1. Democracy and Reform in Great Britain and France
Mr. White’s World History

2. Great Britain
During this time, peaceful political change came to Great Britain.
Over this period of time, political rights and democratic participation will expand in Great Britain
Also, many people will emigrate from Great Britain to places like Canada, New Zealand, and Australia

3. Electoral Reforms
In Great Britain, urban populations had been rising, and rural populations declining
Parliamentary representation had not changed to reflect these population changes
Urban areas – large populations, few representatives
Rural areas – small populations, about as many representatives as the urban areas
Many other groups were demanding voting rights
Unpropertied males
Women

4. Reform Act of 1832
Lowered property qualifications
Re-apportioned Parliamentary representation
Reform movements such as The Chartists and supporters of the Anti-Corn Law demanded changes to the ways political rights were guaranteed

5. Political Leadership
Most of these political reforms occurred during the reign of Queen Victoria – Victorian Period
Prime Ministers of Great Britain
William Gladstone – reformed government, education, and elections
Benjamin Disraeli – lowered property qualifications for voters

6. Rise of Labor
Labor unions were politically very strong in Great Britain
Socialism was also gaining followers
Fabian society – middle class intellectuals who wanted to prepare the government for socialism
1900 – Labour party forms – promoted government reform to improve worker’s lives
Old-age pensions, minimum wage, unemployment assistance, health insurance

7. Women’s Rights
Women had won greater rights in the middle and late 1850s, for property rights
Married Women’s Property Acts of 1870 and 1882 gave women some control over the family’s earnings and property
Women had won the right to vote in local elections in 1869, but still could not vote in national elections

8. Women’s Suffrage
Emmeline Pankhurst and her two daughters founded the Women’s Social and Political Union
Led a voting rights campaign for all women
Known as suffragettes (suffrage is the right to vote)
WSPU used street demonstrations and hunger strikes to get their point across
1918 – Parliament granted the all citizens over 30 the right to vote

9. Ireland
Great Britain had ruled Ireland for many hundreds of years, though many Irish, especially Catholics, wanted to be independent
English and Scottish Protestants who had settled in Ireland had almost total political and economic control
Owned most of the land, and rented it to Irish Catholics peasants
Catholics were required to pay taxes to the Anglican church

10. Act of Union The Act of Union in 1801 joined Ireland and Great Britain
Ireland got some representation in Parliament, but Catholics couldn’t vote until 1829
Many Irish still wanted independence for Ireland

11. The Potato Famine In the 1840s, a blight on the potato hit Ireland
Irish were forced to export the grain that they grew to pay high rents – potato was the main food staple
In four years, roughly one million Irish died of starvation and disease
Many more immigrated to the U.S., Canada, and Australia

12. Home Rule
Charles Stewart Parnell led Irish nationalists in a demand for home rule, or self government, from Parliament
1914 – Parliament passed a home rule bill, but it never went into effect
Problems would continue to grow

13. Canada
Canada was populated by French, English immigrants, and displaced Loyalists who had come from the United States
Unrest and rebellion in this colony led Great Britain to grant self-government to Canada
Canada became a dominion of Great Britain – a self-governing territory owing allegiance to the British Crown

14. Australia
Australia had originally been established by Britain as a prisoner’s colony because of overpopulation in British jails
After gold was discovered in Australia, many people began to go there voluntarily
In 1901, Great Britain granted Australia self-government as a dominion of the British commonwealth

15. New Zealand British started settling New Zealand in 1770.
Conflicts with the local people, the Maori, gradually led to an agreement that gave the British sovereignty, but protected Maori rights
1907 – New Zealand became a dominion of the British Empire

16. Royalists
First, Louis XVIII accepted the role of a constitutional monarch in France – limited powers, dies in 1824
Charles X succeeds him, and set out to restore absolute monarchism in France
Dissolved the legislature, when he liked
Restricted freedom of press and voting rights
Charles is overthrown by a rebellion in 1830

17. Louis Philippe
The next king, Louis Philippe, tended to support the rich – he was overthrown, too
Rebels who overthrow him proclaimed France to be a republic – no king to rule
Voters elected Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte, the nephew of Napoleon Bonaparte, as president of the republic

18. Emperor of France Louis-Napoleon tries to make himself into an emperor
Takes power in a coup d’etat, dissolves the National Assembly, and arrested his opponents
1852 – He becomes Napoleon III, emperor of France

19. The Third Republic
Louis-Napoleon was concerned with Prussia’s growing political and military power – declares war in 1870
The Prussian-led German armies quickly mobilized and won stunning victories early in the war – captured Louis-Napoleon
The Prussians laid siege to the city of Paris, which eventually forced the French to sign a peace treaty
The French re-established their National Assembly

20. The Third Republic, continued
The Commune of Paris, a socialist government established by French workers, briefly threatened the National Assembly
1875 – a new constitution was written for France
This government was able to solve periodic and small political and economic problems in France and continued to govern the French people