The Growth of Democracy WHY?

1. The Growth of Democracy WHY?

2. Agenda • The focus for this part of the course is on the changes in society that caused an increased demand for democracy. • WHY did the British government introduce democratic changes?

4. Why? Essay – The Plan Factors you should mention; • Urbanisation and industrialisation • Communication spread democracy – e.g. trains, postal service, newspapers • Changing Attitude towards the working class e.g. better education and the growth of religion • Changing Attitudes of Political Parties • Pressure groups, trade unions and women’s suffrage groups

5. Urbanisation & Industrialisation Definitions • Urbanisation = the movement of people from the countryside to the towns e.g. the Borders or the Highlands to Glasgow • Industrialisation = Industrial revolution –growth of large-scale factory production e.g. textiles in paisley, coal mines in Lanarkshire and shipyards in Glasgow.

6. Urbanisation

7. 1850 IT WAS A PERIOD OF RAPID CHANGE IN BRITAIN New ideas and new technology were being put into practice. In the Country New technology, new machinery made farming more effective. Machines replaced those who worked the land now had to move to find work, they moved from country and into the towns to find work, usually long hours, low pay, dangerous conditions etc. Result:

8. The Irish • Due to the famine and other problems in Ireland, tens of thousands of Irish immigrants flooded into cities like Glasgow looking for work and a better life

9. Britain in 1850 1815 --- 12.15 million 1821 --- 14.21 million 1831 --- 16.37 million 1841 --- 18.55 million 1851 --- 20.88 million Total Population 1801 1851 Changes in the Cities Bradford 13 104 Glasgow 77 329 Liverpool 82 376 Manchester 70 303 Leeds 53 172 London 957 2362 Figures in Thousands

10. Urbanisation caused poor conditions in towns Towns & cities like Glasgow or Manchester could not cope with the increase in demand for houses which the influx caused. Result: • Housing was not planned well enough. • Overcrowding. • Poor Sanitary Conditions. • Disease. • Houses deliberately built near factories. • Drinking water polluted.

11. Urbanisation: demand for the working class vote • Small rural communities moved from the countryside to the growing industrial towns or cities like Paisley, Glasgow or Manchester. • They moved for jobs and housing yet the new towns were terrible places to live e. g. overcrowded, disease ridden, poor housing and living standards etc. • Analysis – The working class demanded an improvement in their living conditions but were ignored by politicians as they did not have the vote. The working class then sought the vote to try and force government to improve these conditions.

12. Task: Changing Britain TextbookKU Research Exercise – essay facts Give five detailed examples of poor industrial living conditions.(page3) How many men & women worked in textiles? Coalmining? Iron in 1851? Who prospered from the Industrial Revolution? Give as much detail as possible.

13. Urbanisation: Concentrated populationHow did a more concentrated population help ideas of democracy spread? KU – Before the 19th century most people worked on farms, lived in the same small villages for generations and life did not change much. By 1851 they had been forced from their farms, forced to move to the cities and lived a precarious life always on the margins in overcrowded slums. The very fact that they now lived in such conditions in such highly concentrated numbers helped ideas of democracy grow.

14. Urbanisation: Analysis • When people were concentrated in towns and cities it made ideas spread more easily – it was easier to drum up support for change i.e. improvements in housing in cities • Concentration of people meant it was also easier to organise themselves to campaign for change – to hold meetings, speeches etc • Made it far easier to form Trade Unions who pushed for the vote for working class men • Pressure groups formed quickly & easily and campaigned for the right to vote and right to change living conditions in cities

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16. Urbanisation: equal votes • Urbanisation also changed the political map of Britain as the new industrial towns had little or no representatives. MPs still mainly represented rural areas. • The 19th Century saw a great demand for equal votes e.g. The Scottish Highlands had 8 MPs and tens of thousands of inhabitants at this time yet a city like Glasgow had only 3 MPs yet ½ million inhabitants. • This large concentration of people demanded more representation in parliament, more MPs which was a demand for more democracy • Analysis - Fewer people elected more MPs in the Highlands than in cities like Glasgow which was clearly unfair. This led to a demand for the redistribution of MPs to make voting more equal. By having equal sized constituencies (voting areas) all votes should be equal in strength. • The fact that middle & working class people were concentrated in cities made it easier to organise democratic movements.

17. Industrialisation

18. Industrialisation • Besides very poor living conditions, the working class had to endure terrible working conditions too e.g. long hours, low pay, dangerous conditions etc. • This gave the working class an interest in more political power, the vote, in order to improve their conditions. • Analysis– The government had ignored the working class because they did not have the vote. • But as the working class wanted to improve their poor working conditions they formed pressure groups like trade unions who demanded the vote to force governments to make changes.

19. Industrialisation: The Middle Class Middle Class • Britain had changed. Industrialisation had expanded newer classes like the middle class who were wealthy, educated and demanded a greater share in political power. • The middle class saw themselves as the wealth generators in Britain as it was their factories or mines that made Britain rich, now they felt they should have a say in running the country (through voting and/ or becoming MPs) • Analysis – The middle class got the vote in 1832 but increasingly demanded more political power e.g. on town councils or later as MPs. • If they made the country rich, they wanted a chance to control it • Example: the Chamberlains in Birmingham, Joseph Chamberlain was a middle class businessman, then Lord Mayor of Birmingham and later an MP in government, his son was a future Prime Minister.

20. Transport

21. Transport • In the 19th Century trains transported not only goods but also democratic ideas as well. The growing railway system allowed national newspapers to grow and an efficient postal system which aided the growth of national political movements. • Early democratic movements like the Chartists failed as they could not communicate quickly or efficiently with supporters. • Now trains allowed the movement of speakers, letters and national newspapers which spread ideas of democracy. • Democratic pressure groups e.g. Suffragettes (Pankhursts) sent trained speakers all over the country to drum up support for votes for women. • Letters could be sent quickly and cheaply all over Britain uniting different groups e.g. spreading news, organising nationwide protests etc. to spread the ideas of democracy.

22. Transport - Analysis • Transport helped achieve a more democratic Britain because it allowed pressure groups such as the Suffragettes to organise themselves effectively across the country • It meant that methods of spreading ideas (leaflets, posters, letters etc) could quickly move from city to city to organise protests or spread awareness of issues • Speakers and important campaigners for democracy could also move around the country quickly and easily, allowing campaigners for change to make more of an impact across the country

23. Newspapers

24. National Newspapers • The development of the printing press allowed mass produced newspaper to be created and the railways distributed them nationwide • Cheap newspapers called ‘penny dreadfuls’ were sold to working class readers. They focussed on working class concerns e.g. fighting slum landlords etc. • They could not be ignored by the government as they had so many readers. • After the 1850s the growing popular press, spread the idea that many of their skilled working class readers deserved the vote.

25. The Daily Mail was first published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe • The Daily Mail was Britain's first daily newspaper aimed at the newly literate "lower-middle class market resulting from mass education, with a low retail price

26. Analysis • Analysis • Penny Dreadfuls publicised the plight of the working classes who had no political say (i.e. attacked landlords) • Newspapers put pressure on politicians to increase the working class vote and so increased democracy • Those working class reading them became more politically aware and determined to campaign for greater democracy

27. Changing attitudes to the Working class

28. Education • in the 19th Century the working class were viewed as, ignorant, immoral almost semi-criminal unworthy of the vote. • Many better off people who could vote thought the illiterate working class did not deserve the vote e.g. couldn’t read so couldn’t understand important political issues. • Compulsory primary education 5 to 13 was introduced in 1872 in Scotland, and became more popular when made free in 1890. Now the working class could read and write. • American Civil War – working classes supported The Union (North) and were greatly influenced by Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address

29. Education - Analysis • Compulsory education meant that the working classes were no longer illiterate and were now educated – this meant the view that the working class were too stupid to vote was invalid • The interest of the working classes in the American Civil War showed interest and understanding of political matters, rubbishing the idea that they wouldn’t be interested in British politics

30. RELIGION & Morality • Better off believed that poor people deserved to be poor - many examples of self inflicted poverty such as drunkenness and immorality. • For this reason the working class were also denied the vote as they were felt to be immoral almost semi-criminals. • The later 19th Century saw a great religious revival e.g. the growth of working class religion such as Methodism or self-improvement through the Temperance movement made the poor now seem more moral.

31. Religion & Morality - Analysis • Analysis - the growing conviction that some of the more ‘deserving poor’ (those better off working class who were educated, sober and hard working) had a right to vote was becoming more common • The growth of religion and self improvement in the working classes showed they wanted to better themselves – and started to break down government stereotypes of ‘the poor’

32. Analysis – changing attitudes to the poor • Overall Analysis – Many politicians thought the working class were stupid, immoral and not deserving of the right to vote. • But with the growth of education, working class religion, temperance movements, working class interest in the American civil war, self help groups (e.g. co-operatives) – the working class were now viewed in a better light and many politicians conceded that working class men deserved the vote.

33. Political Parties & the growth of democracy

34. British Politics Extreme Left Centre Right Extreme Right Left help the poor poor help themselves tax rich low taxes for rich rehabilitate criminals tough on criminals free education for all fee paying institutions

35. Changing Attitudes of Political Parties • The generally peaceful behaviour of skilled workers, their interest in political matters and their growing education were noted by politicians. • The Liberal leader Gladstone stated that it would be unwise for Parliament to ignore the “increased fitness of the working class for political power”. • The Liberals meant the better paid and educated skilled working class, they did not want to give the vote to the poorer unskilled working class who they viewed as little better than criminals.

36. Political Parties Attitudes • Liberal Party – • Leader William Gladstone saw the better off skilled working class as their natural supporters. • They had middle class values of hard work, education and moral values. • Called them the ‘respectable elite’.

37. Conservatives – • Did not wish to give the vote to the working class yet their government passed the 1867 Reform Act (1868 in Scotland). Why? • Their leader Disraeli persuaded parliament that they could not ignore reform and to allow the Liberals to pass the reform act might alienate potential new voters • Disraeli convinced Conservative MPs that the working class would gratefully vote for the party that gave them the vote and would follow their ‘betters’ advice on what to vote for.

38. Changing attitudes of Political Parties • The Conservatives passed the 1867 Reform Act which gave the vote to 1 in 3 working men. They thought the new voters would gratefully support them. • Not to be outdone, the Liberal’s 1884 Reform Act doubled the amount of men able to vote to 2 in 3. It was an attempt to get support for the Liberal Party from the working class too.

39. Analysis • At first political parties were against widening the franchise. But then both the Liberals and Conservatives saw advantages in doing so: • They believed that the party who did give the working class the vote would be rewarded with their loyalty. For example, the skilled working class following 1867 voted Conservative and the unskilled following 1884 voted Liberal. • It would also stop potential unrest from the working class demanding even greater democracy. • Key point – outbidding each other led to more working class men having the vote and so greater democracy

40. Pressure Groups

41. a group that tries to influence government policy in the interest of a particular cause Pressure Groups

42. Pressure groups relevant to us…19th/20th century • The Chartists • The National Reform Union • The Reform League • Trade Unions (TUs) • The Suffragists (NUWSS) • The Suffragettes (WSPU)

43. Pressure Groups • Chartists • Campaigned for political change in the 1830s and 1840s. • Peoples’ Charter – e.g.. Universal suffrage, equal constituencies etc. • Though they ultimately failed to achieve their goals at the time, they certainly had an influence on the 1867 Reform Act. • They put democratic reform on the agenda and gained publicity

44. Throughout the 1830s and 1840s, the pressure for more political change from reformist movements grew. The most influential of these movements were the Chartists. The Chartists demanded six key reforms: • Manhood suffrage. Every man, regardless of class or property, should have the vote. • Annual elections. • An end to the regional differences in the electoral system. • Secret ballots (no one else would know for whom you voted). • The end to property qualifications for MPs. This would mean that a man wishing to be an MP would no longer have to own property or land worth a set amount of money. • Payment for MPs. This would enable men who were not already wealthy to stand for election to Parliament.

45. Pressure Groups • The National Reform Union (1864) – Mainly Liberal middle class organisation that wanted a limited extension of the vote for skilled male workers only. • The Reform League (1864) – More radical working class organisation that demanded universal male suffrage.

46. Pressure Groups • Trade Unions – • Played an influential role in the growth of democracy. • Trade Union Congress (TUC) formed in 1868 deliberately set out to pressurise governments into further change. • Working with the Liberal Party at the end of the 19th Century to introduce reforms and to campaign for a widening of the franchise to the working class. • Many TUs supported the ‘Votes for Women’ campaign but still mainly represented the interests of their male members • Sponsoring the new Labour Party in Parliament after 1906 certainly helped get the Parliament Act passed in 1911 creating paid working class MPs for the first time ever.

47. Suffragists and Suffragettes – • Two of the biggest & most famous pressure groups. • Began to campaign for the extension of the franchise to women from the late 19th Century onwards. • NUWSS Suffragists (1897)– peaceful campaign methods – petitions, marches, lobbying etc. • WSPU – Suffragettes (1903) more militant – e.g.. Arson, hunger strikes, cat and mouse etc.