Why Disraeli Passed the 1867 Second Reform Act
The 1867 Second Reform Act was an extremely intelligent piece of
politics and demonstrated how clever Disraeli was as a politician, the
act itself would enable Disraeli to the gain power amongst the
Commons. With the death of Palmerston in 1865 the question of Reform
was immediately back on agenda. Palmerston had been such a major
political figure that while he was present, reform would never be an
issue in the Houses of Parliament.
Within a couple of months of the Derby administration coming into
power there were two days of riots in Hyde Park over the reform of
Parliament, involving clashes with police and the destruction of some
of the park railings. If the Conservatives wished to remain in power
something needed to be done, or so Disraeli said when he made a speech
to the Commons in 186 7 saying that reform needed to be passed in
order to "destroy the present agitation". However, we know that this
is not really the case as these riots were nothing in comparison to
the riots in 1932 over the first Reform Act when the entire city of
Birmingham was seized by protestors and rioters, this was merely given
as a reason to help gain support of the MP's in Parliament in passing
the Act.
A similar reason that Disraeli presented to the Conservative Party for
the need to Reform was a phrase that he coined Tory democracy, this he
explained was the theory that the Conservatives should not resist
social Reform but should in fact use it to gain the support of the
newly enfranchised voters i.e. the working class. This meant that if
the Tory's passed an act of social Reform the working class ma...
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...passing the Second Reform Act was
his intense dislike of Ewart Gladstone, the rivalry between Disraeli
and Gladstone had been present since the repeal of the Corn Laws in
1845, and during the 1866 Russel administration Disraeli had cleverly
demolished an attempt by Gladstone to push through a Second Reform
Bill. If therefore, Gladstone was able to push through a Reform Bill
of his own only a year later he would be humiliating the Liberals and
in particular Gladstone himself, this is a concept he called, "to dish
the Whigs".
Principally the reasons for Disraeli passing the 1867 Second Reform
Act was to gain power for himself among the government, potentially
succeeding Derby as the Prime minister. However, his stated political
reasons of the time might simply have been said to justify reform
amongst his own party.
term effects of the act were not as helpful as many had planned it to
However, New Labour had substance in regards to their stance on constitutional reform. As Mark Garnett and Philip Lynch point out in Exploring British Politics, the New Labour ideals covered four main areas of constitutional reform; rights, modernsation, democratization, and decentralization. Labour never regarded constitutional reform as important, but it became important after Thatcher and her policies. New Labour wanted to promote the importance of the institutions and
...er party being formed, the populist party. This party had the belief that cities depended on farms, yet farms did not depend on cities. William Jennings Brian supported this idea in his speech, quoted on document J. In which elaborates on the opposition on gold standards and support the silver standards that would better benefit farmers.
In response to intervention, thousands of groups of people became defiant. Laborers living off the bare minimum often assembled into organized groups to enforce their demands upon the government, making a notable push for reform (D) while educated men such as Henry Demarest Lloyd promoted virtue, not land, as the ideal focus of government (B). Dissatisfaction continued within the middle class. As new industrial machines emerged, designed for mass product...
...s. Although all of these reforms sought to expand democratic ideals, some had unforeseen and unintended effects. Morse wanted to protect democracy and the US from infiltrators but his paranoia influenced his one-sided view of halting immigration which is against democratic ideals of promoting a safe haven for those seeking liberty from an aggressor. Then there were the transcendentalist’s whose aim it was to create a perfect society. Although well-meaning, fundamentally goes against democratic ideals. The validity that reform movements sought to expand democratic ideals is proven by the domino effect of several movements such as equality brought on by women’s suffrage, temperance, and the abolition of slavery which accomplished similar goals and combined efforts to change society to better our needs and requirement for life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
Various reform movements and revolutions occurred in the time period between the years 1825 through 1850. Justice, freedom, liberty, equality, and the purist of happiness are all democratic values considered to enforce the reform movements of this time period. The democratic ideals tried to cut the social separation and discordance present in America mainly between the south and north sections. Originating from the Second Great Awaking with vast religious reinforcement democratic ideals spread through the new reform movements. Main movements that supported the democratic views included the Second Great Awaking revival, antislavery reform and more equal rights movements for women and men.
... points in social reform from Jacksonian Democracy was abolition. The logic was that social reform also applied to slavery and almost more than any other institution. The reasoning behind this was that slaves resisted their own enslavement. Slavery was opposed in the 18th century by Quakers and few other whites, even though the American Revolution with its rhetoric about equal and universal rights called slavery into serious question. The Northern States abolished it and the Southern slave owners (upper south mind you) thought about liberating slaves. However it wasn’t until the 1830s that a number of middle class Norteños (northerners) began to demand immediate emancipation of slaves for their incorporation as equals in the Republic. Just as other social reforms had taken root with mostly radical Norteño Whigs, abolitionism soon found its way to them. This was a basis for the middle class revivals of the 1820s and 1830s.
It is a basic rule of human nature that Homo Sapien needs permanency. In times of great social upheaval, people will often turn to the familiar arms of religion in search of that permanency. The 1830s through 1850s were no exception to the rule. The nation was hit by wave after wave of moral reform movements as the people turned to organized religion for stability in the midst of the Industrial Revolution. But why did these moral reform movements happen, why were they so concentrated in that era, and what gave them force? The Industrial Revolution caused a massive social upheaval as business markets expanded and interpersonal relationships became more numerous. In the midst of all this change, people sought stability in religion and moral reform movements grew directly out of those religious convictions.
To summarize, for the most part, the reformists of the early 1800’s sought to make America an idealistic democratic nation. Some fought for their rights, some fought for reform of society, and some battled for the sake of the future through education; but all reformists had one idea in mind, and that was to make the United States a more fair and democratic nation for everyone to appreciate.
In short, reformers were fed up with inept government, and believed that through economic and social reforms, they can influence the government to enact the changes they desire.
The progressive reform movement was a large movement that started in the nineteenth century. According to Knott and Miller, the progressive reform movement was a “finely honed machine for meeting the needs of a variety of constituencies: corporations seeking franchises, tariffs, or other favors; immigrants seeking housing, information, or a sense of ethnic identity in a new world; local newspapers seeking support through public advertisements; the municipal work force seeking jobs through political patronage (pg. 33).” All of these made it the large progressive reform movement, which allowed for a connection between the party and organizations.
Believe it or not, major events occurred in the 1870s. They did not go wild in their cowboy boots and hats riding along on their horses. The American people were expanding west and man was the controversy endless. Come on now, it’s drama, it can be dated back to the B.C. years. Of course the drama was all tied into politics. Politics in the 1870s consisted of changes, first time events, and two elections.
The citizens and leaders of the reform movements realized that without action, these movements would be nothing (DOC G). So many of them decided to step out and stand up for their cause. Without these important American leaders, our nation would not have grown into the nation it is today. Through their determination and sacrifice, they made a huge difference in expanding America’s democratic ideals by laying the foundation for religion and education, movements through abolition and temperance acts, expanding beliefs by caring for the insane, and taking a stand for personal rights.
Their push for equality at the ballots is seen as the Populists wanted to direct election of United States Senators. They felt that the senators were being chosen by the elites and weren’t representing the common man in that aspect. As a result, the 17th Amendment was eventually passed. Another reform they wanted was that Americans should have a graduated income tax meaning that income tax should be proportional to the amount of wealth and individual has. As part as the fairness they sought in government, they believed that the rich should be taxed more in order to pay for programs that would give the weak and poor opportunities that they otherwise would not have. With Amer...
The Irish Home Rule Bill is actually four different home rule bills proposed at different times to the British Parliament between 1886 and 1920. The First Home Rule Bill is the common name of The Government of Ireland Bill 1886. The Prime Minister of England, William Gladstone, offered the bill to the British Parliament on April 8, 1886. The bill had three key points to change the government in Ireland. The first was in legislative and called for a group of Irish representatives to propose and make laws. The second was in executive power. It plan...