conservatives the superior organisationthey possessed by 1874. Finally, on a wider front, you wouldneed to say something about the changing attitudes of themiddle class, their resentment and fear of 'meddling legislation'and the increasing number of middle-class votes that wereswinging to the Conservatives for stability and security. Thesudden appearance of the Home Rulers in Ireland and theheavy losses the Liberals experienced should also find a place inyour answer.

Part (c) does ask for some evaluation. The obviousresponse is to agree with the hypothesis and to use the sourcesand your knowledge to achieve this. To get into the higherlevels of the mark scheme you will need to be examining a widerrange of factors and reaching a much more balanced answer, oreven one that disagrees with the statement. The examiner islooking for your argument and your use of appropriate materialin the sources and from your own knowledge in support of it.

Conclusions

· Treat cartoons and other illustrations with care. It is tooeasy to skim over them and to miss the point.· Study them carefully.· Jot notes around them as you might highlightsections ofthe text.· Make sure that you can put them into their context.· Consider the questions they raise -is the artist making apolitical point? What is omitted?

· In your answers refer explicitly to the cartoon and itscontent just as you would when using the written texts.Remember that historians are always challenginginterpretations. Do not be afraid to offer a critical orcontrasting view or to challenge the statements in thesources.

Howard Martin, Head of Curriculum, Poynton High School, is the author

of Britain in the 19th Century, Nelson -Challenging History series. His

earlier contributions to this series, available on Exam and study advice for

~{A2J1Q_d_e.mJ:!i~-9!:Y- on our history-ontheweb site include:Attitudes to parliamentary reform, 183 I ;

Pictures, cartoons and illustrations as historical evidence.

Using Statistical Sources: The 1841 Election

.

17

While legislatively less successful thanGladstone, Disraeli was a powerfullyoriginal parliamentarian and image-maker

Dr E.J. Feuchtwanger. University of Southampton

Summary: Disraeli rose to the top inpolitics from beginnings unique for a leading

statesman of the nineteenth century and healways had to struggle against widespreaddistrust and hostility. Only the exceptionalevents surrounding the fall of Peel in 1846, inwh~h Disraeli played a crucial role, opened theway to the Conservative leadership for him.The split in the Conservative party removed allhis possible rivals, but it also condemned himto spending most of his career in opposition.When he finally succeeded in winning a majorityfor his party in 1874. he was almost too old. Hehad, however, pr~vided the image and theideology. and had carried enough of it intopractice, to enable the Tories to survive intothe coming age of democracy.

Questions to consider

· How great a handicap were Disraeli's origins in hispolitical career?· What problems did Disraeli have to overcome tomake his party capable of winning a majority?

. How justified was Disraeli in claiming that his policy

of widening the franchise was consistent with hislong-held beliefs?

~1'!ibw important were the personalities of Disraeliand Gladstone in defining the image of theirrespective parties for a mass electorate?· To what extend does Disraeli deserve his reputationas the maker of the modern Conservative party?

I N 1859, WHEN DrSRAELI HAD BEEN LEADER of theConservative party in the House of Commons for tenyears, the Chief Whip of the party received a letter

from an ex-MP. This man had been alarmed by rumoursthat the overall leader of the party, the 14th Earl of Derby,was about to retire. He should be prevailed upon toremain, rather than hand the party over to Disraeli,'whom the party never heartily trust, and whom half thecountry gentlemen secretly look upon as an adventurerand charlatan to this day'. Nowadays, there is little dis-pute that Disraeli must be seen as one of the principalarchitects of the modern Conservative party, a party thatcame to be in the ascendant in British politics for much ofthe period since his death. Such an achievement by a mancoming with Disraeli's background, so unlike that of anyother leading political figure of his time, makes his careera veritable romance. But students and historians of hiscareer have always had to ask themselves if one can takehim entirely seriously, particularly when he is contrastedwith his great rival Gladstone. Was he not just a cleverromancer, the only Prime Minister to have also been a suc-cessful romantic novelist? Some 20 years after Oisraeli's

Benjamin Disraeli in 1874, the year he became Prime Minister

death, Wilfred Scawen Blunt, himself a notorious mysteryman, Arabist, breeder of racehorses and womaniser,wrote:

... there is nothing funnier in history than the way inwhich he cajoled our square-toed aristocratic Party toput off its respectable bread-cloth, cond robe itself inhis suit of Imperial spangles, ar.d our fine ladies afterhis death to worship their o]J \\l,rlJ.\\"e,1f\' Hd'rewbeguiler under the innocent form of a primrose

The odd man out

Disraeli's origins were highly unusual among politiciansof the nineteenth century, but he then compounded hislack of orthodoxy by much disreputable and raffish con-duct in his younger years. His family was Jewish, not initself an insuperable obstacle to advancement. Manymembers of the small Jewish community in early nine-teenth-century Britain engaged in what has been canedtotal assimilation. Through baptisal and intermarriagethey disappeared from the ranks of their co-religionists

. disracli- charlatan or statcsJnan? . dr c.j. fcuchtwangc,' - university of southampton.

1

and Disraeli was himself baptisedinto the Church of England at the ageof 13. Had it not been for this deci-sion, taken for him by his father, hecould not have entereq Parliamentuntil 1858, by which time it wouldhave been too late. Assimilation was,however, never an option for Disraeli.Even if had wanted it, his nameand his appearance, alien andMediterranean, would alwaysremind the world of his Jewish roots.But Disraeli was far too proud andself-important to draw a veil over hisidentity. Whenever he was attackedhe hit back and consciousness of hisJewish origins came to occupy a cen-tral place in his self-image. Disraeli'sbackground was not particularlyhumble, though it seemed so in con-trast to the aristocratic s:JCiety ofwhich he became a leader. His fatherIsaac was a well-known man of letters Sir Robert Peel in 1850shortly beforehis deathand quite wealthy. Disraeli did nothave the usual public school and Oxbridge education,though he could have had, for both his younger brotherswent to Winchester. There was, therefore, somethingunusual about Benjamin as a person from the start, some-thing which he himself and some of those who came intocontact with him called genius. But what sort of geniuswas it?

For a long time Disraeli thought of himself as aliterary genius and his achievements as a writer wereremarkable in one so young. Modem biographers and his-torians have taken a great interest in his q,<?yelsand otherwritings, for there are not many majofFpolitical figureswho have revealed themselves as fully through their penas Disraeli. Many of his novels are autobiographical, par-ticularly Contarini Fleming, which he published at the ageof 27 in 1832. Here he reveals his ambition to be notmerely a famous writer but a man of action, a truly greatman. Soon ~e was driven to the conclusion that he wasnot a literary genius of the first rank, like Byron, whom hetook as a model both in life and literature. Politics and thearena of the House of Commons beckoned him. He haddifficulty in determining his party allegiance. Was he aRadical, a Tory, a Tory Radical, whatever that might be,or, least likely, a Whig? Some of these twists and turns\\'crt' duc tn Disrae!i's overwhelming ambition to find hisfooting on the career ladder, ::>0lllt::\H~I~Jue to the fluidityof party allegiances immediately after the passage of thefirst Reform Bill. He soon fashioned for himself a distinc-tive kind of Toryism, based on a highly idiosyncraticreading of English history. The Tories were the truefriends of the people and of popular liberty which,through the history of the last few centuries, they haddefended against the greed of a Whig oligarchy. Thisoligarchy had reduced even the monarch to the positionof a Venetian doge, in other words they had deprived himof the power to act on behalf of the people. They had alsoplundered the Church and thereby endangered her mis-sion as guide and teacher of the people. Disraeli accom-panied this mythical picture with a very individual view

2

· new perspective ·of religion. Christianity was the com-pletion and culmination of Judaism.Disraeli thus made his Jewishnesscompatible with the role of a leaderin a Christian country, the role towhich he now aspired.

The 1840s: a crucial decade

Disraeli could never have come any-where near to playing such a role,had not the political circumstances ofthe 1840s suddenly made an openingfor him. When he first entered theCommons in 1837 he cut an exoticfigure and was not taken seriously.He was considered disreputablewhen respectability was becomingthe hallmark of the dawningVictorian age. His writings hadcaused much scandal and it wasknown that only his immunity as anMP preserved him from imprison-ment for debt. These debts, incurred

by reckless speculation in his youth, clung to him foryears and were only slightly eased by marriage to awealthy widow 12 years older than himself. But then SirRobert Peel, Prime Minister and leader of a party basedmainly on the agricultural interest, became increasinglyconvinced that free trade was the answer to the economicproblems of the time. The landowners, the squirearchyand the farmers who made up the bulk of Peel's partyregarded the com laws as essential to their prosperity.They faced a growing agitation against these laws fromthe powerful manufacturing sector, organised in the Anti-Com Law League. They felt increasingly abandoned bytheir leader and it was Disraeli who, from 1843 onwards,articulated their anxieties better than they themselves'could. He became a prominent and, when it came to therepeal of the com laws in 1846, a decisive figure.

Disraeli did not single-handedly split theConservative party in 1846, but without him the splitmight not have been so deep or so permanent. The break-up of the party in 1846 prevented the establishment of afirmly-based Conservative majority government for thenext 28 years, until 1874. The event which made Disraeliinto a major player thus ensured that for the larger part ofhis political life he was out of office and deprived ofpower. This was, however, not a foregone concluSIOn.The Protectionist rump of the Tory party, sometimes alsocalled the Country party in its earlier years, was thelaigest single grouping in the Ccmmons in the middle ofthe century, though it suffered from some inherent weak-nesses. The prevailing ideas of the mid-Victorian agecould be called liberal and the Tory party, made up ofreactionary, hunting and shooting squires, was some-times called the 'stupid' party. The bulk of Tory MPswere returned by rural constituencies, mainly Englishcounty seats, an insufficient electoral base from which tosecure a majority. These weaknesses need not have beeninsuperable and Disraeli laboured mightily to overcom~them. Palmerston, who dominated politics for ten yearsfrom 1855, was able to maintain his ascendancy largely

. new perspective - for nlodern history students. volume 5 number 1 - september 1999. -

· new perspective ·because many Tories regarded him as the bestConservative Prime Minister they could hope for. Theypreferred him to their own leaders, certainly to Disraeli,who could never dispel the distrust that clung to himfrom the start of his politic,d career. Disraeli tried to rallyhis often dispirited troops by offering relentless opposi-tion to the incumbent ministry. He can be seen as theoriginator of the modern notion that it is the Opposition'sjob to oppose. His tactics often increased the distrust ofhis own followers. They did not like to be driven intoalliances with those whom they regarded as their naturalenemies, for example Irish Catholics, or Radicals likeBright and Cobden, whom Disraeli had dubbed the'Manchester School'. Disraeli was seen as an unprin-cipled power seeker, willing to ally himself with anybodyto obtain office.

Survival as leader

It is therefore remarkable that Disraeli was able to hangon as leader for the better part of 20 years in face of somuch hostility and adversity. In the 1850s the Tories man-aged only two brief spells in office as a minority govern-ment, for ten months in 1852 and for 15 in 1858/59. Therewere two main reasons for Disraeli's survival as leader.He was and remained by far the most powerful debateron his side of the House and no one came to the fore whocould remotely rival him. If he had been relegated to thebackbenches he could have inflicted untold damage onthe party. The second reason for his survival was thatDerby chose to maintain him as his lieutenant, partly outof necessity, but also because of the mutual respect thatgrew up between these two very different men. Many his-torians now feel that Derby's reputation has been toomuch overshadowed by Disraeli's subsequent promi-nence. If Disraeli had retired or died before 1865, when hewas already 60 years old, his career would still have beenremarkable, but his place in English history would havebeen far less important. In the 1860s Palmerston was sodominant, and his standing even with Tories so high, thatDisraeli could do very little and it looked at times as if hehad lost interest in politics.

Electoral reform

The death of Palmerston in October 1865 presentedDisraeli with new opportunities. Russell failed in hisattempt to pass another reform bill and for the third timesince 1846 Derby was able to form a Conservative minor-ity government, with Disraeli as leader of the Commonsand Chancellor of the Exchequer. The determination ofboth men to show that Conservative government wasmore than a flash in the pan led them to bring in a reformbill of their own, something they had already unsuccess-fully attempted in 1859. Lacking a majority, Disraeli hadto steer this bill through the Commons by acceptingamendments from the floor of the House. It ended up bybringing about a much larger enfranchisement than theLiberals had envisaged in their own bill of the previousyear. To enact it was a brilliant piece of parliamentarymanagement and improvisation by Disraeli. He wasdriven by the determination to stay in power and by thefeeling among most of his party that it was better that they

Timeline : Benjafuin Disraeli

1804/81718371839184118461846-48

18491852

1855

18581865186618671868

18721874

1876

187818801881

(21 Dec) Born(31 July) Baptized into the Church of EnglandOuly) Elected for Maidstone(28 Aug) Married to Mary Anne Lewis(Aug) Fails to get office in Peel's GovernmentPlays leading role in corn law crisis and fall of PeelAssists Lord George Bentinck in leadingProtectionist Toriesde facto leader of party(Feb to Dec) Chancellor of the Exchequer andLeader of the Commons(Feb) Derby fails to form government on defeatof th.e A~rdeen Coalition. Palmerston becomesPrime Minister(Feb) to 1859 Oune) Second Derby-Dizzy Cabinet(18 Oct) Death of PalmerstonOune) Third Derby-Dizzy CabinetPassage of Second Reform Bill(Feb) Succeeds Derby as Prime Minister(Dec) Defeat in General Election by 110 seats.Disraeli resigns(3 Apr) Speech in Free Trade Hall, Manchester(Feb) Wins General Election and becomes PrimeMinister for second time(Aug) Translated to House of Lords as Earl ofBeaconsfieldOune) Attends Congress of Berlin(Apr) Resigns after General Election defeat(19 Apr) Death

should pass a bill, however far-reaching, rather than let areunited Libe.~!"fparty do it. Disraeli felt that the lowerstrata of workifig men were more likely to vote Tory thanthose often labelled the labour aristocracy, the mostskilled and well-paid workers, who were likely to vote forRadicals. He felt that the Tory party could live with theconsequences of the bill. When it was all over he claimedthat he had educated his party in the doctrines he hadalways held, namely that the Tories were the true friendsof the common people and their liberties and that thepeople would recognise it. The democracy was or couldbecome Tory and, hence, Disraeli came to be seen as theapostle of Tory Democracy, although he himself did notuse these words.

In the tong run history was, indE:ed, to show that?democratic electorate would not necessarily vote for theparties of the left, but immediately Disraeli's gamblefailed. Having succeeded to the Premiership on Derby'sretirement in February 1868, he lost the election at theend of that year by a large margin. He was 64 and againseemed to have little future in politics. Dissatisfactionwith his leadership continued to run high and he wasblamed for a reform of the franchise which had made theTory position even worse. There was now a more formi-dable figure opposing him within the party, LordSalisbury. As Lord Robert Cecil he had for a long timeargued against Disraeli's unprincipled opportunism, andadvocated a determined resistance to all attempts by pro-gressives to shift the political ground ever farther to theleft. Farturlately for Disraeli, Cecil, on succeeding to the

-. new perspective - for nlodern history students. volunle 5 nunlber 1 - septenlber 1999 .

3

Salisbury title~had gone to the House of Lords and wasnot the man to organise a party rebellion. By 1874 the twomen were reconciled and Salisbury became a member ofOisraeli's Cabinet and eventually his successor as partyleader. Thus ha1f-heart~d attempts to remove Oisraelifrom the leadership came to nothing.

j

J

Crowning successesBy 1872 the tide of opinion was clearly turning in favourof the Conservatives and against Gladstone's initiallypowerful reforming government. Oisraeli built on thismore favourable climate by setting out the broad lines ofa Conservative programme in a series of major speeches.In domesti~#airs he associated the party with thenotion of soar\l reform directly designed to improve thewelfare of the people, in areas such as housing and pub-lic health. He contrasted such a Conservative reformprogramme with the reforms enacted by the Gladstonegovernment, which, he claimed, had harassed everytrade and profession in the coui1try. Abroad the Torieswould restore the power and prestige of the countrywhich, he asserted, had been damaged by the actions ofGladstone and his ministers. He associated theConservatives, more clearly than had been the case inthe past, with the ideas of national greatness and pridein the far-flung British Empire. Oisraeli's speeches wereshort on detail, but he gave the Conservative party a newlook, which determined its popular image for a longtime to come. In 1874 Oisraeli was able to win a clearmajority in a general election, something that had nothappened since 1841.

At the age of nearly 70 Disraeli thus began his onlyprolonged spell in power. Even six years earlier when hefirst be,c!',1fl1~;~PrimeMinister he had said to someone whocongrattifated him: 'For me it is 20 years too late. Give meyour age and your health.' Now, although he dominatedhis Cabinet, he had to leave much to his ministers. TheOisraeli Government is mainly notable for two things: thesocial reform programme carried out in its early years andthe management of the great foreign policy crisis in theBalkans which culminated in Oisraeli's triumph at tbeCongress of Berlin in 1878.

The social reform programme consisted mainly ofminor measures put forward by the various departmentsconcerned, which might equally well have been enactedby a Libera! government, but at least they established theTory crE:dentials in this area and gave suhstance to theclaims about social reform that Oisraeli had made in hisspeeches. The trade union legislation of 1875 provided asettlement that satisfied the leaders of labour at least untilthe end of the century, something that Gladstone hadfailed to do during his first period in office. The NearEastern crisis that started in Bosnia-Herzegovina in 1875deeply divided British opinion. It established a clear con-trast between the parties and their high-profile leaders inthe field of foreign and imperial policies. Oisraeli stoodfor the assertion of the national interest and the mainte-nance of British power and empire against the rivalry ofother Great Powers. Gladstone fought for justice in inter-national relations and the rights of the smaller nationali-ties. Before the crisis hud fully developed Disraeii hadlegislated to confer the title Empress of India on Queen

4

· new perspective ·

Queen Victoria, in the regalia of Empress of India

Victoria. For this he was much criticised at the time, for animperial title was felt to be un-English. Some suspected aconspiracy between the Queen and her favourite ministerto establish an autocracy of the continental kind inEngland. This was typical of the distrust and hostility thatalways surrounded Oisraeli even in the days when he hadreached the height of power and respectability: In factOisraeli may be seen as the creator of the impef~lrmonar-chy that reached its full fruition in the Golden and~iamond Jubilees of the Queen. Thus, the causes indomestic and foreign affairs with which Oisraeli hadsought to identify his party were firmly nailed to theConservative mast.

Assessment

Oisraeli's career ended on a down-beat note. His success inpreserving the Ottoman Empire without war and main-taining the British position in the Near East could not com-pensate the voters for the hardships suffered as a result ofthe economic depression at home. Setbacks on the imperialperiphery dt the end of the 1870s, in South Africa andAfghanistan, dimmed the glamour of empire. TheConservatives were heavily defeated in the general elec-tion of 1880 and showed little sign of recovering by thetime of Oisraeli's death in April 1881. How are we to assesshis achievement? Oisraeli was a modern politician, inmany ways ahead of his time. He understood the power ofrhetoric and image in a political environment marked bythe ever-increasing participation of the masses. He wouldhave been at home in the world of banner headlines,sound-bites and spin-doctors. His contemporaries setgreat store by reason and progress in the affairs ofmankind, but Oisraeli knew this could never be the wholestory. Recent historiography has sometimes given as much

. new perspective - for Illodern history students. volumc 5 number'] - scptcmbcr' 1999 .

· new perspective ·

Foreign policy setbacks: defeat in 1879 during the Afghan war, 1878-81

credit to Salisbury as to Oisraeli as creators of modernConservatism, but Oisraeli's name has remained a house-hold word in a way his successor's never was. In concretelegislative achievement he could not compete with hisrival, Gladstone, for he had neither the opporturu,.l:M/tJ:1.0rthe energy and mastery of detail. He was, however, agreatparliamentarian, possessed of immense courage andresilience. To this he owed his long survival against the

odds; to his power as a weaver of myths he owed his con-tinuing influence long after his death.

Words and concepts to note

Charlatan: impostor, empty pretender to knowledge or skill.Spangles: glittering materials.Raffish:Flashy, rakish, lecherous.Assimilation: conformity to, or absorption in, the ways of the

majority.Tory radical: believer in an alliance between Tories and the masses.Doge: ruler of the Republic of Venice.Protectionism: policy of maintaining customs duties and other

barriers to protect domestic agriculture and industry againstforeign competition.

Manchester School: Bright, Cobden and their followers, who believedin the operation of the free market at home and in free tradeinternationally.

Tory Democracy: mass support for the Conservative party.Idiosyncratic: peculiar (to a person).Insuperable: unable to be overcome.

FURTHERREADING:ROJert Blake, Disraeli, Eyre & Spottiswoode, 1966;

Paul Smith, Disraeli. A Brief Ufe, Cambridge University Press, 1996; Ian

Machin, Disraeli, Longman, 1995; John Vincent, Disraeli, Oxford

University Press, 1990; Sarah Bradford, Disraeli, Weidenfeld &

Nicolson, 1982; Robert Stewart, The Foundation of the Conservative

Party 1830-1867, Longman, 1978; Richard Shannon, The Age of Disraeli

1868-1881: the Rise of Tory Democracy, Longman, 1992; BruceColeman, Conservatism and the Conservative Party in Nineteenth-Century

Britain, Edward Arnold, 1988; T.A. Jenkins, Disraeli and Victorian

Conservatism, Macmillan, 1996.

Disraeli: Charlatan or Statesman? by E.J. Feuchtwanger@ new perspective 1999

Dr Edgar Feuchtwanger, University of Southampton, is the author ofDisraeli, Democracy and the Tory Party, Oxford University Press, 1968,

Gladstone, Macmillan, 1989, and Democracy and Empire: Britain 1865-

1914, Edward Arnold, 1985. He is at present working on a biography

of Disraeli and also writes or, modern German history.

Hughenden Manor, Buckinghamshire, purchased by Disraeli il1 1852, was a poil1ter to Disrae/i's social al1dpolitical ambitions

-.new perspective - for nlodern histOl-Y students. volume 5 nunlber ]- septeInber] 999 .

5

Gladstone and Disraeli

Simon Lemieux provides guidance on essays comparing the performance of the twoadversaries in Victorian Britain

If we were to apply the language of gardening to AS/Allevel History, then Gladstone and Disraelicould be described as 'hardy perennials'! That is to say, they have featured prominently in previous A-Level courses across the exam boards, and this remains just as true for the new post 16 syllabuses. Theaim of this article is to guide you through some of the main styles of questions frequently asked byexaminers on these two personalities. The aim is not so much to give you masses of historical facts, butrather to enable you to organise and apply your knowledge to best effect in the relevant modules.

The general headings under which questions on 'Dizzy' and 'the Grand Old Man' tend to appear are asfollows:

. Analysing their motives and aims in politics

. Evaluating the domestic policies of their ministries

. Assessing their foreign and imperial policies

. Judging their overall contribution and legacy to their respective parties.

We "ill deal "ith each of these in turn. but perhaps first it might be logical to ask why they occupysuch a major place in later Victorian politics. Why are they worthy of the attention bestowed uponthem by both academic historians and exam boards alike? In sum, it is mainly because they were suchtowering figures. Between 1866 and 1881, they dominated the domestic political scene. Ifa laterBritish Prime Minister, Harold Wilson. was correct in stating that a week is a long time in politics, then15 years is a veritable marathon! Indeed the contribution of Gladstone to the Liberals lasted until hisfinal resignation as leader in 1894. But it goes beyond mere longevity. They have also been portrayedas personif)"ing two twin popular images of the period: Disraeli the swashbuckling, romantic Imperialhero. Gladstone the earnest figure who embodies the religiosity of the time. Any age needs its mythsand legends. and when one epoch pro\ides such a fine pair of apparent contrasts, it is little surprise thattlley occupy the positions they do in a 'Hall of Fame for modern British politicians'.

~lotives and Aims

When handling questions about their motives. one needs to be aware firstly of why they went intopolitics. How far was religion a key motive for Gladstone? The late Colin Matthew, an ex-pertonGladstone and editor of his multi-volumed diary, once wrote. The fixed point for Gladstone was hisChristian faith'. If this is true, how far do issues such as personal ambition playa part in hismotivations? How does it explain the gro"ing determination (obsession?) to solve the Irish Question,the emphasis on moral issues in politics such as the Bulgarian atrocities etc? Did worldly success meannothing to the 'People's William'? Equally for Disraeli, the parallel question must be whether one canexplain his attitude to politics purely in terms of personal ambition, a desire to get to the top of the'greasy pole'. Was tllere a deeper underlying political philosophy undergirding the man? Was hemotivated by a genuine desire to 'improve the condition of the people' whilst maintaining the socialstatus quo? He himself admitted that the palace was not safe when the cottage is not happy, in the sameyear (1848) as he set himself up at Hughenden as a traditional country squire. Was he seeking toeducate his party out of its reactionary past, and to broaden its support beyond the rolling acres intourban areas by a twin promise of a patriotic foreign policy and 'safe' social reform at home? Mostcommentators would agree that broadly speaking the generalisations hold good.

Gladstone was motivated by a strong sense of mission and moral duty, but he was also an astute andable party politician. His attack on Disraeli's first budget in 1852, when both men were effectivelyseT\'ing tlleir political apprenticeships, was devastating. One could argue too tru! at several stages in hiscareer, personal ambition can be seen as a motive. Why did he refuse Derby's offer of a place in his1858 ministry? In part, as Ian Machin suggests, it was because the Liberal leaders Russell andPalmerston were older than tile Conservative ones, and thus likely to retire earlier, leaving an ambitious

leadership aspirant less time to wait. Also at the time, the Liberals seemed the more viable andelectable of the two parties. Be careful, therefore, not to over-sanctify Gladstone!Disraeli is correctly seen as predominantly an ambitious and opportunist politician, but again beware ofgoing too far down that path. On occasions, over issues such as removing political restrictions on Jews,he was prepared to break ranks with his own party and vote according to conscience. The redistributionclauses of the 1867 Second Reform Act also suggest that he was motivated by more than just adetermination to get the biII through whatever the political cost. Although radical in its ex1ension of thevote to large numbers of urban working-class males for the fIrst time, the redistribution terms weredesigned to protect Tory interests in the county seats. Again, be careful not to stress Disraeli as anopportunist and politically promiscuous politician to the exclusion of all else.

Home

A very large number of exam questions focus on the record of their ministries both at home andoverseas. When dealing with these issues, ensure fIrstly that you know the relevant dates and order fortheir ministries (6 in all: two for Disraeli and four for Gladstone) and also the broad terms of the actspassed by them. In evaluating their domestic success, it is vital to discuss broadly the notion of'success'. A measure may be successful administratively, in its impact upon ordinary people, but apolitical liability. The 1870 Education Act is a case in point. It was a milestone in the history of stateeducation setting up the fIrst ever state-run schools and greatly increasing the numbers of childrenattending school. Yet politically it was a disaster for the Liberals, leading to howls of protest from theirnonconformist supporters who objected strongly to the clauses that increased funding for churchschools and allowed rate money to be used to pay the fees of poor children to attend such schools. Itwas seen as a betrayal which did not go nearly far enough to create a universal system of free, secularcompulsory education.

The Liberal measures to deal with Ireland could be regarded as failures both administratively andpolitically. Despite his best efforts. Gladstone failed to solve or pacify Ireland and ended up splittinghis party over Home Rule in 1886 in the process. Likewise, much of the social reform passed byDisraeli between 1874 and 1879 failed either radically to improve the lot of ordinary people or to reappolitical dividends for his party. Yet arguably it could be seen as redefIning the image of theConservatives. Be cautious and discerning when analysing the term 'success'. Consider success orfailure for whom -the population at large. the leaders themselves or the party at election time? It isworth noting. for tlns last point, that none of Disraeli or Gladstone's ministries was ever re-elected for asecond tenn in office. Clearly many of their domestic measures were vital and important, but theirpopularity and success is more difficult to ascertain.

Away

What is true for home affairs applies equally well to foreign policy. Have a thorough knowledge of therelevant facts and again reflect critically on tlle concept of success. One particular issue here is how fareach man measured up to his own stated criteria on the principles that should underwrite British foreignpolicy. Compare Disraeli's views in 1872 on upholding and expanding British interests abroad withwhat actually occurred when he was PM. How far did he conscientiously ex-pandthe Empire? Was the1878 Treaty of Berlin a success? How far was he personally responsible for the wars in Mghanistanand South Africa that marred the end of his second ministry? For Gladstone. one must be aware of theideas in his 1879 Midlothian Campaign, \"ith their emphases on what we would term today an 'ethicalforeign policy', avoiding unnecessary ex-pensive wars, defending the rights of small nations and so on.How far was he able to maintain these ideals while in office between 1880 and 1885? His ex-periencesin Egypt alone suggest that it was far easier to criticise in opposition than to get it right oneselfl Forforeign affairs ensure you understand the aims and the results of each man's policies, and that you setthem into a more sympathetic broader picture. By its very nature, foreign policy is often reactive andoften beyond the complete control of anyone person or nation. They both had their failures certainly,but how far can responsibility be laid solely at their door or that of their Foreign Secretaries?

Summing Up

Regarding their overall contributions as party leaders, evaluations need to have a broad and securegrasp of all the factors covered so far, and must also show awareness of their legacies. Did they leavetheir respective parties in better shape (i.e. more united and electable) than when they took on themantle of leadership? How much of the Unionist ascendancy of the period 1886-1905 was due toDisraeli's efforts earlier, and how much to fortuitous events such as the Liberal split in 1886? WhileDisraeli's party went on to flourish electorally for the quarter of a century after his death in 1881,Gladstone's remained in the political doldrums from 1894 to 1906. Again one must ask how far thiswas due to Gladstone. and not least to his determination regarding Home Rule, and how far to widerfactors such as the inherent di,isions \\ithin the party. Should Gladstone be congratulated on doing aswell as he did with such a 'rainbow party'? Did its lacklustre performance after his departure simplyhighlight his achievements even more?

Their ideological legacy must also be considered as well as the purely electoral. To what extent didDisraeli transfonn his party into a One Nation party of Tory Democrats? The growing strength ofmiddle-class 'Villa Toryism' from 1880 onwards would tend to negate that view somewhat. TheConservatives developed more along the lines of an alliance between the propertied classes, rather thanembracing the whole nation. Yet the patriotic label has stayed with the party. rightly or wrongly, to thepresent day. For the Liberals too the verdict is mixed. Certainly it remained committed, though lesswholeheartedly. to Irish Home Rule and continued to be wary of unabashed jingoism. In domesticpolicy. however. it would develop along far more interventionist lines than the minimalist Gladstonewould have wished. Neither leader, then, should be seen as stamping an indelible mark on his party, yetnor can their contributions be ignored.

The AS/ A2 history student should aim to achieve a balanced and fair understanding of their overallcontributions in all respects. Try not to become too blinded by the 'weeds' of the sheer quantity of dataabout the two. Remember also to look for similarities as well as contrasts. In this way, you should fmdmuch to fascinate and stimulate your historical senses!

Further Reading

Heavyweight and scholarl~' but fairly accessible full biographies:

. R. Blake. Disraeli (Eyre and Spottiswoode, 1966)

. H.C.G. Matthew, Gladstone 1809-1874 and Gladstone 1875-1898 (OUP 1986 and 1995). R. Jenkins. Gladstone (Macmillan, 1995)

Shorter works more directl~' aimed at the sixth form historian:

. P. Adelman Gladstone. Disraeli and Later Victorian politics (Longman, 1983). E.F. Biagini, Gladstone (Macmillan, 2000

. t. MachiIL Disraeli (Longman, 1995. P. Smith, Disraeli, A Brief Life (Cambridge, 1996)

. P. Tweedie, Gladstone (Longman, 1998)

. lK. Walton. Disraeli (Routledge, 1990). M.l Winstanley, Gladstone and the Liberal Party (Routledge, 1990)

Timeline

1804 Disraeli born.1809 Gladstone born.1832 Gladstone first elected as an!\.1P and Disraeli first stands for Parliament.1837 Disraeli first elected as an!\.1P1843 Gladstone first enters the Cabinet as president of the Board of Trade in Peel's Conservativegovernment.1846 The Conservatives split over the repeal of the Com Laws: Gladstone sides with Peel, andDisraeli with the Protectionists led by Derby,1849 Disraeli becomes virtual leader of the Protectionist Tories in the Commons,1852 Disraeli first holds Cabinet office as Chancellor of the Exchequer with Derby as Prime Minister.1859-66 Gladstone serves as Chancellor of the Exchequer under Palmerston and then Russell.1867 Disraeli passes the Second Reform Act. Gladstone becomes leader of the Liberal Party.1868 Disraeli's First Ministry: Prime Minister from February to November, and continues as leader ofthe Conservatives.1868-1874 Gladstone's First Ministry: major reforms/legislation dealing with the Irish Church, civilservice. army, trade unions, law courts, elementary education and the secret ballot.1874-1880 Disraeli's Second Ministry: significant social reforms passed in areas such as public health,picketing. factories, slum clearance, and merchant shipping. Also in foreign affairs, Suez Canal sharespurchased. Queen Victoria created Empress of India. wars in South Africa and Afghanistan. Congressof Berlin (1878) resolves temporarily the Eastern Question. Disraeli created Earl of Beaconsfield in1876.1875 Gladstone resigns as Liberal leader. only to re-enter liberal politics with his Midlothiancampaigns of 1879-1880.1880-1885 Gladstone's Second Ministry: continued British involvement in colonial wars, this time inEgypt and the Sudan. Further political reforms including the 1884 Third Reform Act and 1885Redistribution Act. Also, additional efforts to try to solve the Irish Question including the 1881 LandAct and the 1882 Kilmainham Treaty with Parnell.1881 Death of Disraeli.1886 Gladstone's Third Ministry: dominated by the desire to pass Irish Home Rule, which fails in theHouse of Commons as 93 Liberal !\.1Psled by Joseph Chamberlain vote against Gladstone's proposals.1892-1894 Gladstone's Fourth Ministry: again dominated by Home Rule. A second Home Rule bill isdefeated in the Lords in 1893 causing Gladstone to retire as Liberal leader in 1894.1898 Death of Gladstone.Simon Lemieux is Head of Histo!1' at The Portsmouth Grammar School and has written severalarticles on aspects of nineteenth and twentieth centuQ' British and European history.

Author: Lemieux, Simon

question answer 6 Page 1 of 5

Answering structured questionsDisraeli's Domestic Policyby Mark Allchorn. Watford Grammar School

Question (i). Explain the reference to 'two important TradeUnion Acts' (taken from R. Blake's biography of Disraeli,therefore a secondary source). (5 marks)

Adam's answer: There are two important Trade Union actswhich were passed by Disraeli. Both legally recognised theTrade Unions as a body of people who had rights, but theyalso gave them partial rights to strike and picket. These actswere very important because this meant that the TradeUnions were now legally recognised and what they could dowas legal. This was an increase in workers' abilities and rightsand one can say that it was an elevation of the working classbecause it gave them rights which included the opportunityto strike if they felt that they were being treated harshly.They were passed in 1886and, from that moment onwards,the power of the Trade Unions grew each year.

Examiner's comment. This looks promising on the surface,but closer inspection reveals a real lack of precise detail orclear focus on the question asked. The length of the answer isright for this allocation of marks, but this is a classic case of acandidate using the first question to limber up for an answer.Try to avoid this! He also makes a howler with the date!! Amuch better approach would have been to deal directly withthe Trade Union Acts, for which the candidate should havebeen prepared and to explain their importance in much moreprecise terms. Assessment. 1 mark out of 5

Question (ii). How useful are passages B (R.A. Cross'smemoirs) and C (a contemporary liberal journal) in assessing

the sincerity of Disraeli's commitment to reform as expressedin passage A (Disraeli's Crystal Palace Speech)? (8 marks)

Adam's answer: Source Bwas written by RA Cross, Disraeli'sHomeSecretary and widely regarded by historians as the manwho framed all the legislation passed in Disraeli's 1874ministry. This extract was taken from his book written in1903, so it is a secondary source from a primary source of

http://www.history-ontheweb.co.uk/noticeboard/noticeb_qac63.htmI8/09/2005

question answer 6

knowledge. Even though it was written after the time, one

can say that there is no reason for Cross to be biased. We can

believe what he says. He says that he thought Disraeli would

have had lots of legislative schemes in mind, due to his

speeches but, in fac, t he had none. He had to rely on people

like Cross to make the actual legislation. So, when one looks

at source B, one can come to the conclusion that Cross

thought he was committed to social reform but he had no

schemes. Cross is, in fact, questioning his commitment.

Source C is an extract taken from a Liberal journal. Disraeli

often clashed with the Liberals and indeed Dilke was a

journalist with this paper. So one can assume that there

would be some bias in this paper. However, at the beginning

it does compliment him, though it goes on to lambaste him. It

says that Disraeli is using social reforms for his own political

gain and even though he did have some concern about the

condition of the people he was too concerned with

maintaining the Church, Crown and the land to be able to

have valid commitments to social reform.

So, whilst source C attacks Disraeli, it must be taken with a

pinch of salt because it is written by a Liberal paper at a time

when the Liberals were out of power and obviously it would

not want to praise Disraeli. These sources are very useful in

that they give a Conservative and Liberal point of view about

Disraeli and they give both sides of the political spectrum but

still come to more or less similar conclusions, that his

commitment was questionable.

Exa~miner'scomment. This was a much better focused answer

which looks at each source. Technically, to compare three

sources is difficult, but Adam gets there through dogged

persistence. Notice how he uses the opportunity of exploiting

the different angles presented by the sources. Style and

expression sometimes let him down (eg they give both

sides of the political spectrum ...'), but there's sufficient here

to reward to a solid mark. Assessment. 6 marks out of 8.

Question (iii). How far do passagesA -and C support the view

that Disraeli -developed a 'concept of paternalistic Tory

democracy? (8 marks)

http://www.history-ontheweb.co.uk/noticeboard/noticeb_qac63.htm

Page 2 of 5

18/09/2005

question answer 6

Adam's answer: Source is taken from Disraeli's Crystal Palacespeech where he promoted the Tory party with its social

reforms and attacked the Liberal party, calling it an 'alien

scourge'. It was obviously a propaganda speech which wastrying to get the Tories into power. The speech was made in

1872, so there is added substance to the argument. Did

Disraeli mean what he said or was it just vote winning talk?

He talks about elevating the condition of the people and how

the health of the people is very important to him. It is

important that Disraeli emphasises the duty that he believes

the aristocracy have to those below them. Thus, even though

this is a campaign speech this source does support the view

that Disraeli developed a concept of paternalistic Tory

democracy.

Source C, a Liberal journal which is obviously biased, says

that Disraeli did have some appreciation of their position, but

it was only sentiment and some knowledge, but no action or

policy.

In conclusion, both tend to support some development of

Disraeli's idea of Tory democracy, but these differ greatly in

emphasis.

Examiner's comment. This answer is again solid. Notice howboth sources are directly referred to and the question is

acknowledged in strategic places. More examples from the

sources and Adam's own knowledge could well have been

deployed to reach full marks, but this approach helps put him

in reach of a good overall mark. Assessment. 5 marks out of

8.

Question (iv). Using all these passagesand your wider

knowledge, assessthe extent to which Disraeli fulfilled his

stated objective of the 'elevation of the condition of the

people' in the period 1874-1880. (12 marks)

Adam's answer: As with all social reforms, they can nevertruly be judged by their short-term consequences, only over

the long term. Most of these sources were written at the time

or soon after the events described, with the exception of

Source D, by Robert Blake in 1966. Source A, from Disraeli's

http://www.history-ontheweb.co.uk/noticeboard/noticeb_qac63.htm

Page 3 of 5

18/09/2005

question answer 0

Crystal Palace speech clearly states his aim to elevate thecondition of the people by passing social reform measures.However, the source doesn't in itself say whether he did it ornot. However, from my wider knowledge, we know thatDisraeli's ministry did pass a Public Health act and ArtisansDwelling act, thus doing something positive to elevate thecondition of the people.

Source B, written by Disraeli's Home Secretary, says that eventhough he talked of sodal reform in his speeches, Disraeli had

no policies and relied on colleagues for suggestions. This stillimplies that policies were passed. Historians, such as PaulSmith, argue that Disraeli was a social reformer, even thoughhe did not formulate laws directly.

Source B, taken from a Liberal journal, says that whilstDisraeli had ideas, he was only making a play for power andthat his reforms didn't have much impact at all on people'ssuffering.

Source D is from Lord Blake's famous biography. He is aleading modern authority on Disraeli. He states that theministry's social reform measures were to redeem electionpledges but were also the largest instalment of social reform

that century. Blake prefers to talk about the idea that theywere part of a Tory paternalistic democracy. Overall, Blakeconcludes that the acts did raise the condition of the workingclasses, but he questions why Disraeli passed them.

If one looks hard at these reforms, one can say that eventhough only one was compulsory and the rest permissive, thatthey did elevate the condition of the people. The question of

whether Disraeli did it for the power or to fulfil his objectivesas set out in his novels is interesting. Probably, these reformsneed to be seen over the long term and not just as short-termmeasures.

In conclusion, due to these sources and my wider knowledge,one can say that Disraeli did elevate the condition of theworking class, not in the short term but, though his motivesmay be questionable, in tt,e long term he did something and

did pass some acts.

Bcaminer's comment. Adam does reasonably well with thisanswer. Notice how he quite systematically looks at each

http://www.history-ontheweb.co.uk/noticeboardlnoticeb_qac63.htm 18/09/2005

question answer 6

source in turn and provides some evaluation as he goes along.Sharper analysis, backed with examples from his ownknowledge would help to take this higher up the mark scale,but there's the basis of a good answer here. By looking atAdam's response one can see that making the most of thehigher tariff of marks is an art which needs to be worked at;this doesn't just happen for most students! He's learned upmaterial from his studies and is able to generally deploy thisto solid effect in weighing up each source. A more confidentstudent might have made more of the sources' differentviewpoints to reach sharper conclusions. Assessment. 8 marksout of 12.

Overall comment. As these answers stand, Adam would justget his chance to go to university. Study what he wrote and

make sure you develop your technique for these structuredquestions too in the June exams. Good luck!

Mark Allchorn (AS/A2 Examiner)

http://www.history-ontheweb.co.uk/noticeboardlnoticeb_qac63.htm

Page 5 ot 5

18/09/2005

Answering Structured Questions

As we enter the new dispensation, wherein AS and A2 equals an A Level, Graham D.Goodlad gives some timely and pertinent advice

One of the most common criticisms of the old A-Leyel History examination was that it placed tooheavy an emphasis on essay writing. The new AS and A Level specifications address this problem bymaking greater use of 'structured' or 'stepped' questions. In appearance they resemble the kind ofquestions with \:vhichyou will haye become familiar at GCSE. Remember, however, that the standardexpected at AS will be pitched midway between GCSE and the full A Level. The exact format ofthequestions will vary from one examining body to another, but there are broad similarities in therequirements of all the boards.

It is important to be aware of the weighting of the various parts of a stepped question. Some parts maybe answered in a short paragraph; others will require a more ex1ended discussion. If you want to scoregood marks. you have to be disciplined in your approach: the mark scheme must be your guide indeciding how much time to allocate to a particular sub-question.

A typical stepped question will highlight a key issue from the period that you are studying, and thevarious sub-questions \\ill probe your knowledge and understanding of its significance. You will beasked to present historical explanations and to assess differing interpretations of events and issues. Thiswill mean deploying relevant information and thinking anal}1ically about it, rather than simplyproviding a description or a narrative account. The introduction to AQA 's scheme of assessment, forexample. stresses that History is 'concerned primarily with investigation, debate, analysis andconceptual understanding appropriate to the period or topic' . You will also be tested on your ability toorganise and communicate ideas and to reach reasoned judgements. A student who recognises a keyword in the question. and then tries to put dO\\ll all that he or she knO\vsabout the topic, will not berewarded by the examiners.

Example 1

Consider. for example. the following question on a nineteenth-century British History subject:In the period 18"'6-187'" the Conservative Party was rarely in power. It faced the follo\\ing problems:

. the effects of division oyer the repeal of the Com Laws;. distrust of Benjamin Disraeli as Conservative leader;· the popularity of Lord Palmerston as leader of the Whig-Liberal Party:. public demand for parliamentary reform.

Questions

. Explain how any two of these problems affected the fortunes of the Conservative Party in theperiod 18"'6-74. (45 marks)

. Compare the importance of at least three of these problems as explanations for the position ofthe ConseT\'ative Party in this period. (45 marks)

The first sub-question is designed to test the quality of your understanding of the topic. Be careful tochoose two problems that you can write about with confidence. You are being tested on your level ofrecall and on your ability to show precisely how each problem contributed to the overall difficultiesfaced by the ConseT\'atives. Aim to maintain a balance between your two chosen problems. Do not, forexample, write at great length about the Com Laws and then throw in a couple of quick comments onDisraeli.

In answering the second sub-question, you will be expected to weigh the evidence for and against theimportance of particular factors. For example, the discussion of Disraeli would need to acknowledgethat he was unpopular "ith a large section of his party, and that his position as leader remainedinsecure until near the end of this period. On the other hand, the answer should also point out the ways

in which he made a positive contribution to his party's eventual recovery. There can be no final answerto this type of question; what the examiners are looking for is your ability to reach a conclusion and tosupport it with evidence. You should also be able to point out any interconnections between differentfactors.

Another type of stepped question may take a short ex1ract from a primary or a secondary source as itsstarting point. The extract will be designed to serve as stimulus material: it may contain a key word orphrase which you will be eX1>ectedto define.

Example 2

Take the follov.ing question:Gladstone and the Irish Home Ru]e Bill of ]886Read the following ex1ract and answer the questions, which follow. The ex1ract is taken from TheLiberal Ascendancy, ]830-]886 by T.A. Jenkins (Macmillan 1994), pp. 205-6.

'In his speech outlining the Government of Ire]and Bill, when it finally emerged on 8 April 1886,Gladstone urged upon the House of Commons the need for a break from the policies of past Britishgovernments. invohing various mix1ures of coercion and concession, which had failed to get to theroot of the Irish problem. A bold solution had to be adopted, one that would recognise the legitimateaspirations of the Irish people by establishing a legislative assembly in Dub]in ",ith responsibility forIre]and's own affairs.'

Questions

. (i)]n the conte:\.1of nineteenth century Ire]and. eX1>]ainthe meaning of the phrase, 'variousmi:o.1uresof coercion and concession'. [3 marks]

. (ii) What were the main features of the new approach to the Irish problem taken by G]adstonein 1886? [7 marks]

. (iii) 'G]adstone decided to grant Home Rule to Ire]and for entirely selfish political reasons.'Do you agree "ith this statement? Explain your answer. [15 marks]

The first two questions have a primarily factual focus. The first one requires a precise definition of thetwo terms quoted from the passage. Notice the requirement to answer in terms of the context ofnineteenth-century Ire]and. You might for example, explain the concept of 'concession' by referring toearlier attempts to give more legal rights to farm tenants in rura1 Ire]and. But for three marks, youwould not be expected to go into the details of various Acts ofParIiament.In the final part. you are expected to use your factual knowledge in a more ana])1ical way. Thequotation deliberately sets out to challenge you by taking a controversial and one-sided stand. You willcertainly need to set out the evidence for considering G]adstone to be a calculating politician, but this isnot the whole story. You "ill also need to think about the other, more idealistic reasons which he mighthave had for offering Ireland Home Rule. Here reference to the conflicting interpretations presented byhistorians of the period would be relevant. Try to reach your own conclusion. On balance, whatexplanation for G]adstone's action best fits the available evidence?

REMEMBER

In preparing for the examination there is no substitute for practice in answering questions. Your teachermay have copies of the specimen papers produced by the examining bodies. In addition, you will find asimilar style of stepped question in good. up to date tex1s and topic books. Examples include theF]agship History series. published by Harper Collins, the Questions and Ana]ysis series published byRoutledge. and Hodder and Stoughton's Access to History series. Question practice will help you todevelop your communication skills; examiners ",ill reward accurate English and clear presentation.Finally, remember that the finest analytical skills will be ofIimited use if you do not know your chosenarea thoroughly. There is simply no substitute for sound. detailed knowledge of the topic or period inquestion.

A bout the Author

Dr Graham Goodlad is Director of Six1hForm at St John's College, Southsea. He is author of Britishfor.:ign and imperial policy 1865-1919 (Routledge, 1999) and a contributor to Britain 1914-2000,edited by Derrick Mwphy (Harper Collins, 2000).

Author: Goodlad, Graham D.

Gladstone, a complex man who servedin governments over 50 years, presentsparticwlar challenges to students

._;0_

Dr Rohan McWilliam. Anglia Polytechnic University, Cambridge

Summary: William Ewart Gladstone served inBritish governments over a 50 year period,

and he was four times Prime Minister. Inaddition, the twist and turns of his momentouscareer - as well as the details of his privatelife - make him a fascinating biographical subject.Because of his involvement in such issues asLiberalism, Home Rule for Ireland, theextension of the franchise and the formationof a 'moral' foreign policy, he came close toembodying the times in which he was so active.As a result, the Grand Old Man of Britishpolitics has spawned a great number ofhistorical studies.

Questions to consider

· Why has Gladstone attracted the attention

of so many historians?· What are the main issues on which historians

disagree in their interpretations of him?· What effects have the publication of the

Gladstone Diaries had on scholarship?· To what extent may it be argued that Gladstone

embodied the age in which he lived?

H E WAS THE 'PEOPLE'S WILLIAM', the first major

statesman of the age of mass democracy. Fourtimes Prime Minister, he always considered

public life to be inferior to his religious life. An admirerof the aristocracy, he became the idol of the workingclasses. Entering politics as an ardent Tory, he becamethe key figure in nineteenth-century Liberalism. After ahard day running the country, he would rescue prosti-tutes, sometimes taking them back to Number TenDowning Street for tea with his wife in order to assistthem in finding a secure job. For historians, WilliamGladstone (1809-98) has been the most analysed and dis-cussed of political leaders and has proved one of themost perplexing.

Any historian or student who wishes to understandthe achievement of Gladstone has to cope with hisremarkably long career. He entered the government in1334 and finally left office when he resigned as PrimeMinister in 1894 at the age of 84. His most distinguishedmodern historian, RCG. Matthew, notes that 'It is as if,in our own times, a man first in office in RamsayMacDonald's National Government (1931-5) had beenfairly constantly in Cabinet since 1943 and had, in 1996,only recently resigned from his fourth term as PrimeMinister'. Thus, it is not surprising that more has beenwritten about him than any other Victorian statesman,including his great rival, Benjamin Disraeli. Indeed,there is now an historical sub-discipline that it might beworth calling 'Gladstone Studies'. To understand

Gladstone is to understand the entire course and direc-tion of politics from the 1830s to the 1890s; no otherpolitician so embodied the spirit or contradictions of histime.

If you are studying Gladstone, you may find the vol-ume of historical literature devoted to him daunting butyou should not have trouble fj,flding material on the sub-ject. Few books devoted to the politics of the Victorianperiod (1837-1901) have nothing to say about him. Youwill need to understand his transition from leading sup-porter of the Conservative Prime Minister, Sir Robert Peel,in the 1840s to leader of the Liberal party from the 1860s to1890s. What made him a successful politician (such thathe was known in his later years as the 'Grand Old Man' orjust 'GOM' for short)? Why did he divide the Liberalparty over the issue of Irish Home Rule in 1886 much ashis mentor, Peel, split the Conservative party over theCorn Laws in 1846?

There are three kinds of work available to you. Firstof all, there are general textbooks (which will be usefulbut you will need to supplement them with morein-depth reading if you want a higher mark). I wouldparticularly recommend Paul Adelman's Gladstone,Oisraeli and Later Victorian Politics (1970) which has madethe lives of students easier over the years with its clearand concise presentation. A similar book is T.A.Jenkins's The Liberal Ascenaa,ncy, 1830-1886 (1994). Thenthere are biographies of Gladstone and, finally, booksdevoted to specific aspects of his career. I will explorethese in this article.

Biographies

Gladstone is one of the most 'biographied' of politicians,and with good reason. While Oisraeli was, arguably, amore colourful character, Gladstone's personality andpolitical achievements make for fascinating reading.Where Oisraeli strikes us as a modern figure who under-stood the game of politics, Gladstone is interestingbecause his approach and beliefs contrast so markedlywith the way politics is conducted today.

Before you turn to these very substantial books, youmight prefer to look at a shorter treatment. There are anumber of brief introductions to Gladstone of which thebest recent account is Eugenio Biagini's Gladstone (2000).He manages to get the essentials of Gladstone into justover 100 pages (no mean feat) and yet introduces thereader to all the essential scholarship. The book is distinc-tive because Biagini at points discusses Gladstone as aEuropean (rather than just a British) statesman. Readersnew to the topic should start here although there are sev-eral other good short studies: Agatha Ramm's WilliamEwart Gladstone(1989) and Michael Winstanley's Gladstoneand the Liberal Party (1990). Another excellent starting

. www.history-ontheweb.co.uk . the site for free modern history resources.,...

J

Gladstone and some contemporaries in the lobby of the House of Commons in 1886 as illustrated in Vanity Fair.Gladstone talking to Parnell (beard) and Joseph Chamberlain. Lord Randolph Churchill (just behind Gladstone) talking to Lord Hartingtoll.

Other persolwlities: John Bright (top hat and white beard behind official) and Mr Bradlaugh (behind Chamberlain with top hat and hand rai5cd!

:

j

I

point is Peter Clarke's chapter on Gladstone in A Questionof Leadership: Gladstone to Thatcher (1991).

The first reaHY important biography of the GrandOld Man was THe''L''ife'ofWilliam Ewart Gladstone (1903) bythe leading Liberal journalist and MP, John Morley. Itwas a classic Victorian biography, fully footnoted andgenerally sympathetic in treatment (Morley had servedunder Gladstone in government). Its thundering threevolumes may be off-putting but it remains the mostsubstantial book written about Gladstone though it maybe difficult for you to obtain. For a long time, the bestone-volume biography was Philip Magnus's Gladstone(1953) which is still available and worth reading but thereare now more up to date treatments.

The reason for the new wave of Gladstone Studieswas the publication of The Gladstone Diaries between 1968and 1994. From early in his life, Gladstone kept a diary inwhich he accounted to God' for how he spent his time.Much of it is made up of lists of people he had corre-sponded with but other passages sparkle with insightsinto his mind. Initially edited by M.R.D. Foot and then byH.C.G. (Colin) Matthew, they have provided the basis formuch of the recent Gladstone scholarship. They were alsodistinguished by the fine lengthy introductions to eachvolume by Colin Matthew which became a major bio-graphical study. These were collected together and pub-lished in two volumes in 1986 and 1996 and are nowavailable in a one-volume edition: Matthew's Gladstone,1809-1898 (1997). This is quite simply the most importantwork on Gladstone for our time; no one has reallyworked on Gladstone as thoroughly as Matthew or

8

understood him so well. In particular, Matthew wasinfluential in his discussion of Gladstone's budgets of the1850s (Chapter Five), when he was Chancellor of theExchequer, which turned Britain into a free-trad,i,u,g"nation and laid the economic basis for mid- Victorili¥{"'"~

liberalism. It was Gladstone who really turned the posi-:tion of Chancellor of the Exchequer into one of the greatoffices of state. But Matthew covered all aspects ofGladstone's life in depth. This is a book that all seriousstudents should consult.

There are two other substantial modern biogra-phies. The first is Richard Shannon's Gladstone (pub-lished in two volumes in 1982 and 1999) which tends tobe critical of Gladstone, not taking him at his ov,,;n selfestimation and frequently accusing him of humbug.Shannon's Gladstone is a more conservative figure thanMatthew's, a politician moulded by Sir Robert Peel whoempk)yed th~. Lit-L'r.)! part\' for his own purposes. Theother major work is Roy Jenkms's l;iIlQ:,CtlIIC11'195), themost readable book about the leader ever written.Jenkins (like John Morley) was both a journalist and anMP. A senior Labour Cabinet minister in the 1960s and1970s, he was a leading Liberal Democrat (Gladstone:sparty) in the House of Lords. By his own admission, hIsbook was heavily indebted to Matthew's scholarship onthe Gladstone diaries which he used to write a book thatcolourfully recreates Gladstone and his world. It is oneof the great biographies of our time and is highly recom-mended.

There are also severa! useful collections of essays bymany of the leading authorities on Gladstone: Peter J.

. new perspective - for history students. volume 8 number 3 - march 2003 .

..

Jagger (ed) Gladstone (1998) and David Bebbington andRoger Swift (eds), Gladstone Centenary Essays (2000).

political identities in this period. This has been analysedby-J.P. Parry in Democracy and Religion: Gladstone and theLiberal party, 1867-1875 (1986). Parry suggests that contests

Specific aspects over politi~al issue~ .had a.theological basis which helpedconnect high polItics wIth the new mass electorate.

Many historians, however, 'prefer to examine Gladstone Historians have become more sensitive to the continuingthrough specific aspects of his career. The Liberal party importance of the aristocracy in politics. This is evident in(founded in 1859) became the first great mass political Parry's more general study of liberalism: TheRiseand Fallparty, attracting support from a wide range of society. of Liberal Governmwt in Victorian Britain (1993) whichJohn Vincent's The Formation of the Liberal Party, 1857-1868 traces the fortunes of Whig-Liberalism as a form of aristo-(1966) was a pioneering work of political history that cratic government that dominated the early and mid-explored the attractions of the new party to working-class Victorian period. Quite simply, most governmentssupporters. Vincent was cynical about politicians (who he between 1830 and 1886 were Whig-Liberal in make up, aconsidered to be careerists) and about the role of ideas form of government that was sensitive to middle-classand philosophy in politics. Liberalism, he argued, was opinion but not directed by it. Parry blames the demise ofmade up of single issue pressure groups ('faddists') such this-governing tradition on Gladstone's populism whichas the National Education League and the United undermined the essentially elitist nature of politics. TheKingdom Alliance which was against alcohol. Liberalism role of the Whigs is also explored in T.A. Jenkins'swas therefore incoherent and was only held together by Gladstone,Whiggery and the Liberal Party, 1874-1886(1988).the cult of Gladstone. What is distinctive about more Gladstone's radicalism and, particularly his Irish policy,recent historical treatments is there has been a tendency to began to drive the old Whig aristocracy towards thetake the role of ideas seriously in politics. This is particu- Conservative party.lady evident in Eugenio Biagini's Liberty, Retrenchment Ireland was Gladstone's great preoccupation asand Reform: Popular liberalism in the ageof Gladstone,1860- Prime Minister. He famously declared, on being elected1880 (1992) which goes over similar territory to Vincent Prime Minister for the first time in 1868, that 'my missionbut from a different angle. Biagini insists that Liberalism is to pacify Ireland'. This took various forms such as thebecame a popular creed in this period because it provided disestablishment of the Church of England in Ireland anda consistent approach to the challenges of the time based a series of interventions in the Irish land market to giveon free trade, self help and social reform. It therefore tenants security of tenure. Ultimately, Gladstone came toabsorbed many of the demands of the Chartist movement the view that the only solution was Home Rule forof the 1840s; indeed, Chartism to some extent mutated Ireland. His Home Rule Bill of 1886 divided the Liberalinto radical Liberalism. There is also a magnificent chap- party disastrously with a group led by Josephter on the cult of Gladstone (Chapter 7) which explores Chamberlain leaving to form a new party, the Liberalthe basis of his appeal. These arguments are discussed Unionists (that later allied with the Conservatives).further in my book, Popular Politics in Nineteenth-Century . Gladstone's government fell apart. Books aboutEngland (1998), which analyses the different arguments,;j~@I'a.dstone usually deal with the Irish issue but the mostthat historians have employed to understand the nature of enduring work specifically devoted to the subject ismass politics. J.L. Hammond's Gladstone and the Irish Nation (1938) while

What made mass parties possible was the Reform Act the most substantial treatment of the 1886Home Rule cri-of 1867 which extended the vote to the urban skilled sis itself is John Vincent and A.B. Cooke's The Governingworking class. The great study of party formation in this Passion: Cabinet gopemment and party politics in Britain,period (apart from Vincent's book) is still H.J. Hanham's 1885-1886 (1974). See also Michael Barker's GladstoneandElections and Party Management: Politics in the time of Radicalism: The reconstruction of Liberal politics in Britain,Disraeli and Gladstone (1959) which considers the way in 1885-1894(1975).which both parties had to reinvent themselves to appeal If you are answering a question about Gladstone into the new post-1867 electorate. Gladstone was an impor- an exam you will impress your examiner by showingtant part of this process. some familiarity with the contents of any of the aforemen-

Gladstone's populist appeal became evident in the tioned books listed. An understanding of Gladstone isBulgarian Atrocities campaign of 1876 when he came out important because he shaped the economic policy of thevi retirem~nt h' ,1!t,K\...Dl:":'.1,'1i'shandling of foreign pol- Victorian age, was central to the development of popularicy. This episode has been wonderfully explored in and mass politics, assisted in the development of empireRichard Shannon's Gladstone and the Bulgarian Agitation, (for all his ambivaleilce abcut imperidlism) and grappled1876 (1963), a pathbreaking study of popular politics and, with the problem of Britain's relationship with Ireland. Itmore recently, by Ann Pottinger Saab's Reluctant Icon: is difficult to imagine Gladstone finding political successGladstone, Bulgaria and the Working Classes, 1856-1878 in our time but his legacy is important and will continue(1991). Both books explore the popular basis of to be debated by historians - and by students.Gladstonianism, particularly its appeal to religious non- Gladstone and the Historians by Rohan McWilliamconformists. Gladstone (ironically a High Anglican) @new perspective2003became the hero of the Nonconformist conscience in poli-tics. Working-class voters, especially Methodists, liked hishigh moral tone.

It is therefore impossible to understand Gladstonewithout understanding the way in which religion shaped

Rohan McWilliam is Senior Lecturer in History at Anglia PolytechnicUniversity in Cambridge. He is the author of Popular Politics inNineteenth CenturyEngland, Routledge. 1998. and is currently writing a

book about the Tichborne Claimant agitation (1867-1886).

. www.history-ontheweb.co.uk . the site for free modern history resources.

9

-

British history, 1846-1916, was a time ofsubstantial political, social and economicchange but with aspects of continuity

Professor Martin Pugh. Liverpool John Moores University

Summary: The year 1846. which saw the repeal ofthe Corn Laws, was a turning point in British

history. beginning an era of free trade anddestabilising politics. Yet socially this was a period ofconservatism. as skilled artisans developed tradeunions. The Second and Third Reform Act of 1867and 1885 constituted their reward. Both nationaland local government now became more responsiveto people's needs, though the Conservativesachieved power mostly because of low taxation andimperialism. Changes also became apparent inwomen's lives. in a rising standard of living. in thegrowth of mass trade unionism and, in the newcentury. in the expanded role taken by the State. Yetthe 'Great War' of 1914-18.-like the period as awhole. saw continuity as well as change.

Questions to Consider:

· What impact did the repeal of the Corn Laws have

on Britain?· How did the Second and Third Reform Acts affect

the party system?· In what ways did the British economy 'decline' from

1846 to 1918?· What were the most important social changes that

occurred in this period?· In what respects did the years of the First World

War see continuity as well as change?

T HE YEAR 1846 STANDS OUT AS A TURNING-POINT in Britishhistory because of the controversial decision to repealthe Corn Laws at the price of disrupting Peel's gov-

ernment. As so often, however, enthusiasts on both sides ofthe argument exaggerated the significance of the issue, andit transpired that the economic consequences of repeal weremuch less obvious than the political implications.

The mid-Victorian boom

Despite the fears expressed by farmers, agriculture was notruined by imports during the decades after 1846. This waspartly because domestic demand kept prices up and becausethe rising population in other European countries absorbedtheir own output of grain. It was much later -during the 1870s - that British farmers felt the impact ofrepeal when very cheap North American corn began toarrive in Europe. By then it was too late; Britain had effec-tively decided that, as a populous country well-endowedwith industrial resources, she must feed her people cheaplyand make manufacturing and commerce her priority. .

The emergence of the Liberal party

The crisis of 1846left an indeliblemark on the pattern of

2

Women's rights and the roleof women in society.A suffragettecampaignsduri~:~f~910 generalelection

party politics by enshrining free trade as the foundation forpolitical success. When Peel left the Conservatives, takingwith him about a third of the party including most of the ableand experienced figures, he destroyed its claim to be a partyof government in the eyes of urban middle-class voters.

Consequently, government was dominated by a collec-tion of Whigs, Radical Liberals and 'Peelites', th01~gh theirinability to co-operate made mid-Victorian ministries ratherunstable. However, Lord Palmerston enjoyed considerablesuccess in his ministries of 1855-8and 1858-65which came tobe regarded as the first Liberal governments. Perhaps themajor long-term development was to attract the young\V.E. Gladstone into the Libe:al party 1vhich he was to domi-nate right up to the 1890s. The significance of his migrationwas complex and far-reaching, for though he accelerated th~development of the Liberals as a Radical Party in some ways,his fundamental conservatism made him act as a break onreform. Also, through his remarkable ability to arouse theenthusiasm of the working classes and his capacity to retainthe Whig element within Liberalism until 1886, Gladstoneslowed down the long-term trend towards a class-based pat-tern of politics in Britain.

Working-class politics after Chartism

From the perspective of popular politics the mid-Victorian era seems to mark a lull between more dramatic

. british history 1846-1916 . professor martin pugh - liverpool john moores university.

,..

events. In 1848, when most European capitals wereengulfed in revolutions, Britain exp-erienced only a sub-dued final fling of Chartism. In fact, Chartism was by nomeans dead and the influence of its ideas lasted throughmuch of the century. Moral force Chartists continued topress their case often via temperance organisations andincreasingly the Liberal party itself. Meanwhile, thedevelopments of trade unions among skilled artisanswhich managed their funds carefully and functioned asFriendly Societies gradually made its impression onpoliticians, such as Gladstone, who concluded that if ordi-nary people lived responsible, thrifty lives they could notautomatically be regarded as a threat if they were admit-ted to the political system as voters and as MPs. In thisway, what had once appeared to be dangerous changeswere accomplished with relatively li~tle controversy.

Parliamentary reform

The enactment of the Second Reform Act, in 1867, canfairly be seen as the trigger for much subsequent reform intne political system and change in political practice. Apartfrom increasing the number of voters from 1.3 million to2.4 million, it stimulated the demand for a further instal-ment, in 1885, which created an electorate of 5.7 million orabout six adult males in every ten. The new electorate hadan immediate effE..:twithin the Liberal ranks by encourag-ing Radicals to develop a wider reform agenda to attracttheir support; during the 1870s and 1880s this tipped theparty to the left and eventually led to the departure ofmany of the Whigs. By creating new single-member con-stituencies dominated by working-class voters, the 1885reforms also presented new opportunities for political par-ties based on the working class, though this proved a slowprocess as the Independent Labour party (1893) and theLabour Representation Com~ittee,.(1900) discovered.Finally, the 1867 reforms encouraged some women toorganise their own campaign for the vote for the first time.

Local government

Another interesting by-product of parliamentary reformwas the extension of elective local guvernment. After 1870school boards were established, followed by county coun-cils in 1889, and in 1894 urban and rural district and parishcouncils. Although these innovations were not especiallycontroversial and enabled many of the traditional figuresto continue in office by standing for election, they had allkillds of implications. For exal1lple, they led to experimen-tation with social policies such as the rrmoision of meal"for schoolchildren, thereby preparing the way for st.1tcintervention in the Edwardian period. They also modifiedthe personnel of local government by creating opportuni-ties for women, of whom around 1,600 were elected by1900. Many working men gained their first experience ofoffice at local level, especially after the abolition of theproperty qualifications for Poor Law Guardians in 1894.

Conservative revival

One of the unexpected features of post-1867 politics wasthe improvement in the fortunes of the Conservativeparty which had been out of office, apart from one or two

brief periods, since 1846. Contemporaries assumed that amore popular electorate would marginalise the party stillfurther. That this proved to be incorrect has, traditionally,been attributed to Oisraeli as the author of the 1867 Actand of the social reforms enacted by his ministry from1874 to 1880. In fact, there is little evidence that the newvoters were pro-Conservative or that the social reformswere popular with the working class. Disraeli's victory in1874 was less a reflection of his interest in modernisationand more a matter of luck in the sense that he benefitedfrom Gladstone's mistakes.

None the less, there were long-term changes at work.Middle-class voters did begin to shift towards theConservatives especially in the towns; much of the landedand aristocratic interest left the Liberals in 1886 andcoalesced round the Conservatives, making them the partyof property for the next century. By the 1890s theConservatives had taken over the Liberals' role as cham-pions of cheap government and low taxation andbecome associated with the symbols of British nationalism- Monarchy, Church, Empire, and the Union with Ireland.It was Salisbury who managed the transition to a modern,organised party that distinguished it in the twentiethcentury .

Emancipation for women?

For man\" contemporaries, one of the most alarming fea-tt1rcs of the last two decades of the century was the evi-dence of confusiop. in the conventional roles of men andwomen. It was claimed that if women won the vote they.would be more likely to take jobs from men and to avoidmarriage and motherhood; this, in turn, would weakenthe national labour force and impair Britain's ability toremaul a great imperial power.

Of course, much of this was wild exaggeration, for themajority of women continued to play their traditional role,though it is worth remembering that fewer women weremarried and fewer became mothers in the Victorian periodthan has generally been the case in the twentieth century.None the less, changes were apparent, albeit marginally, in

. access free asIa Inodern history resources. wwwohistory-ontheweb.co.uk .

3

Rising standardsof living and changing leisurepursuits, the seaside.The middleclasstaketheirpleasureon Brighton beachin 1859

the lives of women. By the 1880s and 1890s women weremarrying at a later age which alarmed politicians because itinevitably reduced the birth rate. Also, the census showedthat some middle-class couples were deliberately adoptingbirth control methods and thus starting a trend which car-ried on steadily right into the inter-war period. Few womenthought in terms of a career at this time, though the estab-lishment of schools and university colleges for girlsenabled some middle-class women to become independentas teachers. The development of the service sector of theeconomy created a much wider range of employment forwomen notably in the Post Office, in shops, teaching and inwhat we would call secretarial work.

Rising standards of living

As a result of the famous investigations of urban life con-ducted by Charles Booth and B.s. Rowntree we tend tothink of late-Victorian Britain as a time of great poverty.Yet widespread absolute poverty went hand in hand withvery marked improvement for millions of people. The ini-tial trigger for this lay in the massive import of cheapwheat from Canada and the United States which reducedthe price of bread by half between the 1870s and the 1~90s.While really impoverished people simply consumed morebread, others could afford to vary their diet with moreexpensive food. Other items also became cheaper due totechnological innovations, lower tariffs and increases insupply, notably meat from Australia and South Americaas ',yell as tea and sugar; fish and chips became a cheapand nourishing staple in the diet; and companies put arange of consumer goods on the market including bis-cuits, jam, margarine and soap at prices f'v~n poor peoplecould afford.

The Trade Unions

Those who had warned that enfranchising the workerswould result in an attack on private wealth through penaltaxation and a redistribution of incomes through radicalsocial reforms were relieved to find how little impact thenew voters made before 1900. The explanation is p:utlythat the leading working-class politicians were easilyabsorbed into the system through their loyalty to

4

Gladstone and Liberalism. However, it would be a mis-take to..minimise the achievements of working men,though as they still represented only a minority ofworkers, their influence was inevitably limited. By 1900membership had grown to almost two million and theunions had managed to expand into some of the lessskilled men such as gasworkers and dockers. However,the major expansion really came after 1900 when thebooming economy fostered an unusual level of industrialmilitancy. Since many of the strikes were successful moremen joined, bringing membership to 4.1 million by 1914.In the process the unions created a machine and the fundscapable of sustaining a major political party.

Was ~~e economy in decline?

During-the 1870s the deteriorating fortunes of farmers andmanufacturers produced a mood of pessimism about theBritish economy, so much so that the whole period up tothe 1890s came to be known as the 'Great Depression'. Onthe whole, historians have felt sceptical about this viewbecause the economy actually expanded by 50 per centand industries like coal and shipbuilding enjoyed tremen-dous success. The only solia grounds for identifying thisas a period of depression lay in the remarkable fall inprices - about 40 per cent - between the 1870s and 1890s,which benefited consumers but reduced profit marginsand drove some businesses to bankruptcy. On the otherhand, there is a compelling case for the view that Britain'seconomic performance deteriorated relative to that of herchief competitors - Germany and the United States -as wasindicated by the loss of some export markets, a reluctanceto invest in new techniques and a failure to develop thegrowth sectors such as machine tools, motor cars, chemi-cals and electricity. Too large a part of Britain's resourcesr~p,;.1ajnedconcentrated in the traditional staple industries,iron and steel, textiles, railways, which were profitable butno longer the leading edge of industrialisation. Even dur-ing the Edwardian boom years productivity remained rel-atively poor. The demand generated by naval buildingand then by the war itself kept things going, but created amisleading impression of economic strength.

An expanding state

Debate about the economy fuelled wider concerns overweaknesses in British society, the extent of poverty, poorhealth and inferior education, which culminated in thedisasters of the 'Boer War' in 1899. All this underminedfaith in individualism and private enterprise and encour-aged some middle-class people to take an interest inSocialism by joining the Fabian Society or even the ILP.Their Socialism was driven by a conviction that collec-tivism might be a more efficient way of running society.

In the Victorian era this often took the form of munic-ipal ownership of gas and water companies. Similar con-siderations influenced people in both the main parties.The 'New Liberalism' focused on expanding the resourcesof central government through taxation of wealth, espe-cially land and 'unearned income'. A number ofConservatives also embraced the idea of state interven-tion though they saw this as a necessary means ofstrengthening the State and the Empire by creating a fitter

. new perspective - for modern history students. vohlIne 6 nUl11bcr 3 - Inarch 2001 .

-.-

"INjJer"pen:\,(-. nc rerspcu:\'('. new pe"'5p(,(~,v('. '1(W ,',C"~;;.~.;(r~'e . ~~',\, ~"'~Pf',t:y,' 8 new :)(' ,::;,'_':"'C' 8

"'; ;:(~"~:)":t ",.r 8 r'('". ,"',r.,.,,'

.'.

"e'"":J("'~,:,'C,('vc. new' PCrspc,!!VC.

.;!"":~r,~~{Y:,~':';:~ji:;":'Y tC'~:~':~','~:t..:-~,>.;",""--,,-.""~".:,,",:,'#,?,:~":,,,,,,~>~{',,:':q,~;~:I;:"' ",\J,.~:'. ..;'".'

.-,-:.' -.' '

_.'.~ ':,,',:".<":'.-~,'-\ ,,:':',' · new perspective

population. The most cogent programme was devised byJosephLChamberlain, who used the Boer War as an oppor-tunity to launch a campaign to abandon free trade andintroduce tariffs in 1903. All these ideas helped to ensurethat taxation, living standards and employment woulddominate Edwardian politits and thus change the wholeagenda for the rest of the century.

The Liberal revival

Following the split in Balfour's Conservative governmentand its resignation in 1905, the Liberals won a landslidevictory in January 1906. The prominence of free trade,Nonconformist attacks on the 1902 Education Act and theLiberals' promise to restore financial retrenchment afterthe exc~sses of the Boer War made 1906 appear to be thelast kick of Victorian politics. However, this is misleading,for the election ushered in a new generation of politiciansand a new agenda. Lloyd George's famous budget of 1909shifted the balance of taxation from indirect taxes paidlargely by poor people to direct taxation of income andwealth paid by the rich. All subsequent governmentsrelied on this strategy, and without it Britain wouldhardly have managed to cope with the cost of two worldwars. The Liberals also pioneered certain welfare reformsincluding pensions, school meals and insurance for healthand unemployment which subtly altered the whole j:ela-tionship between the State and its citizens during thetwentieth century.

The impact of war

By speaking of the 'Great War' and 'The War to End Wars',British people signified their feeling that the conflict thatbroke out in August 1914 had changed everything. It dis-rv.i2t~,dfamily life through the death of 750,000 British menand raised fears that a generation of young women wouldbe unable to find husbands. It opened employment towomen in industries hitherto regarded as male monopo-lies. It created full employment which greatly increasedthe bargaining power of the workers and led to a 50 percent increase in trade union membership. It also dividedthe Liberal party, thereby giving Labour the opportunityto emerge as the leading opposition party and a contenderfor government for the first time.

However, some of the wartime changes proved to betemporary. And in many important respects the war actu-ally consolidated existing institutions and altitudes ratherth<:.n subverting or disrupting them. For example, theBritish Empire emerged, rather surprisingly, much largerthan before especially in Africa and the Middle East.Britain's eventual victory enhanced national pride andstrengthened the belief in the monarchy and the system ofparliamentary government, in dramatic contrast to the pat-tern elsewhere in Europe where long-standing regimes col-lapsed. The rise of the Labour party, which was very loyalto the existing system, is a good illustration of the change-without-disruption which often seems characteristic ofBritish society. Finally, despite women's wartime work, thewar actually heightened conventional ideas about genderroles and generated a strong reaction in favour of marriageand domesticity which lasted for several decades. As aresult there is a strong case for seeing the 'Great War' as a

consolidating and even a conservative force in Britainrather than simply as a discontinuity in her history.

FURTHERREADING:F. Bedarida, A Social History of England 1851-1975,1979; B. Caine, English Feminism 1780-1980, 1997; J. Callaghan.Socialismin Britain since 1884. 1990; E Evans, The Forging of the ModernState: early industrial Britain, 1783-1870, 1996; D. Fraser, The Evolution

of the Welfare State, 1984; J. Go/by and AW. Purdue, The Monarchy

c"'Jd the British People, 1988; EH.H. Green, The Crisis of Conservatism:the politics, economics and ideology of the British Conservative Party 1880-1914, 1995; J. Harris, Private Uves, Public Spirit: Britain 1870-1914,1993; J. Hinton, Labour and Socialism: A History of the British Labour

Movement 1867-1974, 1983; E.H. Hunt, British Labour History 18/5-1914, 198/; TA Jenkins, The Uberal Ascendancy 1830-1866, 1994; P.Levine, Victorian Feminism, 1987; J. Lovell, British Trade Unions 1875-1933, 1977; H. Pelling, A Social Geography of British Elections 1885-1910, 1967; D. Powell, The Edwardian r.risis: Britain 1901-14, 1996; M.Pugh, The Making of Modern British Politics 18671'¥9-39,1993; D.W.Rubinstein. Capitalism, Culture and Decline in Britain 1750-1990, 1993;G.R. Searle, The Uberal Party: triumph and disunity 1886-1929, 1992; ASeldon (ed). How Tory Governments Fall: the Tory Party in Power since1783, 1996; F,M.L.Thompson, The Rise of Respectable Society: a socialhistory of Victorian Britain 1830-1900, 1988; P. Thompson, The

Edwardians: the re-making of British society, 1992; J. Walvin, VictorianValues, 1987; M. Weiner, English Culture and the Decline of the IndustrialSpirit 1850-1980, 1981.

SELECTEDRELATEDARTICLESpublished in new perspective. Those marked

with an asterisk are already on www.history-ontheweb.co.uk/newperspecrive articles, in March 200 I (p::ssword protected).

'The "People's Budget": Causes and Consequences' by ProfessorMartin Pugh. Vol I. No I>-~'The Conservative Party in the NineteenthCentury' by Dr David Dutton. Vol I. No 2*: 'The E",e"ge"ce of theLabour Party' by Dr Henry Pelling, Vol I, No 2*; 'Gladstone' by DrEJ. FeuchtWanger, Vol 2 No 1*; 'The Liberals and the Great War,1914-18' by Dr Michael Lynch, Vol 2, No 2*; 'Edwardian Politics' byDr T.A Jenkins, Vol 4, No 3*; 'Disraeli: Charlatan or Statesman' byDr EJ. FeuchtWanger, Vol 5 No 1*.

Continuity and Change in British History, 1846-1916 by Martin Pugh@ new perspective 200 I

Professor Martin Pugh's main interests are Victorian' and tWentieth-century political history, the women's movement and the IndianEmpire. His next book, a biography of the Pankhurst family, will bepublished in 200 I by Allen Lane.

. access free asIa n'1odern history resources. www.history-onthcwcb.co.uk .

5

How Much Historiography Should Be Included in Essays?

John Claydon provides practical guidance on a vexed issue

One of the biggest problems that all history students face when they write essays is knowing when torefer to different historians and their views. This is especially the case in timed or examination answerswhen space is short. The problem exists because teachers and examiners, and even the historians whowrite books and articles. disagree themselves about what is appropriate. This article is intended to makeyou think carefully about the issue so that you can strike a sensible balance in the essays you write.

What we are dealing with here is historiography, literally the study of historical writing but moreprecisely the explanations and interpretations of historians. All historical topics have their ownhistoriography, and most history books include a historiographical survey to help readers understandwhere the book fits in with previous research and writing on the same topic. For history students,therefore, coping with the historiography ofthe topic is not only a question of what to include in essayanswers but what to read about the topic in the first place. Most students should have some knowledgeof the views of leading current historians, for example John Guyon the Tudors, Barry Coward on theStuarts or Denis Mack Smith on Fascist Italy, and it obviously helps to have read other authors too.Usually a textbook will be available, but its main purpose is to provide a detailed outline of thechronology of the period not ofthe historiography, and though there will be references to historians andtheir views there is not usually space for these to be fully explained. This is where the guidance of yourteacher and of those series of books designed specifically to focus both on the content andhistoriography of a particular topic. such as Access to History or Seminar Studies, will be valuable.

Defining key terms

During the course of your reading you are bound to come across terms which categorise the broadapproaches of historians. such as. for example, 'structuralist' or 'revisionist'. Few students are veryconfident about these terms, and many find them bewildering or even frightening. because they arerarely carefully explained. In fact they are difficult to define because they were usually devised. almostas tenns of abuse. by historians taking a different view. You do. though. need to try to understand thembecause they help to outline the main interpretations of most topics.Some terms are definitel~' worth getting to grips "ith:

. Intentionalists essentially construct a case around the decisive impact of particularindi,'iduals or events.. Structuralists (or Functionalists as they are sometimes known) react specifically againstthe intentionalist approach and build up a picture of what happened through meticulousresearch. often at a vel}' local level, and without any preconceived ideas.. Marxists work from the standpoint that economic forces are the main causal factor inhistorical change and development. This must be distinguished from the much cruder Marxistangle. used in the Soviet Union and by its supporters until well after Stalin's death in 1953,which employed whatever argument was deemed necessary to meet the requirements ofCommunist Party propaganda at the time.. Revisionist approaches are relatively recent, dating from the last quarter of a centuI}' at most,and challenge what had up till that time been accepted as orthodox or even definitiveinterpretations.

Historiographical examples

The debate between intentionalists and structuralists is clearly highlighted in interpretations of NaziGermany. The intentionalists suggest that the history of Nazi Germany was basically the deliberateimplementation by Hitler of the programme he had devised before he came to power. The structuralistsargue that. far from tightly controlling evel}1hing that went on, Hitler presided over a Third Reich inwhich there was a huge degree of independence at ever)' level of administration. and where the guidingcriterion was what indi,iduals in any position of authority interpreted as Hitler's wishes.

Seventeenth-century English history provides a good basis for understanding Marxist and revisionistapproaches. According to the Marxist interpretation, the basic eX1>lanationfor Parliament's challenge tothe monarchy lies in economic causes, essentially the thwarted political aspirations of the increasinglyprosperous middle classes. So, the 'English Revolution', as the overthrow of the king in the 1640s wasknO\\l1, saw the end of the Middle Ages both economically and constitutionally. Revisionism in thiscontex1 has ShO\\1lthat many of the issues were by no means as clear-cut as had been thought.Revisionist historians argue for the existence of strong forces of consen'atism in the ranks ofParliament in the middle of the century, and they suggest that the fall of the monarchy was theconsequence of short -term causes that could not have been predicted, rather than the outcome of long-term, unstoppable forces. The impact of re"isionism on seventeenth-century English history hasbrought about such an intense re-analysis of the period that a new synthesis yet again is emergingwhich can best be described as 'post-re"isionism', and which has established several key areas of focusfor further debate and research.

Using historiography

How can you then make the best use of all this information and understanding in essay answers?Ob,iously many essay titles imite little or no detail on historians' "iews, but in an examination paperof three or four essay questions it would be unusual for a candidate to do well without showing anawareness of historiographical debate and interpretation, and clear and sensible references will alwaysbe rewarded. Some titles pro,ide more opportunities for effective treatment of the historiography thanothers. Let's try to illustrate tl1isby examining questions on Nazi Germany:

. A question on the rise to power of the Nazis is most concerned with demonstrating the linkbetween electoral success and economic problems and with analysing successive electionresults, and there is no major historiographical controversy.

. If the question deals with the Nazi consolidation of power, there is an opportunity to discusstlle intentionalist v. structuralist debate,

. A question dealing with opposition to Nazi control is most effectively handled by thecandidate who is able to include not only that debate but also recent research on theastonishing willingness of many members of the German population to comply with the worstexcesses of the Nazi regime.

Questions which deal with major historical controversies, such as the origins of either the First orSecond World War or whether there was a revolution in Tudor government, need more precisereference to historians' views, and some examination syllabuses have questions specifically onhistoriographical issues which require discussion of the relative merits of different approaches tohistorical study and writing.

Even if you have relevant historiographical knowledge, it is not always easy to know where to use thatinfonnation to the greatest advantage in your answer, and again it may be best to provide some pointersto help Witll this by giving examples:

. Sometimes a particular paragraph lends itself to discussion of two sides in a debate, and soreferences to historians are natural and straightforward,

. Some arguments are reinforced by referring to the evidence used by a historian or an historicalapproach. This can be very persuasively included in a conclusion to hammer home a point,providing you are sure this strengthens your case.. If a significant controversy enhances the focus of an essay it might be worth introducing thesalient features early on, perhaps as part of the setting of the contex1 for your answer. This canbe effectively done in the second paragraph, that is immediately after the introduction.

Avoiding the Pitfalls

There are undoubtedly pitfalls which must be avoided when using historiographical material. Essaysthat are full of quotations from historians, or made up largely of one reference after another to differenthistorians. are not likely to gain a high mark, because there is simply insufficient time to include that

information as well as the necessary subject matter and your own views. Worse still, there is a tendencyfor students who learn quotations to be determined to fit them into their answers, frequently failing toanswer the question set as a result. There is no point either in quoting the author of a textbook source,because the information will not be original and you need to be able to reconstruct the argumentyourself using relevant supporting evidence. It is certainly an error to quote the second-hand purveyorof an interpretation in a te:>..1bookwhen that interpretation is a central conclusion of a notable historianwhom you have omitted to mention. Another mistake is to go to the lengths of referring to a historianand his point of view just because you happen to know it, when in fact nothing of substance is addedto the point or argument you are making.

So. to sum up, here are some final tips about historiographical references in your essays:

1. Don't be frightened to refer to historians and their views in your essays. All historical subjectshave a historiography, and confident awareness of it will definitely enhance your answer.

2. In preparing to write an essay, tI), to make sure you identify which historical approaches andindividual historians have contributed most to our understanding of the topic, and that you canparaphrase their views briefly.

3. Learning quotations is a poor substitute for understanding arguments, and being determined toget them into essays is generally not a good idea.

About the Author

John Claydon is headteacher at Wyedean School, Chepstwo, and an A level examiner. He has recentlyspent a term on a schoolteacher fellowship at St Hugh's College, Oxford, doing research on thehistoriography of Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia.

Author: Claydon, John