Chapter 23: Growth of Western Democracies (1815-1914)
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Transcript of Chapter 23: Growth of Western Democracies (1815-1914)
Reforming Parliament
1815- Britain was a constitutional monarchy with a Parliament and two political parties
House of Commons- only 5% of the people had the right to vote
House of Lords- hereditary nobles- could veto any bill passed by the House of Commons
Reformers Press for Change
Laws kept people from voting Catholics and non-Anglican Protestants
could not vote Parliament changed who had the right to vote Population shift due to Industrial Rev.
Reform Act of 1832
Whigs and Tories Whig- middle class Tory- nobles, landowners, and others who
had high income Reform Act- redistributed seats in the House
of Commons Act gave representation to large towns and
cities and eliminated rotten boroughs
Reform Act of 1832
Enlarged the electorate Kept landowning as a requirement to vote Did not bring full democracy
Chartist Movement
Reform Act did not help rural or urban workers
People’s Charter- document- demanded universal male suffrage and annual Parliamentary elections
Demand for secret ballot Government moved to suppress the march Movement was declined
Victorian Age
1837-1901: Queen Victoria was the great symbol of Great Britain
Reign was the longest in British history Victorian ideals: duty, thrift, honesty, hard
work, respect Strict code of morals Middle Class was at the center
Quote from Queen Victoria
Lower classes “earn their bread and riches so deservedly that they cannot and ought not to be kept back.”
New Era in British Politics
1860s- Old political parties regrouped under new leadership
Benjamin Disraeli- forged Tories into modern Conservative Party
William Gladstone- Whigs became the liberal party
1868-1880: parliament was between two parties
New Era in British Politics
Disraeli gave the right to vote to working class men- doubled the size of the electorate
Gladstone extended suffrage to farmers By the end of the century- almost universal
male suffrage Constitutional Monarchy with a prime
minister and cabinet
Limiting the Lords
1900s- House of Commons men defeated the House of Lords
1911- Liberal gov. restricted power of lords Lords backed down House of Lords lost power House of Commons was supreme
A Series of Reforms
Mid 1800s Parliament passed a variety of new laws
Free trade began between countries Corn laws- imposed high tariffs on imported
grain – Corn- all cereal grains – Farmers and wealthy landowners supported corn
laws
Campaign Against Slavery
Enlightenment thinkers- against slavery British carried more Africans than any other
country 1807- Britain was the first European country
to abolish the slave trade 1833- Parliament passed a law banning
slavery
Crime and Punishment
Early 1800s- more than 200 crimes were punishable by death
1850- death penalty was reserved for murder, piracy, treason, and arson
Penal colonies- settlements for convicts
Victories for the Working Class
1840s- Parliament passed laws to improve social conditions
1847- Law limited women and children to a 10-hour workday
Parliament sent inspectors to see that the laws were enforced
Unions- won higher wages, shorter working hours, improved the lives of the working class
Struggle to Win Votes for Women
1900- Emmeline Pankhurst- leading suffragist
Drastic and violent protests
1918- Parliament finally granted suffrage to women over the age of 30
Instability in Ireland
England began conquering Ireland in 1100s
1600s- English and Scottish took possession of much of the best farmland
Irish did not like absentee landlords
Many Irish lived in poverty
Irish Nationalism
1800s- Irish campaigned for freedom Daniel O’Connel “the liberator” 1829- Parliament passed the Catholic
Emancipation Act- Irish Catholics got the right to vote and to hold political office
Struggle for Home Rule
Famine in Ireland- Irish distrusted British
1850s- Fenian Brotherhood- goal was to liberate Ireland
Home rule- local self government
Gladstone- pushed for reforms in Ireland
1914- home rule was passed
France Under Napoleon III
1848- Napoleon III- nephew of Napoleon Bonaparte- rose to power in the Second Empire
Bourgeoisie liked Napoleon III
Napoleon III promised to end poverty
Ruled like a dictator
France Under Napoleon III
Napoleon appointed his cabinet, upper house of the legislature, and many officials
Debate was limited, newspapers had strict censorship
Napoleon III issues a new constitution and democratic rights
Challenges of the Third Republic
Napoleon was captured Republicans take over starting the Third
Republic Republicans bring in new National Assembly Radicals wanted new socialist order National Assembly ordered Paris Commune
to be disband
New Government form for France
New republic had 2 house legislature – Chamber of Deputies and Senate
– Parties: royalists, constitutional monarchists, moderate republicans, radicals
– No single party could win a majority in the legislature
Anti-Semitism and Dreyfus Affair
1894- Alfred Dreyfus- high ranking army officer- accused of spying on Germany
Dreyfus was Jewish Dreyfus stated he was innocent but was sent
to Devil’s Island 1896- government found the actual spy; no
new trial for Dreyfus
Anti-Semitism and Dreyfus Affair
1898- Emile Zola- charged army and gov. with suppressing the truth
Zola was convicted of libel 1906- Court cleared Dreyfus Anti-Semites- members of the lower middle
class
Dreyfus Affair
Theodor Herzl- Hungarian journalist- called for Jews to have their own separate state
Zionism