Transcript Chapter 24: Growth of Western Democracies

Chapter 24:
Growth of Western
Democracies
Section 1: Britain Becomes more Democratic
Section 2: A Century of Reform
Section 3: Division & Democracy in France
Section 4: Expansion of the United States
Section 1: Britain Becomes more
Democratic
 Summary:
 In
Britain, political change came from gradual
reform throughout the 1800s
Section 1: Britain Becomes more
Democratic
 In
1815, Britain had a monarch
 It
also had a parliament with two political
parties
 Still, it was NOT democratic
 Parliament
was made up of the House of Lords
(nobles and high-ranking church leaders) and the
House of Commons (men elected by the 5% of
the population who had the right to vote)
Section 1: Britain Becomes more
Democratic
 Moreover,
the House of Lords had the
power to veto, or reject, any bill passed by
the House of Commons
 Therefore,
reformers wanted more democracy
 In the 1820s England ended laws that
restricted some religious groups from voting
 Another problem confronting English
democracy was the existence of ‘rotten
boroughs’
Section 1: Britain Becomes more
Democratic
 The
growth of cities had left some rural
boroughs, or towns with few voters
 These
rotten boroughs had more than their fair
share of seats in Parliament
 The Reform Act of 1832 gave more seats to
large towns
 It
also extended suffrage to all men who owned
property
Section 1: Britain Becomes more
Democratic
 Queen
Victoria ruled
the British Empire
from 1837-1901
 The Victorian Age
was a time for manners
hard work, honesty and
reform
Section 1: Britain Becomes more
Democratic
 In
the 1860s, political parties changed
 Nobles
and landowners of the Tory Party
joined the new Conservative Party
 The mostly Middle-class Whig Party grew
into the Liberal Party
 Both
Parties wanted Democracy
Section 1: Britain Becomes more
Democratic
A
Conservative bill extended suffrage to
working class men
 Later,
liberals extended suffrage to include
farmers and most other men
 Another Liberal bill limited the veto power of
the House of Lords & gave the House of
Commons more power
Section 2: A Century of Reform
 Summary:
 In
the 1800s and early 1900s, Parliament
passed many reform measures
Section 2: A Century of Reform
 From
1815 to 1914, British reformers
called for change
 New
laws improved working conditions and
allowed trade unions
 They
also provided for free elementary schools
reduced harsh punishments for crimes and ended
slavery
 Trade
goods
reforms lowered tariffs, or taxes on imported
Section 2: A Century of Reform
 In
1900, the trade unions founded a new
political party, the Labour Party
 It
pushed through more laws to protect
workers
Section 2: A Century of Reform
 British
women called for the right of
suffrage, or the right vote
 They
held huge rallies and marches
 When these demonstrations failed, some
protesters smashed windows and burned
buildings
A
few went on hunger strikes
 In 1918, Parliament gave the right to vote for
women over 30, in 1928 suffrage was extended
to include women 18 and over
Section 2: A Century of Reform
 Throughout
the 1800s, Nationalists in
Ireland fought British rule
 Ireland
 No
demanded CHANGE!!!
longer would the Irish pay high rents to their
British landlords
 No longer would Irish Catholics turn over their
money to support the Church of England
 No longer would Irish crops go to England while
Irish families starved
Section 2: A Century of Reform

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Section 2: A Century of Reform
 In
the 1870s, Irish Nationalists called for
Home Rule, or local self-government
 Finally,
in 1914, Parliament passed a home
rule bill
 Counties
in the South of Ireland became
independent in 1921
Section 2: A Century of Reform
 Quiz
 1.)
– Irish Potato Famine
Give a reason for the severity of the
famine.
 2.) How did the actions of England worsen
this disaster?
Section 3: Division & Democracy in France
 Summary:
 Democratic
reforms in France took place
under Napoleon III’s Second Empire and its
successor, the Third Republic
Section 3: Division & Democracy in France
 After
the French Revolution of 1848, Louis
Napoleon was elected president of the
Second Republic
 He
was the nephew to Napoleon Bonaparte
and his famous name won him votes
Section 3: Division & Democracy in France
 The
working class liked his talk of social
reform
 But
in 1852, he declared himself Napoleon III
ruler of the Second Empire
 He
ruled like a dictator, censoring the press and
choosing officials
 However, he did keep his word to workers, by
allowing them to set up unions and free health
care
Section 3: Division & Democracy in France
 While
Napoleon III made reforms at home
he made major mistakes in foreign policy
 He
tried to take power in Mexico and failed
 In 1870, a crushing defeat at the hands of
Prussia (Bismarck & William I) ended the
Second Empire
Section 3: Division & Democracy in France
 The
 It
Third Republic arose
had a more democratic two-house legislature
 All men could vote for members of the lower
house
 The two houses elected a president, but the
real power belonged to the premier, or Prime
Minister
 A constitution separated church & state and
guarded human rights
Section 3: Division & Democracy in France
 In
1894, a scandal shook the Third
Republic
 Captain
Albert Dreyfus was jailed for spying
for the Germans
 Some
people felt the Army blamed Dreyfus
solely because he was Jewish
 In
the end Dreyfus was proven innocent
Section 3: Division & Democracy in France
 The
Dreyfus Affair, along with
antisemitism (or prejudice against Jewish
people), across Europe worried Jewish
leaders
 Some
began to call for a separate state where
Jewish people would have the rights and
freedoms denied to them in European
countries
Section 4: Expansion of the United States
 Summary:
 In
the United States, as in much of the world,
the 1800s were a time of changing borders,
growing industry and new laws
Section 4: Expansion of the United States
 The
United States grew and changed greatly
in the 1800s
 Many
Americans felt it was their right to settle
all the land between the Atlantic and Pacific
Oceans
 Settlers
moved west, taking lands from the
Native Americans
Section 4: Expansion of the United States
 In
1803, President Jefferson bought land
from France
 His
Louisiana Purchase almost doubled the
size of the Unites States
Section 4: Expansion of the United States
 In
1848, Mexico gave up California and
much of the Southwest
 In 1867, the U.S. bought Alaska from
Russia
 In 1898, it gained Hawaii
 War with Spain in 1898 gave the U.S.
control of Puerto Rico, the Philippines and
Guam
Section 4: Expansion of the United States
Section 4: Expansion of the United States
 During
the 1800s, two movements brought
greater democracy
 Abolitionists
worked to end slavery
 Women
who worked in the abolitionist
movement began to organize a women’s rights
movement
 They
called for equality under the law, at work and in
schools
Section 4: Expansion of the United States
 By
1860, economic conflicts split the
nation
 The
South relied on farming
 The North was more industrialized
 The
regions also disagreed on the issue of slavery
Section 4: Expansion of the United States
 Southern
plantations felt they needed slave
labor
 The
South worried about President-elect
Abraham Lincoln’s opposition to the
extension of slavery into new territories
Section 4: Expansion of the United States
 In
1861, southern states seceded, or
separated from the Union
 The
American Civil War began
 The
North won the war in 1865, and the nation
was reunited
 It had been the bloodiest war in American
history