Growth of Western Democracies

World History Chapter 8

Democratic Reform in Britain• Reforming Parliament

• In 1815, Britain was a constitutional monarchy, with a Parliament that included a House of Lords and a House of Commons, yet only 5% of the population could vote.

• Only the wealthy could vote, and the House of Lords, which was hereditary, could veto any bill from the Commons.

– Reformers press for change• Religious restrictions• Shifts in population

– Reform Act of 1832• Gave the vote to landowners• Redistributed seats to acknowledge changes in population

– The Chartist Movement• Workers demanded universal male suffrage• Secret ballots• Annual elections• Pay for members of parliament

The Victorian Age– 1837 to 1901, longest British reign– Symbols of a Nation’s Values

• Duty, thrift, honesty, hard work, respectability

– A Confident Age• Huge Empire, largest fleet in the world

• A New Era in British Politics– Expanding Suffrage

• Rival political parties extended voting rights to those it wanted to align itself with, and by the end of the century, Britain had almost universal male suffrage, secret ballots.

– Limiting the Lords• The House of Commons restricted the House of Lords by threatening

to create enough Lords to pass the measure anyway.

Social and Economic Reform in Britain

• A Series of Reforms• Widespread discontent faced Britain, from Women’s Suffrage to Ireland

– Free trade and the Corn Laws• Liberals (Whigs, middle class and business interests) wanted Laissez

Faire trade policies to bring down the price of Corn (wheat, oats, barley), while Conservatives (Tories, Lords and farmers) wanted to keep prices high and protect local farmers.

– Campaign against slavery• 1807 – Banned slave trading (1st European country to do so)• 1833 – Banned slavery

– Crime and Punishment• In the early 1800s, more than 200 laws with the death penalty, many

juries refused to convict• By 1850, death penalty reserved for murder, piracy, treason, arson.

Many criminals sent to penal colonies instead (Australia)• 1868, ended public hangings, and other reforms, outlawed

imprisonment for debt

Victories for the Working Class• Improving working conditions

– 1842, women and children under 10 could not be employed in the mines– 1847, limit women and children to a 10 hour workday– Later, safety regulations were included, and mines inspected

• The growth of labor unions– 1825, unions legal, strikes illegal– 1890-1914, union membership soars, win more rights for workers

• Later Reforms– Free elementary education– Public health and housing– Government jobs by merit– New Labor party grows to become one of the two political parties in Britain– Social welfare laws; protect the well being of the poor and disadvantaged,

protected workers from accident, health and unemployment, old age pensions.

– These reforms prevented Marxism from growing

The Struggle to Win Votes for Women

• Suffragists Revolt– Under the leadership of Emmeline Parkhurst,

suffragists employed more violent strategies, such as the destruction of property to challenge privilege.

– A member of Parkhurst’s political group was Lady Constance Lytton (who’s brother was a member of Parliament). Lady Lytton was arrested four times, and posed as a lowly seamstress to avoid privilege. She even went on a hunger strike in prison for women’s suffrage.

• Victory at last– 1918, women over 30 gained the right to vote,

younger women not for another decade.

Instability in Ireland– Since the 1600’s, Ireland was colonized by England and Scotland,

who took the best lands for themselves, and made the Irish pay high rents to vacant landlords.

• Potato famine– Most of the grains grown in Ireland were for British export, so the

usual food for Irish peasants was the potato. In 1845, a blight or disease struck the potato crops, making them inedible, causing mass starvation and disease. More than 1 million Irish died, and many more fled to other countries, the United States in particular.

• Irish Nationalism– Irish nationalists called for and end to English abuses and home

rule, but the English addressed few of their concerns. As one example, speaking Irish was forbidden.

• Struggle for home rule– Irish militants rose up and renewed conflict with British forces to

bring about home rule, and in 1914, a home rule bill was passed in Parliament, but was delayed until after the end of WWI. The Southern counties of Ireland finally became independent in 1921.

Division and Democracy in France• France under Napoleon III

– Limits on liberty• Napoleon III was not much like his uncle, and though he appealed to many for various reasons, his rule brought France

neither empire nor glory.• Though the French government had the appearance of a constitutional monarchy, the legislature had little real power,

and Napoleon III ruled like a dictator.• While France enjoyed universal male suffrage, elections were “managed”, debate was limited and newspapers were

heavily censored.• In the 1860’s, Napoleon III did ease much of the controls and censorship, even to the point of giving the legislature

more power, and enacting a new constitution that granted greater liberties.

– Promoting economic growth• Napoleon III promoted investment in industry, railroads, and urban renewal• Labor unions legalized• Extended public education to girls• Public health programs

– Foreign adventures• Maximilian in Mexico (Mexicans revolted)• Helped Italian nationalists defeat Austria (Which created a strong Italian neighbor)• Won the Crimean war with Britain (little to show for large loses)

– A disastrous war with Prussia 1870• After three weeks, Paris besieged, Napoleon III captured• Germans demanded harsh conditions for surrender (Alsace, Lorraine)

Challenges of the Third Republic – Napoleon’s capture by the Prussians brought about a

change in government, republicans declared an end to the Second Empire, and the birth of the Third Republic.

• The Paris Commune– Many within Paris did not trust the new government, and

decided to revolt. The Communards set up the Paris Commune, and refused to disband when ordered by the National Assembly. Weeks of fighting in Paris streets ended with the destruction of the Commune and the slaughter of some 20,000 Communards.

• Government Structure– The French Third Republic was structured in a similar way

to the British Government• Two chamber legislature• President (figurehead)• Prime minister (executive power)• Many parties, needed coalitions to form a government

Anti-Semitism and the Dreyfus Affair

– 1894. Although the French Republic saw many scandals, the most famous was the Dreyfus Affair. Dreyfus was the first high ranking Jewish army officer in the French Army, and many resented him.

– Accused of spying for Germany– Did not get to see evidence against him– Sentenced to life imprisonment on Devil’s Island– Later evidence showed that a different officer was guilty, but Dreyfus never

received a second trial.• Deep Divisions

– The Dreyfus affair scarred French politics and social society for years, with supporters and opponents both claiming to be correct.

– Finally, in 1906, it was uncovered that the documents that convicted Dreyfus were forged.

• Calls for a Jewish State– As in France, Jews faced discrimination across Europe, and had for many

centuries. Much of this was due to religious intolerance which forbid Jews to work in many professions. As a result, many Jews were very poor.

– Because of the Pogroms in Russia, and the Dreyfus affair, along with other discrimination, a Hungarian Jewish journalist living in France named Herzl called for the establishment of a Jewish State, and launched the Zionist movement.

Reforms in France– In the early 1900’s France achieved far reaching reforms, regulating

wages, hours worked, worker safety, and free elementary public education.

• Separating Church and State– Like Germany, France wanted to reduce the power of church

involvement the government. Separating church and state meant closing church schools, and ending the practice of paying the clergy though the government. The government also moved to allow freedom of worship.

• Women’s Rights– Though women had some rights, they did not enjoy the right to vote

until after WWII (1945)• Looking Ahead

– France had become the largest democratic country in Europe, with an empire second only to Britain, and a prosperous economy. Still, the coalition governments would change quickly, and many Frenchmen wanted revenge against the Prussians.

Expansion of the United States• Territorial Expansion

– Manifest Destiny– Louisiana Purchase 1803– Mexican American War 1846-1848– Alaska 1867– Hawaii 1898

• Expanding Democracy– While many movements existed in the U.S. extending suffrage, among other causes, abolition

and women’s suffrage were limits on democracy.– Calls for abolition

• William Lloyd Garrison (newspaper the Liberator)• Fredrick Douglas• Beecher Stowe (Uncle Tom’s Cabin)• Free vs Slave states

– Women’s rights movement• Worked closely with the abolition movement• Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton• Vote gained in 1920

The Civil War and it’s Aftermath

– Lincoln’s election terrified the South, as they believed Lincoln would try to end slavery.

• North versus South– Led by South Carolina, several southern states declared secession from the

Union, and formed the Confederate States of America.– The South was outnumbered, and had almost no industry. The North had

superior railroads, population, money, industry, and most of the navy.– More than 600,000 Americans died in the Civil War, more than any other

conflict.• Challenges for African-Americans

– Emancipation Proclamation– Civil War Amendments (13th, 14th, 15th)– Segregation– Poll taxes and literacy tests

Economic Growth and Social Reform

– After the Civil War, the U.S. grew to be the world’s foremost industrial power (free enterprise, private property rights, inexpensive land and labor, political stability)(?).

• Business and Labor– Monopolies (Standard Oil, Carnegie Steel)– Unions (huge strikes, whole cities affected,

often violent)• Populists and Progressives

– In the late 1890, farmers and workers formed a Populist party to fight railroads and corrupt government. Party did not last long but made the larger parties adopt some of their platforms.

– By the 1900’s, Progressives (different from Populists) sought liberal reforms, including a ban on child labor, women’s rights, regulate corporations, giving voters more power (referendum, recall, direct democracy)