ECONOMIC
CHANGE
|
In medieval times the vast majority
of society was entirely dependent on agriculture. Until the
nineteenth century over two thirds of the population lived on
the land. Therefore those who controlled the land - male landowners
- had the most power. They ensured that no-one but themselves
could vote.
The British industrial revolution began in the late 18th
century and continued through the 19th century. New sources
of wealth emerged. A sign of industrialisation was that in
1850, for the first time anywhere in the world, as many people
lived in towns as in the countryside in Britain. The old system
of elections based entirely on land ownership was now under
threat.
Economic change also transformed lifestyles and caused great
suffering in the new factories and mines. This was another
reason why more people wanted to have an influence over government
policy.
|
SOCIAL
CHANGE
|
Economic change created new social
groups - the 'middle class' or bourgeoisie, and the 'working
class', or proletariat.
Unlike the old peasantry who were uneducated and dispersed
across the countryside, these new social groups, now concentrated
in towns, demanded their say in how the country was run. They
were able to unite together. The most powerful, the middle
class, won the vote in 1832. After that different sections
of the male working class and then women were able to win
suffrage.
|
CHANGING
IDEAS
|
Two sets of ideas caused the growth of universal suffrage.
The first was liberal economics as developed by Adam
Smith, who wrote the first economics textbook, The Wealth
of Nations in 1776. The traditional policy of governments
was to control trade and commerce, and tax it heavily.
Smith argued for a change of policy to laissez-faire
or government non-intervention in the economy. The middle
class liked this idea, but had little influence over
the state because they lacked the vote. After Smith
they had a motivation to gain it.
The French Revolution of 1789 also brought about a major
change in ideas. In France, the overthrow of the monarchy
gave the middle class new influence. In Britain, however,
many in the now wealthy middle class feared the French
slogan of 'Liberty, Equality, Fraternity'. It was the
working class who were most excited about the Revolution
and it led to the first campaigns for the vote.
|
POLITICAL CAMPAIGNING
|
Economic, social and ideological changes do not do anything themselves.
People make history and only when they acted did universal
suffrage develop.
Mass campaigning for the vote developed in the years after
the French Revolution. In 1819 the Peterloo Massacre
ended the agitation, but it returned in 1832. At that
time there were huge campaigns up and down the country.
Although both middle class and working class men and
women were involved, the government chose only to give
the vote to the urban middle class in the Great Reform
Act.
The working class was badly disappointed and a movement
called Chartism developed between 1839 and 1848. This
was a time of great economic difficulty. During the
Chartist campaign there was an armed uprising at Newport,
the first ever general strike, and huge petitions. One
of these gathered 3.2 million signatures, at a time
when only 800,000 people had the vote. Governments,
now representing both upper classes and the middle classes
were very afraid of Chartism. They refused to make any
concessions, arrested the Chartist leaders and broke
the movement.
In 1867 the economic situation had improved and the working
class was less militant. The better off sections, organised
in skilled trade unions were able to mount a new campaign
for the vote. The government was now more willing to
listen, but it took a riot in the centre of London,
to convince the government that major electoral reform
should occur. The brought about the Second Reform Act.
The Third Act in 1884 was a logical extension to this
process.
Women gained the vote in 1918 during the First World War.
There were several reasons for this, but an important
factor was the Suffragette movement. Just before the
war some women had mounted a very energetic campaign,
chaining themselves to railings, setting fire to letter
boxes, going on hunger strike when jailed, and so on.
This forced the government to pay attention to their
demands.
Eventually, all women and men gained the vote, but it took over
a century of energetic campaigning.
|
Printable
version 
