1. Victorian England the Early Years

2. Sir Robert Peel  Gained his first seat in Parliament in 1809 from a “rotten borough”  Began politics under a system of ministers serving as “servants of the Crown”  Politicians worked for the country as a whole, not for a particular political party  1812-1818 Chief Secretary for Ireland  Against Catholic Emancipation  1822 became Home Secretary; active in reforming criminal law  1828 changed his mind about Catholic emancipation  1829 proposed Catholic Emancipation Act

3. Catholic Emancipation  1800 Act of Union united England and Ireland into the United Kingdom of Great Britain & Ireland  This united the two Parliaments; Catholics had not been allowed to be members of the Irish Parliament  Ireland gained 100 seats in the British Parliament, but they could not be Catholic Irish.

4.  In 1828, Daniel O’Connell, who was Catholic, was elected to Parliament, but could not take his seat.  O’Connell was re-elected in 1829.  By this time, Robert Peel had changed his mind on Catholic Emancipation and supported the Prime Minister in changing the law.  “Though emancipation was a great danger, civil strife was a greater danger.” Peel  However, the property requirement to vote was raised, reducing the number of voters.  Irish Catholics still also had to support the Anglican Church in Ireland (tithe).

5. Great Reform Bill  1830 election was over the Reform Bill  The Whigs won the election and the government went forward working to pass the Reform Bill  The bill passed Commons, but was defeated by the House of Lords in 1831  The same happened in 1832. The bill finally passed when over 200 Lords were absent and did not vote, allowing the bill to pass.

6.  Sir Robert Peel, although a Tory, decided to support the Reform Bill, because it was wanted by the vast majority of British.  There was a fear in Britain that revolution would occur like in France, due to riots supporting the Reform Bill.

7. Great Reform Bill  “Rotten Boroughs” lost representation  Small towns lost some representation  Larger towns gained seats  Ireland gained 5 more seats  Scotland gained 8 more seats  More men could vote, but there was still a property qualification to vote… only 1 in 7 men could vote  Most of the working class could not vote

8. Robert Peel as Prime Minister  Member of the Conservative/Tory Party  Believed that the basic job of government was to promote law and order.  Purpose of reform was to promote law and order.  1834-1835; the Tories were a minority and depended on the Whigs to achieve anything.  Peel was in favor of gradual, moderate reform

9. Anti-Corn Law League  Peel was PM again 1841-1846.  Election of 1841 issues were agricultural protectionism and the Corn Laws.  Another issue was balancing the govt. budget  Peel reintroduced the income tax, which raised a lot of money  Government repealed or reduced over 1,200 tariffs, but NOT the tariff on corn

10.  Both workers & factory owners disliked the Corn Laws  Anti-Corn Law League formed in 1837  By 1845, the League was the best organized & wealthiest political group in Britain  Irish Potato Famine began in 1845 and added to the protest against the Corn Laws  1846 the corn tariff was lowered to a very insignificant amount

11. Consequences of Repeal of the Corn Laws  Robert Peel lost his job as Prime Minister… many Conservatives were upset  Free trade became a major tenet of British policy  The Conservative Party was divided  Peel was and continued to be a supporter of free trade  He led a group of politicians called Peelites  Later the Peelites joined with Whigs to become the Liberal Party

12. Chartist Movement  The working class was not happy with the results of the Great Reform Bill so the Chartist Movement began in 1838.  They demanded…  Universal male suffrage  Secret ballot  Abolition of property qualifications to be an MP  Pay for MPs  Annual elections  Equal electoral districts

13.  The Poor Law of 1834 also inspired people to support the Chartist Movement.  The Poor Law was meant to reduce the number of poor people seeking aid, not to help them.  Workhouses were established (“are there no workhouses?”)  The poor were treated like criminals and families were split.

14.  1842 series of strikes and demonstrations against the government  The Chartist Petition was presented to the government on three separate ocassions  The last presentation was in 1848; after that, the movement died out.  Eventually, by 1918, 5 of the 6 demands had been carried out.

15. Bibliography  http://www.victorianstation.com/queen.html http://www.victorianstation.com/queen.html  http://www.victorianweb.org/history/reform.html http://www.victorianweb.org/history/reform.html  http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/PR1832.htm http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/PR1832.htm  http://dspace.dial.pipex.com/town/terrace/adw03/peel/peelhome.htm http://dspace.dial.pipex.com/town/terrace/adw03/peel/peelhome.htm  http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/PRanticorn.htm http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/PRanticorn.htm  http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/victorians/chartist_01.shtml