Reform Act 1832

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Analyze the Changes in the Electoral System After the 1832 Reform Act. "Society in every state is a blessing, but Government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state, an intolerable one." (Paine, T. 1776 Ch.1) Throughout the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Century, Britain cried out for reform. The working class people and some middle class Britain was not happy with the way things were and wanted change. Specifically change in the electoral system, where prior to the Reform Act of 1832 the vast majority of them were disenfranchised and had very little say in the way things were decided and they wanted more involvement. Throughout these times, change was happening everywhere, the Industrial Revolution was in full swing, people across the world were rising up to gain more rights for themselves, the world was rapidly switching from being mainly Rural, to a more Urban way of living. It was inevitable that here in Britain, changes were to be made as well. To see these changes we must analyze the three different Acts that were passed, to attempt to create universal suffrage, equality in deciding the way the country is run and to reduce corruption in Parliament. Before any of these Acts were passed, the old system was corrupt in many ways, perhaps the biggest issue was the way members of parliament were elected. The two types of franchise were boroughs and counties. A lot of the boroughs at the time were considered, "Rotten Boroughs" where before the city was vastly populated, but over time for whatever reason the population had decreased, but there were still two MPs regardless of the size or population. An example of a borough such as this would be Old Sarum, where there were only three houses and a population of 15 people. As only a few of these could vote due to the varied voting qualification such as a man only being able to
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