King George IV died in 1830. Parliament was dissolved and a general election occurred. The Tories made up the majority and debates became heated over the issue of reform.

Monarch (King or Queen) Prime Minister

Parliament

House of Lords House of Commons

Have title by birth right Are elected by the people

The Upper House of Parliament The Lower House

Reform Act 1832:

Because of the Industrial Revolution, large cities were springing up throughout England. The Reform Act of 1832 gave MORE seats in the House of Commons and took away seats in towns with small populations. Also, more males were allowed to vote. Now one out of six adult men could participate in elections.

Factory Act 1833:

Beginning in 1802, Parliament was slowly passing laws governing the factories. The Factory Act of 1833 had these provisions:

·  Children (ages 14–18) received a one hour lunch and could not work more than 12 hours a day. Note that this enabled employers to run two 'shifts' of child labor each working day in order to employ their adult male workers for longer.

·  Children (ages 9–13) one hour lunch and no more than 8 hours per day plus 2 hours of daily education.

·  Became illegal for children under the age of 9 to work in factories!.

·  Children under 18 could only work day shifts.

·  Safety inspections in the factories.

Which age group is still endangered??

Poor Law of 1834

Parliament decided to make life very difficult for the poor. Initially, assistance was provided but most financial aid came from the local churches.

Parliament decided to “crack down” on the poor because of three common philosophical beliefs of the day –

1.  Malthusianism – the belief that the population must be checked or those living in poverty would not be able to be fed by its government. No more than 2 kids per household!!!

2.  Iron Law of Wages – Business owners chose to lower wages to those also receiving public aid. This caused serious problems for the “working” poor who were not receiving public aid.

3.  Utilitarianism – the belief that success is measured in the greatest good for the greatest number. Underlying this argument is the belief that people will choose a more pleasant option over an unpleasant one. Financial aid was to be so UNPLEASANT that people would do everything possible to avoid it.

SOOOOOO – The conditions of the work houses had to absolutely miserable and appalling and therefore a deterrent. Only the desperately needy would try for aid. And the taxpayer had to “foot the bill.”

Corn Laws:

To raise the price of domestic corn, Parliament enacted legislation taxing foreign corn. Who benefits?

However, the price of corn dropped in 1815 and no one could afford English corn. Riots broke out!

Some final notes on bastardy….

Victorian England saw an increase in the number of illegitimate children and poverty was now viewed as a moral defect by the wealthy. Before 1733, fathers were required by law to provide child support, but in the early 1800s laws were passed to free the father from financial support for the first 16 years of the child. The mother had to provide sole support. The hope was women would become more virtuous!

In reality, many of these women entered the work houses. They were scorned by the churches and often ostracized in their communities. Unwed mothers were forced to move away from their families. Starvation was common, as was infanticide and baby “farming.”

Baby “farmers” ran newspaper ads to adopt the illegitimate children.

“The primary objective of professional baby farmers was to solicit as many sickly infants or infants under two months as possible, because life was precarious for them and their deaths would appear more natural. They would adopt the infants for a set fee and get rid of them as quickly as possible in order to maximize their profits. The infants were kept drugged on laudanum, paregoric, and other poisons, and fed watered down milk laced with lime. They quickly died of thrush induced by malnutrition and fluid on the brain due to excessive doses of strong narcotics. The costs of burial were avoided by wrapping the naked bodies of the dead infants in old newspapers and damping them in a deserted area, or by throwing them in the Thames,” (Haller).

Haller, Dorothy L. “Bastardy and Baby Farming in Victorian England.” 1989. Web. 4 Jan. 2010. <http://www.loyno.edu/~history/journal/1989-0/haller.htm>