The Consequences for Women of the 1867 Reform Act Essay

The Consequences for Women of the 1867 Reform Act - Essay Example According to Paula Bartley, this could be compared to the slave trade, â€Å"Is one half of the human species, like the poor African slaves, to be subject to prejudices that brutalise them...only to sweeten the cup of men† (Bartley, 2007). The consequences for the suffrage movements The Great Reform Act of 1832 in the United Kingdom was started by Jeremy Bentham and William Thompson. During this time, United Kingdom had become so corrupt because the constituencies were represented by rich land owners. Elections were unfair because there were many cases of bribery and corruption. Also, by the year 1812, many women practiced prostitution highly in the United Kingdom. Prostitution was fueled by the social, literacy and cultural behaviors of the people living in England. This is the time when many associations were formed with an objective of bringing change and social purity (Bartley, 2007). A centre for home of friendless girls was introduced to educate the young girls on the ne ed for obedience and self control. This was due to the unhygienic nature of the practice since it led to contagious diseases. The reformers explained the causes of prostitution and came up with a strategy to educate the youth on positive change. Industrial capitalism also changed and minimized prostitution. â€Å"Surely, it will not be denied that woman have, and ought to have opinions of their own on subjects of public interest, and on the events which arise as the world goes its way† (Bartley, 2007).This led to the second reform act in 1867. . In 1819, Charles Woolsey won the elections and went to the House of Commons to initiate change as the legislative representative. Also, the committee of Manchester which consisted of twenty thousand to sixty thousand people appointed a representative attorney. In 1820s, parliament neglected new reforms. This was when John Russell disagreed with the corrupt activities of the parliamentary members. The Great Reform Act was proposed by J ohn Russell in the year 1830 after the death of King George. It was after the dissolution of the parliament, and the general elections were to be held. Birmingham political union started its campaigns under the leadership of Thomas Attwood. The campaigners put emphasis on the issue of reforms as this bill was pending in the previous parliamentary sittings. After the elections three reform bills passed to the parliament and through subsequent debates the bills were then amended to be the Great reform act in the year 1832. After this act, political education began whereby politics and social education were introduced to the local citizens. After the great reform, there was insufficient voter registration exercise and most people did not have the votes. Bribery and corruption remained to be a significant problem in the governance. During the ensuing years, corruption wars started up to the year 1854 when the corruption practices act passed into law by the parliament. Civil wars began w hich aimed at changing the structure of governance in England. There were outstanding family problems in the society. Divorce cases had increased. This act separated sex from reproduction. Same sex had become so prominent in the society. Sexual and social reforms in the society were the campaign strategies by the reform parties. In certain areas like New Jersey, the law allowed only