France and England The Advance of Democracy

The Reform Bill of 1867 Benjamin Disraeli- conservative Prime Minister Some seats in House of Commons redistributed Extended vote to most of Great Britain’s urban workers

William Gladstone’s Liberal “Great Ministry” British Parliament enacted extensive reform program Civil service exams Education Bill of 1870 provided $ to local school boards to operate non- sectarian schools 1871 workers gained right to organize unions and strike Gladstone maintained Laissez-Faire

Disraeli, again, “Tory democracy”- designed to benefit the working class and win further support for the conservative party Conservatives were less committed to laissez-faire doctrine

Gladstone, again, The reform Bill of 1884 –Extended right to vote to most urban workers The Irish question/Home Rule Act of Union 1801-Ireland governed by British Parliament Catholic emancipation Act-increased number of Irish in Parliament Home rule: Irish would have own Parliament but would join with Britain’s foreign policy Six Protestant counties in Northern Ireland opposed this “Ulster”

Home Rule defeats/Victory Gladstone introduced home rule bills in 1886 and 1893-both defeated by conservatives In 1914 Liberals pushed through Home rule Could not be enforced because of opposition from Ulster (northern Ireland Protestants) Both Protestants and Catholics formed militia’s-brink of civil war-WWI

Development of the Labor Party In 1900 workers in labor unions formed the Labor Party Labor Party ultimately replaced Liberal Party In an effort to keep the Labor vote the Liberals enacted worker friendly legislation 1906 aid to injured workers Old age pensions act 1909

The “peoples budget” 1909 Called for tax increases to pay for social programs and naval expansion (blame Kais. William II) House of Lords refused to pass Bill King George V threatened to increase # of liberals in Lords to pass Lords passed it-weakened the power of the Lords Further promoted full political democracy in England

FranceFrance The end of the Second Empire and the Creation of the Third French Republic

The end of Napoleon III The final crisis for the second Empire was the Franco-Prussian war At Sedan the Prussians captured Napoleon III In Paris, radicals proclaimed the creation of the third French Republic

Problems for the new Republic Radicals dominated Paris and other major cities Monarchist candidates won the majority of the seats in the new assembly Radicals in Paris threatened the new Republic

The Paris Commune Adolphe Thiers head of the government ordered the dissolution of the Paris National Guard Parisian Radicals responded by creating the city gov’t the Paris Commune Thiers decided to crush the commune The Republic reasserted its control over the commune

3 rd Republic anticlericalism Church had generally supported Monarchists 1880’s republican gov’t sought to reduce the influence of the Church in national life Jesuit order was expelled from France The name of God was removed from oaths

Boulanger Affair General Georges Boulanger- minister of war In 1889, it appeared that Boulanger might attempt to carry out a coup against the government with monarchist and clerical support He failed to do the coup Discredited monarchists, strengthened Republic

Dreyfus Affair 1894-Jewish officer Alfred Dreyfus convicted of giving information to Germans Actual criminal was major Esterhazy Dreyfusards- supported Dreyfus innocence and the cause of the republic and anticlericalism Anti-Dreyfusards-insisted on Dreyfus Guilt supported cause of Monarchists, army and the Church-openly anti- semitic

Emile Zola “J’Accuse” Zola charged the army with forging the evidence that convicted Dreyfus By 1906 Dreyfus is pardoned Victory of the Dreyfusards was a defeat for the conservative elements of the army, the monarchists, and the Church as well.