14.1.1

The 1832 Great Reform Act

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The 19th Century

By the 19th century Britain was a democracy but only a small number of the population could vote for a Member of Parliament.

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The Industrial Revolution

  • The Industrial Revolution began in the 19th century.
    • The population started growing rapidly and more people began to live in towns and work in factories.
    • As a result there were growing calls for change to political representation.
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1832 Great Reform Act

  • In 1792, Mary Wollstonecraft demanded equal political rights for all men and women.
  • Before 1832, only 2.5% of the population had the right to vote for a Member of Parliament.
    • To be able to vote you had to own property or pay certain taxes.
    • Women could vote if you met the criteria but it was incredibly unusual.
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The impact of the Great Reform Act

  • The Great Reform Act was only passed in 1832 after riots broke out across the country.
  • The 1832 Great Reform Act made some improvements to the electoral system in England and removed 'rotten boroughs'.
    • Rotten boroughs were very small constituencies which could be used by parties to gain influence in the House of Commons easily.
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Exclusions from the Great Reform Act

  • The 1832 Great Reform Act did not include working class men due to the property qualifications.
    • Women were also formally excluded from voting as a voter was legally defined by the act as a male.

Jump to other topics

1The Medieval World: 450-1450 AD

1.1Anglo-Saxon England

1.2The Contest for the English Throne

1.3Conquering the Holy Land, 10-96-1396 AD

1.4King John

1.5The Magna Carta & Parliament

1.6The Black Death

2Worldviews

3The Empire of Mali

4The Renaissance & Reformations, 1500-1598 AD

5The British Empire, 1583-1960 AD

6The Peasants' Revolt

7Religion in the Middle Ages

8Slavery, 1619-1833 AD

9The English Civil War, 1642-1660

10The Industrial Revolution, 1750-1840

11US Independence, 1775-1783

12The French Revolution, 1789-1815

13The British Empire, 1857–1930

14Suffrage

15World War 1, 1914-1918

16The Inter-War Years, 1919-1939

17World War 2, 1939-1945

18The Cold War, 1947-1962

19Civil Rights in the USA, 1954-1975

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