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Britain aimed to become a democratic country throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. By 1928, a democracy was very close to being achieved. For a democracy in Britain, there had to be universal suffrage, where every man and women have the right to vote regardless of class. Also a secret ballot must be in place to prevent corruption. Equal sizes of constitutions need to be enforced, with regular elections and elected members of government.
In a democracy, the voters must have civil rights, such as freedom of speech and the right to stand in elections. There were a number of reforms that preceded the 1928, some more progressive than others. In the early nineteenth century, Britain was very undemocratic. It was only the very rich and upper class men who were eligible to vote. Middle and lower classes had no representation and consequently no say in how the country was run. This was partly due to the fact that the members of Parliament were not paid, again in only the very rich being able to stand for elections.
The House of Lords was the same, the only way of becoming a Lord was to inherit the title and position, making the House of Lords a very exclusive and conservative House. At this time, a severely small percentage of the population controlled British politics. Other problems in the early nineteenth century included the open voting. The fact that there was no secret ballot made it possible for candidates to bribe the voters.
It was thought to be honourable to vote in the open. Pocket and Rotten boroughs were very common. Pocket boroughs were situations in which the MP standing was also the landlord. In this way, the MP could threaten his tenant voters with eviction if they were not to vote for him. Rotten boroughs were situations where the MP represented no one, as the boroughs were completely uninhabited. There were no voters to oppose the MP, therefore the success was inevitable.
Some Rotten boroughs were even partly covered by the ocean. There were no regular elections, no limits on how much an MP could spend on his campaign, and little or no representation for the ever-growing industrial towns. Britain was far from democracy in the early nineteenth century. This began to change by means of reform under the Liberal government. The first of these was the 1832 great reform act.
Its main progression was the passing of suffrage to some of the middle class. It abolished rotten and pocket boroughs through the process of redistributing constituencies and allowing more representation for the bigger cities. Eight extra MPs were given to Scotland to represent the cities. The number of voters in Britain had increased slightly to 653, 000, leaving twenty million people without the vote.
British politics had made a move in the right direction, although the act had failed to change much, the very wealthy still dominated politics. The 1867 reform act gave the vote to the cities working class. All men who lived in or rented a house worth more than 10 were given the vote. In rural areas, men paying more than 12 a year in rent were given the right to vote. In addition, seven more MPs were assigned to Scotland. While the working class now had suffrage, the very poor and the urban working class still had no representation.
No women were eligible to vote. While the 1867 Reform Act gradually moved the nation towards a democracy, the Secret Ballot Act of 1872 was essential in that it was needed to rid the voting system of bribery and corruption. Once voting was done in private, intimidation decreased dramatically. However, the act did not wipe out corruption completely, between 1867 and 1885, four towns were disenfranchised owing to corruption. It took the Corrupt and Illegal Practices Act of 1883 to stop corruption altogether. Candidates were restricted in how much they could spend campaigning and what they could spend it on.
The modern historian David Thomson said of Secret Ballot Acts the workers of both town and country were able to use their vote freely without fear of reprisals from employer or landlord However much remained to be done still. The acts of 1884 and 1885 were very progressive in moving towards democracy in Britain. The Representation of The Peoples Act, passed in 1884, dealt with extending the vote. The electorate was increased to five million.
Voting qualifications in the towns and in the countryside were now identical males renting or owning property worth 10 or more in rent per annum were granted suffrage. This act was closely followed by the Redistribution of the Seats Act in 1885, which was aimed to construct constituencies roughly of equal size. This meant a lot of smaller places lost seats, whilst the larger old constituencies gained by the change. The total number of MPs increased from 652 to 670. Otherwise known as the Third Reform Act, this has had mixed interpretations from modern historians. GDH Cole wrote, the franchise had ceased, at last, in the countries as in the boroughs, to be a class privilege Conversely, TC South wrote, Unfortunately, due to the continued existence of groups who were not enfranchised, the act left some 40 % of the adult males in the United Kingdom still un enfranchised in 1911, clearly concentrated in the poor and younger working class The acts of 1884 and 1885 had brought Britain closer again to democracy, but still no women had the vote, and this hindered democracy.
Although the Third Reform Act had brought democracy for men a lot closer than eighty years before, women had no vote still. In 1867, John Stuart Mill suggested to Parliament that women should be considered for the vote. He drew little support, but in 1869 the Municipal Franchise Act was introduced which allowed single female ratepayers to vote in local elections. Married women were given this vote later in 1894, in this same year, women were allowed to stand for elections in organisations such as school boards. With no further progress for women suffrage apparently near, the National Union of Womens Suffrage (NUWSS) was set up in 1897 by Mrs Millicent Fawcett.
It aimed for universal adult suffrage, making the point that a man could be a lunatic or a drunk and have the vote, while a women could be a doctor, teacher or lawyer and not have any say in how the country was run. Their methods were lawful and peaceful, they would organise protest marches, send petitions of to the government and hold fetes. These methods did gain support with 55, 000 paid members by 1914, however, they did not put pressure on the government to change. Some grew impatient, and, in 1903, the NUWSS split in two. Ms Emmeline Pankhurst founded the Womens Social and Political Union (WSPU).
They were nicknamed the Suffragettes as opposed to the Suffragists (NUWSS). The Suffragettes thought that change would only happen through action, therefore, a militant campaign was started. Methods such as heckling the Prime Minister wherever he went, the burning of buildings, acid attacks on golf course greens and blowing up post boxes were common. These actions did gain huge publicity, however they put a lot of men in doubt to whether they deserve the vote.
The campaign lasted until the outbreak of WWI, when it was immediately called off. Women then helped a huge war effort, doing many jobs never done by women before as men were sent abroad. Many historians say this is what forced the government to change. The Representation of the Peoples Act in 1918 gave the vote to some women.
Women had to be over 30, married and educated. These women had, in general, not made many contributions to the war effort and would generally follow their husbands vote. This act also gave the right to vote to all men over 21 and the introduction of general elections being held on one day to stop multiple voting. The 1918 Representation of the People Act had given some women the right to vote and granted all adult men suffrage. In 1928, the second Representation of the Peoples Act was passed by Stanley Baldwins government. This gave all men and women over 21 the right to vote, making universal suffrage complete.
In conclusion, it is clear that, through time and large reform, Britain became a democracy, meeting all the requirements. 1832 had started reform off, giving some of the middle class the vote. 1867 saw the skilled working class enfranchised, and more MPs to represent Scotland. The Secret Ballot Act in 1872 was essential towards democracy, as were 1884 and 1885 acts that redistributed the constituencies. The two Representation of the Peoples Acts in 1918 and 1928 were the final steps in making Britain truly democratic.
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Research essay sample on Early Nineteenth Century Eligible To Vote
