Hello, I'm Mr. Marchant, and I'll be your history teacher for today.

I'm really looking forward to starting our learning journey together, and my role will be to make sure that you can meet today's learning objective.

Welcome to today's lesson, which is part of our unit on widening the franchise, where we are asking ourselves who gained the right to vote? By the end of today's lesson, you will be able to evaluate changes to the franchise in Britain during the 19th century.

There are five key words which will help us navigate our way through today's lesson.

Three of those are franchise, property qualification and disenfranchised.

The franchise is the group of people who can vote in a country's elections.

A property qualification refers to the need to own property in order to do something, such as voting.

And to be disenfranchised is to take away power or opportunities, especially the right to vote from a person or group.

Our other two key words for today are residuum and householder.

Residuum was a word used to describe a group of people imagined as an underclass, and a householder is the person who owns a house.

Today's lesson will be split into three parts, and we'll begin by focusing on the franchise after 1832.

"In 1832, the Great Reform Act was passed in Britain.

One of the key aspects of this new law was that the British franchise was expanded.

The number of voters grew by more than 60% as a result of the Great Reform Act." So thinking about what we've just heard, how did the Great Reform Act affect the franchise in Britain? Was it that it increase the number of MPs by more than 60%? Did it increase the number of voters by more than 60%? Or did it decrease the number of voters by more than 60%? Pause the video here and press play when you're ready to see the right answer.

Okay, well done to everybody who said that the correct answer was B.

The great reformat affected the franchise in Britain by increasing the number of voters by more than 60%.

Despite the changes made by the Great Reform Act, Britain's franchise remained limited after 1832.

At most, 7% of the population held the right to vote after the Great Reform Act was passed.

The main factor limiting the franchise was the continued existence of property qualifications.

To vote, people needed to own property worth a certain value.

So let's make sure we have a secure understanding of what we've just heard.

I want you to write the two missing words in the following statement.

After 1832, a blank qualification continued to exist so just blank percent of the population were able to vote.

So what are the two missing words? Pause the video here and press play when you're ready to check your answers.

Okay, well done to everybody who said that the missing words were property and seven.

After 1832, a property qualification continued to exist so just 7% of the population were able to vote.

In other words, the British franchise remained very limited even after the Great Reform Act was passed.

Middle class men typically owned property valuable enough that they were able to meet the property qualifications and therefore, they gained the right to vote after 1832.

By contrast, men from working class backgrounds generally lacked property, and so they remained disenfranchised, they did not gain the right to vote.

So which of the following groups remained disenfranchised after 1832? Was it upper class men, middle class men, or working class men? Pause the video here and press play when you're ready to see the right answer.

Okay, well done to everybody who said that the correct answer was C.

After 1832, working class men remained disenfranchised mainly because they did not normally own property, or certainly not property valuable enough to help them meet the property qualifications, which was still in place after the Great Reform Act was passed.

There were calls for further reform after 1832.

A working class movement known as Chartism developed in the 1830s and 1840s and made votes for all men over age 21 one of its key demands.

Chartist petitions became very popular.

They were sent to Parliament in 1839, 1842 and 1848.

Each of these petitions received millions of signatures supporting the Chartist calls for further reform.

So let's make sure we have a secure understanding of what we've just heard.

Which inference is most valid based on the Chartist petitions sent to parliament? Is it that franchise reform enjoyed considerable public support? That franchise reform had little public support? Or that franchise reform faced considerable public opposition? Pause the video here and press play when you're ready to see the right answer.

Okay, well done to everybody who said that the correct answer was A.

The petitions sent by the Chartist to parliament allow us to infer that franchise reform enjoyed considerable public support, because one of the key demands of the Chartist were votes for all men over age 21.

And we know that these petitions sent in 1839, '42 and 1848 all received millions of signatures.

"Despite the widespread popularity of Chartism, government leaders refused to consider further reform to the franchise.

Lord John Russell, who introduced the Great Reform Act, gained a nickname Finality Jack, as he argued no further reforms to the franchise were needed after the Great Reform Act was passed." In fact, Lord John Russell said, "It would be a most unwise and unsound experiment now to make new changes to the franchise.

I could not support such an experiment.

When I introduced the Great Reform Act, the aim of these changes was to pass a reform which could become a final measure." So keep in mind everything that we've just heard.

We now have a statement on the screen that reads "Leading MPs like Lord John Russell, supported further reforms to the franchise after 1832." Is that statement true or false? Pause the video here and press play when you're ready to see the right answer.

Okay, well done to everybody who said that that statement was false, but we need to be able to justify our answer.

So why is it that that original statement was false? Pause the video here and press play when you're ready to reflect on your response.

Okay, well done to everybody who said, "Russell claimed that further franchise reform would be unwise and gained the nickname Finality Jack, as he suggested new reforms were not needed after the Great Reform Act had been passed." This helps to demonstrate that not only was there little interest, but there was active opposition amongst the leaders of Britain after 1832 to consider introducing further reforms to the franchise.

So we're now in a good position to put all of our knowledge about the franchise after 1832 into practise.

We have a view from Laura who says, "The government passed the Great Reform Act as the first of many reforms planned to expand the franchise." But is Laura's view correct? You'll need to explain your answer.

So pause the video here and press play when you're ready to reflect on your response.

Okay, well done for all of your hard work on that task.

So I asked you was Laura's view correct? And told you that you needed to explain your answer.

So your answer may have included, "Laura's view is incorrect because the British government intended the Great Reform Act to be a final measure and refused further pressure for reform after it was passed.

For instance, despite the popularity of the working-class Chartist movement, which called for all men over 21 to be given the vote, leaders like Lord John Russell, claimed further franchise reform would be unwise." So really well done if your own response looks something like that model, which we've just seen.

And now we're ready to move on to the second part of our lesson for today, where we are going to focus on the Second Reform Act of 1867.

By the mid-1860s, the pressure for further franchise reform in Britain had grown considerably.

Lord John Russell, who became leader of the Liberal Party and Prime Minister in 1865, had converted to supporting the further expansion of the franchise.

Russell was supported by some other key figures in the Liberal Party in government, especially William Gladstone.

But on mid-1860s, members of the Liberal government, such as William Gladstone and the Prime Minister, Lord John Russell, argued that the British franchise should be expanded.

Unlike the expansion called for by the Chartist, these Liberal supporters did not support giving all adult men the vote.

Instead, they focused on skilled working class men, who they argued were trustworthy and respectable enough to deserve the vote.

However, there was still opposition from many other politicians towards the idea of expanding the franchise.

In fact, when Russell and Gladstone introduced a bill to parliament, which proposed some voter reform in Britain, it was opposed by a group of fellow Liberals led by Robert Lowe, who ensured that the bill could not be passed into law.

This failure to pass their reform bill triggered the collapse of Lord John Russell's Liberal government, and the Conservative Party took power instead.

So thinking about what we've just heard, we have a statement on the screen that reads, "Some members of the Liberal Party opposed widening the franchise in the mid-1860s." Is that statement true or false? Pause the video here and press play when you're ready to see the right answer.

Okay, well done to everybody who said that that statement was true.

But we need to be able to justify our response.

So why is it that that original statement was true? Pause the video here and press play when you're ready to reflect on your response.

Okay, well done to everybody who said, "Lord John Russell and Gladstone's attempt to pass voter reform was defeated by opposition from fellow Liberals search as Robert Lowe." The new Conservative government was less supportive of expanding the franchise than Russell and Gladstone had been.

Nevertheless, the Conservatives made the decision that it was time to introduce voter reforms. The main Conservative leader, Benjamin Disraeli, oversaw the successful passage of the Second Reform Act in 1867.

The new reform act had a significant impact on the franchise.

In urban areas, all male householders were enfranchised, as well as all men who paid 10 pound a year in rent to live in property owned by someone else.

Although these terms were not extended to rural areas, the property qualification was reduced for men living in the countryside.

As a result, the number of voters virtually doubled from 1 million to 2 million in England and Wales.

Many of these new voters were working class men who worked in skilled trades and who then made up the biggest proportion of voters after 1867.

All the same, Liberal and Conservative leaders remained convinced that not all men should be given the vote.

The vast majority of working class men remained excluded from the franchise.

These disenfranchised working class voters were often described as the residual, and were considered too poor, too violent, and too irresponsible to be entrusted with the vote.

At the same time, women remained entirely excluded from the franchise even if they were householders.

So let's check our understanding.

Which statement is most accurate? That only the Liberal Party attempted to expand the franchise in the 1860s? That only the Conservative Party attempted to expand the franchise in the 1860s? That both the Liberals and Conservatives attempted to expand the franchise in the 1860s? Or that neither the Liberals nor the Conservatives attempted to expand the franchise in the 1860s? Pause the video here and press play when you're ready to see the right answer.

Okay, well done to everybody who said that the correct answer was C.

In the 1860s, both the Liberals and Conservatives attempted to expand the franchise.

This shows that there was a clear change from the situation in the decades immediately after the Great Reform Act had been passed, where no major political leaders were willing to support reform.

And let's try another question.

This time, I want you to change one word to correct the following statement.

"After the Second Reform Act, middle class men gained the right to vote in Britain for the first time." So consider which word appears to be incorrect and what should it be changed to? Pause the video here and press play when you're ready to check your answer.

Okay, well done to everybody who said that the incorrect word was middle, and that it should have been changed to working.

"After the Second Reform Act, working class men gain the right to vote in Britain for the first time." And let's try one more question.

What word was used to describe the majority of the working class population who remained disenfranchised in Britain? Pause the video here and press play when you're ready to check your answer.

Okay, well done to everybody who said that the correct answer was residuum.

Residuum was a word used to describe the majority of the working class population who remained disenfranchised.

Political leaders considered members of the residuum to be too poor, too violent, and too irresponsible to be trusted with the vote.

So we're now in a good position to put all of our knowledge about the Second Reform Act into practise.

I want you to complete the table by identifying two reasons why the Second Reform Act may be considered to have made significant changes to the franchise, and two reasons why the Second Reform Act may be considered to have made limited changes to the franchise.

So pause the video here and press play when you are ready to check your responses.

Okay, well done for all of your effort on that task.

So I asked you to identify two reasons why the Second Reform Act may be considered to have led to significant change, and two reasons why it may be considered to have led to limited change.

And your answers may have included, to significant change, that the franchise doubled to include 2 million men.

And that working class men gained the right to vote for the first time.

However, to demonstrate that it might have only led to limited change, you might have said that women, even householders, remained totally disenfranchised.

And that the majority of working class men were still unable to vote and were dismissed as part of the residuum.

So really well done if your own responses look something like those models, which we've seen there.

And now we're ready to move on to the third and final part of our lesson for today, where we are going to think about the Third Reform Act.

"The final major change to Britain's franchise in the 19th century occurred in 1884.

The Third Reform Act was passed by the Liberal government of William Gladstone." Once again, this reform led to a significant expansion of the franchise in Britain.

The Third Reform Act applied the same voting rules introduced to urban areas by the Second Reform Act in 1867 to rural areas, The number of voters virtually doubled to include 5.

7 million men.

The majority of new voters introduced to the franchise in 1884 were working class men who worked as agricultural labourers, so workers on farms in rural areas.

After this point, just like Britain's population as a whole, most voters were members of the working classes.

So thinking about what we've just heard, "How did the amount of voters in Britain change as a result of the Third Reform Act?" Was it that the number of voters nearly halved, nearly doubled, or nearly tripled? Pause the video here and press play when you're ready to see the right answer.

Okay, well done to everybody who said that the correct answer was B.

The number of voters in Britain nearly doubled as a result of the Third Reform Act.

After the act was passed, there were 5.

7 million men who were able to vote in British elections.

And let's try another question.

This time I want you to write the missing word.

"Most new voters enfranchised in 1884, lived in blank areas." So what's the missing word? Pause the video here and press play when you're ready to see the right answer.

Okay, well done to everybody who said that the missing word was rural.

"Most new voters enfranchised in 1884 lived in rural areas." This was because the 1867 Reform Act, which had expanded the franchise, really only applied most of its terms to urban areas.

So the 1884 Third Reform Act applied those terms from 1867 to the countryside which had previously been ignored.

After the Third reform Act was passed, more than half of all adult men in Britain possessed the right to vote.

However, 40% of adult males, mostly those who were poorest, remained disenfranchised as property qualifications remained in place across both urban and rural areas.

Disenfranchisement was also worse in some parts of Britain compared to others.

In Ireland, alternative voting arrangements meant that the franchise covered just 50% of adult males there.

Furthermore, no progress was made on votes for women.

The leader at the Conservative Party, the Marquess of Salisbury, suggested it would be strange to enfranchise many working class men but not female householders.

Yet, Salisbury took no action to address this issue.

79 liberal MPs did attempt to include female enfranchisement as part of the 1884 Reform Act.

However, opposition from many senior male politicians, as well as from Queen Victoria, who called the idea of votes for women a mad folly, led Gladstone to refuse any attempt at extending the franchise to women in 1884.

This decision helped to encourage growing public calls for female enfranchisement, and contributed to the development of a prominent national campaign, which became known as the female suffrage movement.

So let's make sure we have a secure understanding of everything we just heard.

"What percentage of adult males still could not vote after 1884?" Pause the video here and press play when you're ready to see the right answer.

Okay, well done to everybody who said that 40% of adult males still could not vote after 1884.

And let's try another question.

This time we have a statement which reads, "Queen Victoria unsuccessfully argued that women should be enfranchised in 1884." Is that statement true or false? Pause the video here and press play when you're ready to see the right answer.

Okay, well done to everybody who said that that statement was false.

But we need to be able to justify our answer.

Why is it that that original statement was false? Pause the video here and press play when you're ready to check your response.

Okay, well done to everybody who said, "Queen Victoria called votes for Women a mad folly and put pressure on Gladstone to ensure that the franchise would not be extended to include women in 1884." So now we're in a good position to put all of our knowledge of the Third Reform Act into practise.

"If something transforms, it changes completely, usually in a way that improves it." With this in mind, to what extent was the franchise in Britain transformed during the late 19th century by the Second and Third Reform Acts? You should consider both any major changes and any limitations that have been involved in these acts.

So pause the video here and press play when you're ready to reflect on your response.

Okay, well done for all of your hard work on that task.

So I asked you to what extent was the franchise in Britain transformed during the late 19th century by the Second and Third Reform Acts? And your answer may have included, "There were some significant changes to the franchise generated by the Second and Third Reform Acts.

Changes to the property qualification, such as the inclusion of all male householders as part of the franchise, meant the number of voters grew significantly.

Furthermore, there was a change in the type of people who could vote, as millions of working class men, such as agricultural labourers, were able to gain the right to vote due to these reforms. Nevertheless, in many other ways, the franchise remained limited.

Property qualifications continued to exist after both 1867 and 1884, meaning the poorest voters were still disenfranchised.

Similarly, whilst some politicians began to support votes for women, this was rejected by government leaders, including Queen Victoria, so women also remained disenfranchised.

Because of this, the Second and Third Reform Acts could be considered somewhat, but not completely, transformative for the franchise in Britain." So really well done if your own response looks something like that model there.

What's really critical is that you engage with both some of the major changes introduced by those acts of 1867 and 1884, as well as some of the limitations of those new laws.

And so now we've reached the end of today's lesson, which puts us in a good position to summarise our learning about widening the franchise.

We've seen that after the Great Reform Act was passed, most of the population remained disenfranchised, but political leaders continued to resist calls for reform.

"The Second and Third Reform Acts significantly expanded the franchise as the number of eligible voters in Britain was virtually doubled by each act." "Changes to property qualifications in 1867 and 1884 allowed millions of working class men to vote after they were excluded in 1832." But all women and the poorest men in Britain remained disenfranchised by the end of the 19th century.

So really well done for all of your effort during today's lesson.

It's been a pleasure to help guide you for our resources, and to think together about who gained the right to vote in Britain in the 19th century.