Kenneth's Ch 27 Outlines Pt 2

Kenneth Li Euro Hist. 6th Period 2-8-08 Ch 27, pg 761-768 VIII. Great Britain: Toward Democracy 1) Great Britain continued to symbolize confident liberal state. i) Even leaders of trade unions during these years asked only to receive some fruits of prosperity and prove their own social respectability. ii) Parliament itself had to provide institution that permitted absorption of new groups and interests into existing political processes. 2) Most important example of opening parliamentary processes was Second Reform Act passed by Conservative government in 1867. i) Britain had taken major step toward democracy. ii) Benjamin Disraeli thought significant portions of working class would eventually support Conservative candidates who were responsive to social issues. A. Gladstone and Disraeli 1) Immediate election of 1868, however, dashed Disraeli’s hopes. i) William Gladstone became new prime minister. ii) Introduced competitive examinations into civil service, abolished purchase of army officers’ commissions, and introduced secret ballot. 2) Liberal policy of creating popular support for nation by extending political liberty and reforming abuses had its conservative counterpart in concern about social reform. i) Gladstone looked to individualism, free trade, and competition to solve social problems. ii) Paternalistic legislation would alleviate class antagonism. iii) Public Health Act of 1875, which consolidated and extended previous sanitary legislation. B. The Irish Question 1) Major issue of 1880s was Ireland. i) From late 1860s onward, Irish nationalists had sought to achieve home rule for Ireland. ii) Demands of British government in that respect very much resembled demands of Czechs toward Habsburg government. 2) Leader of Irish movement for home rule was Charles Stewart Parnell. i) By 1885 Parnell had organized 85 Irish members of House of Commons into tightly disciplined party that often voted as bloc. ii) Irish could decide which party would take office. 3) Parnell gave his votes to formation of Liberal ministry. i) In 1886, a group known as Liberal Unionists joined Conservatives to defeat Gladstone’s Home Rule Bill. ii) Gladstone called for new election, which Liberals lost.

iii) New Conservative ministry of Lord Salisbury attempted to reconcile Irish to English government through public works and administrative reform. 4) In 1892 Gladstone returned to power and sponsored second Home Rule Bill that passed House of Commons but defeated by House of Lords. i) With failure of this bill, further action on Irish questions was suspended until Liberal ministry passed third Home Rule Bill in summer of 1914. 5) Irish question affected British politics in manner not unlike that of Austrian nationalists problem. i) Normal British domestic issues could not be adequately addressed because of political divisions created by Ireland. ii) Split of Liberal Party hurt cause of further social and political reform. iii) People who could agree about reforms couldn’t agree on Ireland. IX. The United States: Civil War, Reconstruction, and Progressive Politics 1) Abolition of slavery in U.S. occurred in same decade as abolition of serfdom in Russia. i) War ended with triumph of central federal government over the authority of individual states. ii) Southern states’ attempt to forge their own independent nation had failed and wider nationalism succeeded. iii) That victory left North-South economic and political problem in Italy after Piedmont unified that nation under monarchy. 2) During 1850s that debate grew, with various political groups upholding more extreme positions. i) Northern abolitionists resented enforcement of federal Fugitive Slave Law, which required return of escaped slaves to their owners. 3) In 1854, introduction of Kansas-Nebraska Bill renewed formal national political debate over slavery and galvanized antislavery forces. i) Douglas was willing to repeal Missouri Compromise, which had prohibited slavery in majority of Louisiana Territory. ii) In 1854, new Republican Party was organized largely in opposition to Kansas-Nebraska Bill. 4) 1857 Supreme Court effectively repealed Missouri Compromise by declaring that Congress couldn’t prohibit slavery in territories. i) For radical antislavery northerners, decision raised most serious questions about morality of Union itself. 5) 1859 John Brown seized federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. i) Was captured, tried, and hanged, further increasing sectional polarization. 6) Republican Party had become party that opposed slavery. i) 1858, Abraham Lincoln ran against Stephen Douglas for U.S. Senate in Illinois. ii) 1860 Lincoln, Republican candidate, was elected president. A. Dashed Hopes of Equality

1) Single most visible result of Civil War was end of slavery in South and promise of equality. i) Fruits of liberty for blacks in quarter century following war proved ephemeral. B. Emergence of Segregation of Black Americans 1) Throughout Reconstruction era (1865-1877) black Americans gained prominence in southern political life.