Do you agree with the view that the main reason for the passing of the Reform Act in 1832 was fears of revolution amongst the Whig leaders?

by jamesbunn123 (student)

Do you agree with the view that the main reason for the passing of the Reform Act in 1832 was fears of revolution amongst the Whig leaders?

By James Bunn

The passing of the Reform Act of 1832 was affected by the fear amongst Whig leaders however was the main reason? Other reasons such as Political unions, radical press, Public speakers (Henry Hunt) and the tory split. The Reform Act was introduce by Earl Grey in March 1830 but took until June 1832 to become law, this was due to the blockade it had in the House of Lords and without some of the prior mentioned reasons it may have never had become law.

In source 1 Earl Grey is speaking to the House of Lords in November 1831, trying to persuade them to pass the bill. He says “Reforming to preserve and not to overthrow” this means that the government needed to give the people some reform so as to stop them revolting. If they did this it would mean that the people would settle down because for the moment they felt involved. This is taken from Macaulays’ quote from the 2nd of March 1831 “Reform that you may preserve”. Grey and Macaulay want to keep Aristocratic dominance. Grey asserts in this speech that he has no intention of changing on a huge scale; he wants to preserve things just the way they are. This is very soon after the riots in Derby, Nottingham and Bristol, at the same time smaller towns like Blandsford, Dorset and Devon were also rioting. This was because the bill had been stopped at the House of Lords again when people heard the news; riots took place in several British towns. The most serious of these disturbances took place in Bristol on 31st October. In London, the houses owned by the Duke of Wellington and bishops who had voted against the bill in the Lords were attacked. At Nottingham the castle was burned down and there were also serious riots in Derby. This shows us that there was fear amongst the Whig leaders about revolution was predominant as this speech was made so soon after the riots.

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In source 2 Goodlad quotes Grey “A second defeat would mean civil war and revolution” This is also around the time of the riots themselves (October) by 1830 radical newspapers were the most powerful in channelling local pressure for reform. It was a way for middle classes and working classes to communicate; this is a useful tool for rallying groups of people to agree on a certain issue. That sort of communication and risk would scare Whigs because the larger the group the more they have to fear. Lord Holland says that “Fear of social upheaval is a recurrent theme” This is saying that the fear of Revolution is everywhere, this may be true as Public speakers such as Henry Hunt, In 1816 Henry 'Orator' Hunt spoke at large reform meetings: at Birmingham (80,000), Blackburn (40,000), Nottingham (20,000), Stockport (20,000) and Macclesfield (10,000). This level of public meetings at this time was huge. This level of public support would have made Whigs fear what might happen especially considering what had happened in France in 1789 (French Revolution) and again in 1830. Goodlad states that “The most alarming feature of popular agitation was the involvement of the middle classes” This can be explained as Political unions such as the Birmingham Political Union (BPU) heavily involved the middle classes also in May 1831, middle class people rallied in London

against the Duke of Wellington. They were led by people like Thomas Attwood who announced that ‘200,000’ people were going to show up. They were the ones that owned enough to lose, to care about politics and want a say. This will strike fear into the Whigs as now that the middle classes are here to protect what they earn they will be more willing to put up a fight.

Source 3 shows us a different take on the argument, Michael Smith tells us that “ Grey wanted reform not simply because he feared revolution, but because he genuinely believed in its purpose.” This tells us that Grey was a reformer and actually thought reform was necessary. Grey in earlier years has been known to be a reformer It was during this period that Grey began his association with the cause of parliamentary reform. In 1792 he took the lead in setting up a club called the Society of the Friends of the People, which in the following spring published a Report on the State of the Representation In Britain. This highlighted in detail the abuses, corruption and general state of the parliamentary electoral system. It showed how the House of Commons was elected by small groups or individual people and not by the people at large, and therefore how much reform was needed. This shows us that he was a reformer and his views were genuine. The passing may not have been the fears of revolution but the fact that Grey was a great spokesman as he really believed in what he was saying. Also in Michael Smiths report he says that “Their pursuit of reform was also self-servicing” this means that is was in the Whigs best interest to reform anyway. Charles Greville said in 1832, “A Reformed Parliament turns out to be very like every other Parliament... except that the Whigs have got possession of the power which the Tories have lost.” Also commented in February 1832 that [Grey looked on reform as] "a mere trick of state for the preservation of power". Earl Grey used the reform to stay in power and it was not fear which motivated him it was power.

In conclusion The Whigs were fearful of revolution as the sparks were beginning to catch fire around the country (BPU, Days of May, Henry Hunt ect…) it was defiantly going to happen, it was just when and who was in power, so he decided to use it to his advantage and it paid off.

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