Vote To The Working Class example essay topic

During the 18th Century there had been some significant changes to the lives of the ordinary working class as a result of the agricultural and industrial revolutions. In 1700 98% of the population lived in the countryside and small villages. But by 1800 98% of peasant farmers had been evicted from their land as a result of 'enclosure'. However before the Great Reform Act of 1832 the King and wealthy landowners dominated Parliament and they were unlikely to introduce laws to help working people. In the countryside only men above the age of 21 who owned land above the value of 40 shillings were able to vote. The sum of 40 shillings had been fixed back in 1430.

Although inflation meant that the number of people who voted went up, by 1831 only 5% of the population had the vote. In some parts of the country local landowners had control over electors. The landowners were able to instruct local residents to vote for the candidates of the landowner's choice. These were called 'Rotten Boroughs', Old Sarum was a Rotten Borough and in places like this there were very few voters, which made it much easier for the landowners to get their candidate elected. In 1802 one elector elected a man called Sir Phillip Francis as Member of Parliament for Appleby. He wrote the following paragraph on his victory: 'The fact is that yesterday morning between 11 and 12, I was unanimously elected by one Elector, to represent this borough in Parliament.

There was no other candidate, no opposition, no Poll demanded, scrutiny or petition. ' About 270 Members of Parliament were controlled like this. Because their success was owed to their 'patron', they supported his interests in votes in the House of Commons. They would vote against any measures, which would weaken their wealth and influence. Some constituencies like Old Sarum, Bossiney and Dulwich had very few voters. On the other hand many of the industrial towns like Birmingham, Leeds and Manchester had no Members of Parliament.

In 1791 Thomas Paine wrote this passage about the unfairness of this in the 'Rights of Man': 'The county of Yorkshire which contains near a million souls, sends two county members and so does the county of Rutland, which contains not a hundredth part of that number. The town of Old Sarum, which contains not three houses, sends two members; and the town of Manchester which contains upwards of sixty thousand souls, is not admitted to send any. Is there a principle in these things. ' The Great Reform Act of 1832 was an attempt to improve how Parliament was elected. People also wanted to improve the way in which the country was governed. The power of the wealthy landowners and the King needed to be reduced.

People decided that if the vote was given to more of the working class then the Members of Parliament would listen to the new voters instead of the landowners and would introduce laws to help working people. The people who introduced the reform were influenced by events in other countries, such as the United States Constitution and the French Revolution. Theses revolutions had given ordinary people in other countries more rights than those in Britain. Many members of the working class saw what had happened in France and the United States and took to the idea of political power and greater equality.

To begin with the government were alarmed by the demands fro reform but the situation soon began to change. There were a number of reasons for this. There was an increasing demand for reform from the middle and working classes, the working class now had a lot more support. Also in 1830 a Whig government came into power.

The Whigs were more in favour of the demands for reform than the former conservative government because they wanted to win the vote and support of the new middle class voters. However they never intended to give the vote to the working class. For Parliament there was a fear that people might try to overthrow the government by attacking them unless the reform act was introduced. Few changes were made due to the 1832 Reform Act, however many 'Rotten Boroughs' lost their Members of Parliament. New boroughs were created, giving growing industrial towns like Manchester, Leeds, Sheffield and Birmingham their own Members of Parliament. Also in both counties and boroughs, the right to vote was extended to a greater number of men, although the value of property they owned or rented still determined who could vote.

This meant that the wealthy industrialists and the middle class gained a lot because they were now able to vote. They now had a say in how the country was run and they could influence Parliaments decisions that were in their best interests. As the Duke of Wellington said 'Power is transferred from one class of society, the gentlemen of England, to another class of society, the shopkeepers. ' The Aristocracy also gained because by introducing a small measure of reform they were saving the country from Revolution, which would have given power to the working class. Thomas Macaulay speaking in a debate on the Reform bill said: 'I support this measure, because I am sure that it is in our best security against a revolution.

I support this measure as a measure of reform; but I support it still more as a measure as conservation. ' A passage form the Poor Man's Guardian, a radical newspaper also supports this argument: 'The Whigs know that the old system could not last, and desiring to establish another as like it as possible, they drew up the Act in the hope of drawing together the aristocrats and gentry with a large reinforcement of the middle class. ' Although a few changes had been made there were a lot more things that stayed the same: There was still no secret ballot and bribery and corruption continued. Many boroughs with very small electorates survived. Most working class men were still not able to vote and no woman could vote. Members of Parliament were still unpaid, and therefore still tended to be wealthy landowners.

The increase in the size of the electorate was small-from about 5% to 7- 1/2% of the population. Rural areas still had a higher proportion of Members of Parliament than urban, industrial areas. From the things that had and hadn't changed it is clear that the working class did not gain from the reform because they were still not able to vote and if a member of the working class were to become a Member of Parliament they would not be paid therefore they would not be able to make a living. The middle classes had gained and were able to influence Parliament. By agreeing to limited reform the landowners were able to retain a strong influence on how the country was governed..