19th Century Suffrage Movement in Britain

Enquiry: How did people fight to get the vote in the 19th century? 1. What the historical process looks History is an enquiry like There are two types of sources: primary and secondary Historians reach inter...

Enquiry: How did people fight to get the vote in the 19th century? 1. What the historical process looks History is an enquiry like There are two types of sources: primary and secondary Historians reach interpretations after completing their research which they then choose to represent 2. Why were people in Britain unhappy The political system in Britain had not changed much since the end of the 17th century, which meant that the vast majority of people by 1816? had very little say in how the country was run The end of the Napoleonic Wars in 1815 led to a number of problems for Britain, including a recession and a rise in unemployment 3. How were people showing their Reform societies wanted men to be given the vote unhappiness in 1816 and 1817? People in England were unhappy because they felt England was corrupt 4. What were the causes of the That many working people wanted the right to vote by 1819 Peterloo massacre? That as many as 80,000 people gathered to hear Orator Hunt speak at St Peter’s Field That the magistrates panicked and sent in the yeomanry, leading to 18 deaths and 700 injuries 5. How and why was the film ‘Peterloo’ People producing interpretations sometimes want to: made? Entertain Inform Educate Thrill Therefore they make decisions about what to include and what to leave out 6. What impact did the Great Reform The middle classes were given the vote by the 1832 Reform Act because Parliament was scared Act of 1832 have on Britain? The Great Reform Act ended rotten boroughs and showed Parliament was willing to change in the right circumstances 7. What did the Chartists achieve? Working class people were still not happy with the Great Reform Act as they could not vote The Chartists campaigned for people to be able to vote in free and fair elections (the People’s Charter) There were two types of Chartist – moral force, who advocated peaceful methods, and physical force, who advocated violence Chartism had been abandoned by 1848 having achieved none of its aims Five of the six aims of the Chartists were eventually adopted Parliament ignored all of the Chartists’ petitions as they did not have to listen to them 8. Who could vote as 1899 became That around 60% of men could vote by 1900 1900? That women were still unable to vote by 1900 That women had limited, but increasing, working opportunities by 1900 Representation How a historian chooses to show their research when they have completed their interpretation Interpretation What a historian reaches when they have finished their research – how they make sense of the past Industrialisation The process whereby production starts to take place in factories rather than people’s homes Constituency An area which selects an MP, usually by allowing people to vote Rotten boroughs An area which selected an MP which was corrupt – usually the landowner could choose whoever they wanted Recession When an economy performs badly so there is high unemployment Radical People who want large change to the political system reformers Petition A document people sign to try to get the government to change something Working class The largest class of people who have to work for other people to survive Middle class The class of people who have other people to work for them Upper class The aristocracy – people who have had money in their family for many generations Franchise The right to vote Disenfranchise To not allow someone to vote