Democratic Reform and Activism Quiz

Democratic Reform and Activism

• Urbanization and industrialization spurred demands for reform, leading to calls for improved worker and poor conditions, and greater political voice.
• Different groups (middle class, workers, and women) pushed for voting rights for excluded groups.
• Britain, by the late 1600s, had a constitutional monarchy with Parliament holding real power (House of Lords and Commons).
• Early 1800s British government not a true democracy; only about 5% of the population could vote (landowning men). Women couldn't vote.

British Enacts Reforms

• The Reform Bill of 1832 addressed wealthy middle-class demands for greater political inclusion, expanding suffrage to property-owning middle-class men by easing property requirements and modernizing electoral districts.
• The Reform Bill increased voting numbers (still only a limited percentage of men were eligible) but didn't allow all men to vote.
• The Chartist movement arose as a response to the limited voting rights; advocating for working class demands (secret ballot, end to property requirements for serving in Parliament, pay for members of Parliament.)

Women Get the Vote

• By the 1890s, several industrialized nations had universal male suffrage, but no country allowed women to vote.
• Women organized and protested for voting rights in Britain and the U.S.
• Emmeline Pankhurst formed the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU) in Britain to take more radical action to gain women's rights.

France and Democracy

• The Third Republic, established in France in 1875, finally provided France with a stable government after a series of crises.
• The Dreyfus affair highlighted anti-Semitism and political divisions in France during the late 1800s and 1890s.

Self-Rule for British Colonies

• Canada, Australia, and New Zealand developed demands for greater self-governance.
• Initially, European colonists dominated Native American peoples in these colonies.
• Canada struggled for self-rule due to conflicts between French and English-speaking colonists. Conflicts were resolved by the creation of Upper and Lower Canada.
• The Durham Report (1839) recommended unifying the colonies as a step toward self-governance.
• Australia was established as a penal colony, initially for convicted criminals from Britain.
• Australia's population grew steadily throughout the 1800s.
• Both Australia and New Zealand eventually achieved self-governance and were later granted dominion status.

The Irish Win Home Rule

• Irish people sought home rule (local control over internal matters), particularly after the Great Famine (1845-1848), which saw potato crop failures, starvation, and widespread emigration.
• British opposition arose due to fears of Protestant minority status under potential Catholic majority rule.
• The Home Rule Bill, enacted in 1914, was delayed due to World War I.
• The Irish Republican Army (IRA) rose in opposition of British rule and fought for a period of time.
• Ireland was divided, with Southern Ireland gaining home rule (later, independence) and Northern Ireland remaining part of the United Kingdom.