Reasons for democracy

LEARNING INTENTIONSLEARNING INTENTIONS
• Explain the reasons that Britain became a democracy
• These reasons included:
• Industrial Revolution
• Other countries’ influence
• Pressure groups
• Education and newspapers
• World War One
• Party advantage

British EstablishmentBritish Establishment
Britain has historically been a
very class-based and
hierarchical society.
In the early nineteenth century
the main planks of the
establishment – the Monarchy,
the Aristocracy and the
Churches – ruled the country
in their own interests.
George IV
1820-1830

British EstablishmentBritish Establishment
They did not favour the idea of
sharing power with ordinary
people.
It was felt that a man had to be
wealthy and own property to
have a proper stake in country.
The idea that someone who
was not a property owner
could vote was not accepted.
The House of
Commons in the
eighteenth century.

The start of changeThe start of change
From the 1830s onwards this
type of society began to
decline – although it would
take 100 years to make real
change.
There were numerous factors
which lay behind these
changes. Each of them played
their own role.

Industrial RevolutionIndustrial Revolution
Between the 1750s and the
1840s, Britain went
underwent huge changes.
These changes were linked
to the new technology of
the day, including new
factory methods and
transport reforms too.

This transformed the
country from one where
most people lived and
worked in the countryside.
After this, most people
lived in towns and cities
and worked in large
workplaces e.g. factories,
mines, shipyards, etc.

Created a middle class who
wanted the vote. As middle
class were given the vote
(1832), this increased
demands for all men to vote
and eventually women too.
Living and working so closely
together inspired people to
campaign for change in all
their lives.

Another key part of the
Industrial Revolution is the
rise of Britain’s rail
network.
Not only did this allow
more people the chance to
travel, it only gave this
opportunity to political
campaigners, and
newspapers too.

Many of the other factors
which are said to have
influenced democracy – World
War One, pressure groups, etc
– can be traced back to the
Industrial Revolution.
e.g. World War One partly
about an arms race and
empire building which can be
traced back to the I.R.

Industrial revolution said
to begin in the 1750s and
finish by the 1850s –
almost 100 years before
equal voting in Britain.
It may have helped create
conditions for democracy
– but other factors must
be important too.

Other countries’ influenceOther countries’ influence
Political revolutions took place
around the world.
These included Italian
Revolutions (1848), the Russian
Revolution (1917) and the
American Civil War (1865). The
American and French
Revolutions of the 1700s had
an influence too.

Other countries’Other countries’
influenceinfluence
Revolution in other countries
lead to fears it might happen in
Britain too. Many Britons were
inspired by those overseas.
Ruling class believed it was
better to give up some control
rather than lose it all. This led
to slow political change.

Women and the voteWomen and the vote
Countries which were
members of the British Empire
gave the vote to women,
increasing pressure in Britain.
•New Zealand, 1893
•Australia, 1902
•Canada (some areas), 1916

Other countries’ influenceOther countries’ influence
No evidence of any real demand
for revolution amongst the
general population.
Many other countries did not give
women the vote until after Britain
e.g. France, USA
WW1 helped cause Russian
Revolution, suggesting WW1 is a
bigger influence.

Pressure Groups - MenPressure Groups - Men
Various groups campaigned to
make Britain more democratic.
Groups such as the Chartists,
Reform League and National
Reform Union were active in
the 1800s.
They used peaceful protests to
get changes such as giving
men the vote and paying MPs.

Campaign groups helped bring
democratic issues to public
attention.
Pressure groups brought
public and politicians together
on certain issues.
Pressure groups gave those
that could not vote a chance to
have political influence.

These groups (especially the
Chartists) sometimes took part
in riots, meaning the
government could ignore them.
Also these groups had no
interest in helping women gain
the vote, so had only a limited
influence on a truly democratic
Britain.

Pressure Groups - WomenPressure Groups - Women
Groups such as the
Suffragettes and Suffragists
campaigned for women’s right
to vote.
The Suffragists (NUWSS) used
peaceful methods such as
petitions and campaigns.
The Suffragettes (WSPU) were
more extreme, using violence.

Pressure Groups - WomenPressure Groups - Women
At a time when women had a
very limited political role, these
pressure groups were an
opportunity for them to
participate.
They also allowed women to
build relations with male
campaigners and politicians
who supported them.

Pressure Groups -Pressure Groups -
WomenWomen
The violent actions of the
Suffragettes may have stopped
the government giving women
the vote as they did not want to
be seen to give in to terrorism.
The Suffragettes were also
focused on all middle/upper
class women voting, rather
than everyone.

Education andEducation and
newspapersnewspapers
1855, Stamp Duty removed
from newspapers, making them
cheaper to buy. In 1856 there
were 795 newspapers in Britain;
by 1886 there were 2093.
1872, primary education
becomes compulsory in
Scotland (age up to 12).
The Scotsman newspaper
was founded in Edinburgh
in 1817

More education enabled
people to read about politics
in newspapers and
pamphlets.
This helped start working
class political campaigns,
which played a role in
bringing about political
change.

Newspapers did not focus
entirely on political or social
issues – included gossip too.
Many of the first pupils after
1872 were in their 50s (men)
or 70s (women) before they
could vote. This is clearly not
the only influence.

World War OneWorld War One
During World War One, men
were conscripted to fight
abroad (from 1916) and
women did many of the jobs
the men left behind e.g.
munitions factories.
In February 1918 (near the end
of World War One) all men
over 21 gained the vote and
some women over 30.

Strong argument that men
and women were given
the vote as a ‘thank you’
for their war efforts.
Impossible to force men to
fight then deny them the
vote on their return.

After this it was difficult to
argue that rich, educated
women could not vote whilst
even poor men had the right.
Women’s work during the war
supported giving them this
right, as did the suffrage
campaigns suspending their
demands for female suffrage.

Men had previously fought in
wars e.g. the Boer War and
not been given the vote
afterwards.
Many of the women who did
the most important war work
were single and under-30 –
the very women who did not
get the vote in 1918.

Political advantagePolitical advantage
Political parties supported
change so that they would gain
the votes of new voters.
In 1867 the Conservatives by
proposing giving more men the
vote (‘dishing the Whigs’).
In 1918 the Liberal-led
government gave all men and
some women the vote.

The Conservatives usually
opposed extending the right to
vote. However – led by Benjamin
Disraeli - they proposed changes
in 1867 so that working class
men might vote for them.
This forced the Liberals to back
the changes too. This famously
known as ‘dishing the Whigs’.

Changes in 1867 only gave the
vote to a small number of other
men, so this is only a small
reason for more democracy.
Also in 1867 there were only
really two political parties to
vote for, so any voting rights
would have minimal change in
the country.
Giving the vote to working class
men was described as a ‘leap in
the dark’ because no-one knew
what the outcome would be

In 1918, the Liberals were
worried about growing
influence of Labour.
All men over 21 and some
women over 30 gained the
vote. The Liberals did this in
the hope it would attract
working class men and
women’s votes.

Political advantage may have
had some influence on the
Liberals’ actions, but it was not
the only factor.
The ‘New Liberals’, including
David Lloyd George, had
taken power and they
genuinely supported a fairer
voting system.

Reasons for democracy

Empfohlen

Empfohlen

Weitere ähnliche Inhalte

Was ist angesagt?

Was ist angesagt? (20)

Ähnlich wie Reasons for democracy

Ähnlich wie Reasons for democracy (12)

Mehr von mrmarr

Mehr von mrmarr (20)

Kürzlich hochgeladen

Kürzlich hochgeladen (20)

Reasons for democracy