Victorian England and the Age of Mass Politics

Queen Victoria

Ruled England from 1837-1901

Exemplifies Victorian qualities: earnestness, moral responsibility, domestic propriety

The Victorian Period was an age of transition

An age characterized by energy and high moral purpose

Change in Victorian England

London becomes most important city in Europe

Population from two million to six million Shift from ownership of land to modern urban

economy Impact of industrialism

Increase in wealth World’s foremost imperial power

Victorian people suffered from anxiety, a sense of being displaced persons in an age of technological advances.

“Victorian” social conduct is governed by: Strict rules Formal manners Rigidly defined gender roles Relations hampered by sexual prudery Intense obsession with a public appearance of

propriety (private facts were often the compete opposite!)

Early Victorian 1830-1848

By 1900 , England had 15,195 lines of railroad and an underground rail system beneath London.

The train transformed England’s landscape, supported the growth of commerce, and shrank the distance between cities.

Reform Bill of 1832 extends the vote to all male property owners

Signs of trouble

Unemployment Poverty Rioting Slums in large cities Working conditions for women and children were terrible

Middle Victorian (1848-1870)

A time of prosperity, improvement, stability, optimism

1851: The Great Exhibition The Crystal Palace Showcases the triumphs

of Victorian Industry Empire begins to expand

Political Shift

Political parties realigned between 1850-1865 Tory = Conservative

Benjamin Disraeli (1804-1881) Whig = Liberal

William Gladstone (1809-1898)

After 1865 democracy expands

Benjamin Disraeli

Aggressive foreign policy & Expansion of the British Empire

Democratic reforms Influenced by John Stuart Mill's On Liberty

Utilitarianism Reform Bill of 1867

Expanded suffrage to include almost all men over 21 Redistribution of seats in parliament

1875: Reduced regulation of unions Improved sanitation

Late Victorian (1870-1901)

Erosion of Victorian values Imperialism

Bismarck's German becomes a rival power As does the US

Economic depression = mass immigration

Rise of socialism

William Gladstone

Irish home rule, free trade, and opposed imperialism

1872: the secret ballot Reform Act of 1884

Extends suffrage to men in the countryside 2 million added to the franchise

Women's Rights and Suffrage

Organized to amend marriage and property laws

1890s: suffrage seem as the key to solving women's rights issues Suffragettes = middle class women

Educated Had servants to take care of the house while they

organized Working class and socialist women worked

independently

Women's Rights and Suffrage

Organized to amend marriage and property laws

1890s: suffrage seem as the key to solving women's rights issues Suffragettes = middle class women

Educated Had servants to take care of the house while they

organized Working class and socialist women worked

independently

Key Suffragettes

Millicent Garrett Fawcett (1847-1929) Leader of the National Union of Women Suffrage

Societies Demanded universal female suffrage Grew the movement at home and abroad

Emmeline Pankhurst Militant. Founded the Women's Social and Political

Union 1907: WSPU begins to uses violence

Large scale protests, arrests, hunger strikes, etc.

Women get the right to vote in 1918 and 1928

The End of an Era

"Few of us, perhaps, have realized till now how large a part she had in the life of everyone of us; how the thread of her life [bound]

the warp of the nation's progress."

-A newspaper quote on the Death of the Queen in 1901

During the tumultuous time, The Queen ultimately came to represent: England & Empire Stability & Continuity Duty, Family, & Propriety A stern, conservative, durable symbol of her

dynamic, aggressively businesslike realm.

The Liberal Agenda 1905-1920s

Parliament Act of 1911 House of Lords loses powers House of Commons is now the seat of national

power Life of parliament reduced from 7-5 years

Welfare state Unions get the right to strike Gov't workers insurance Unemployment insurance and pensions School attendance become compulsory

What about the Irish? 1848: Young Ireland Movement

Nationalist Gladstone unable to get Irish Home Rule

through Ulster (protestant North) opposed to Home Rule 1914: Home Rule passed but Protestant refuse

to accept it 1916: Easter Rebellion crushed by British

troops 1922: Ireland independent. N. Ireland still

British