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Full-Text Articles in Arts and Humanities
Disraeli, Gladstone, And The Reform Act Of 1867, Justin Vossen
Disraeli, Gladstone, And The Reform Act Of 1867, Justin Vossen
Journal of Undergraduate Research at Minnesota State University, Mankato
This research project investigated the rivalry between William Gladstone and Benjamin Disraeli, and how that rivalry resulted in the Reform Act of 1867. The competition between these two over expansion of the franchise led to a more radical reform than expected. Gladstone, a converted Liberal, encouraged moderate changes like a reduction in the householder qualification from ₤ten to ₤seven. Disraeli, a moderate Conservative, embraced more expansive reform for political advancement rather than as an extension of the suffrage. It was Disraeli’s hope that an enlarged electorate would vote Conservative as a reward for their new privilege. Although many historians give …
Popular Agitation And British Parliamentary Reform, 1866-1867, Michael D. Snell-Feikema
Popular Agitation And British Parliamentary Reform, 1866-1867, Michael D. Snell-Feikema
Journal of Undergraduate Research at Minnesota State University, Mankato
This paper demonstrated that the force of public opinion as expressed by pro-reform agitations played a critical role in the attainment of working-class voting rights with the Reform Act of 1867. This Reform Act, which passed after more than a year of political disputes and public demands, gave most of the urban English working class the right to vote. In 1866 a modest reform bill sponsored by William Gladstone’s Liberal government had been defeated by a combination of Conservative and conservative Liberal opposition. After months of popular demonstrations, Benjamin Disraeli’s new Conservative government introduced another reform bill that initially was …