Politics inVictorian England

Britain

• Constitutional Monarchy

• House of Windsor– Queen Victoria

(1837-1901)• Era of material

progress, literary growth, and political stability

British Parliament

* Tories and Whigs - worked together* 1832 Reform Bill - two political

parties seemed indistinguishable* But, by the 1860s, the middle class

and working class had grown they wanted the franchise expanded!

Parliament (cont.)

* This era saw the realignment of political parties in the House of Commons:– Tory Party Conservative Party

under Benjamin Disraeli

– Whig Party Liberal Party under William Gladstone

William GladstonePrime Minister 4 times between 1868-1894

-Education Act of 1870 – state-supported public education

-Introduced secret ballot (Ballot Act of 1872)

-Legalized labor unions

-Promoted civil service exam

-Eliminated sale of commissions in the army

-Worker’s compensation

The Irish Question

• Biggest problem = Ireland

• Irish nationalists sought Home Rule (not granted until 1912)

• Home Rule = control of local gov’t

Irish Potato Famine

• British & Irish tensions

• Video Clip: Moments in Time: Famine to Freedom: The Great Irish Journey

Gladstone & The Irish Question

• Two major legislative pieces:– 1869 – Disestablishment Act: Irish Catholics

did not have to pay taxes to support the Anglican church in Ireland

– 1870 – Irish Land Act: curtailed absentee Protestant landowners from evicting their Irish Catholic tenants without compensation

• Supported Home Rule for Ireland

Benjamin DisraeliPrime Minister 1874-1880

-Expanded electorate big step toward democracy

-Extended laws regulating public sanitation (Public Health Act of 1875)

-Safety laws for mines and factories

-Regulated housing conditions for poor (Artisans Dwelling Act of 1875)

Labour Party• At turn of century, 3rd party established:

Labour Party• Caused Liberals to worry (losing their

base to Labour Party)• Result:

– Liberals in power from 1906-1916– Set up massive social welfare programs

• Sickness, accident, old-age, and unemployment insurances were all adopted

• Progressive tax established (wealthy pay a higher % rate of tax

– Conservatives pushed for more laissez-faire gov’t

Life in Victorian England

• Victorian Buzzwordso Familyo Virtuouso Modestyo Moralityo Rationalityo Etiquette

Expectations

• Citizens expected to spend time in a respectable, productive, rational manner

• All activities had to be good for both the soul and for the country

• High moral standing and respectability were the qualities of true ladies & gentlemen

Role Model

• Queen Victoria was seen as, “the very model of marital stability and domestic virtue…”

• She represented “a kind of femininity which was centered on the family, motherhood, and respectability.”

Quotes from BBC Victorian Britain

How to Be a Gent for Dummies

• Books on how to be a proper British citizen abounded to assist the middle class on the road to morality

• The book, Happy Homes and the Hearts that Make Them (1882) suggests,“The true gentleman is one who has been fashioned after the highest models…his qualities depend not on fashion or manners but on moral worth - not on personal possessions but upon personal qualities.”

Oscar Wilde• Antithesis of Victorian

Ideals• Irish Author/Playwright• Aesthetic movement:

– “L’art pour l’art” – art should exist solely for

its own sake, independent of social and moral concerns

– Only purpose = to look pretty

Aesthetes in a Victorian World

• Victorian Buzzwordso Familyo Virtuouso Modestyo Moralityo Rationalityo Etiquette

• Aestheticism Buzzwordso Decadenceo Symbolismo Decorationo Materialismo Extravaganceo Caprice

Wilde’s Words of Wisdom• In all unimportant matters, style, not sincerity is the

essential. In all important matters, style, not sincerity is the essential.

• We can forgive a man for making a useful thing as long as he does not admire it. The only excuse for making a useless thing is that one admires it intensely. All art is quite useless.

• The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it. Resist it and your soul grows sick with longing for the things it has forbidden to itself…

• I wonder who it was that defined man a rational animal. It was the most premature definition ever given. Man is many things, but he is not rational.

You Little Bugger…

• Epistemology

• Wilde’s Woes– Court - writings used

against him– Guilty: “Gross

Indecency” – Jail time…

Goodbye, Oscar

• Died - Nov. 30,1900

• Meningitis• Paris Hotel• Final Words…

Women in Victorian England

• Focus = family• Ideal woman =

Queen Victoria• Read Handout • “Women in

Victorian England” & “Victorian Women”

Women’s Suffrage

• Many women became more vocal about their demands for social & political equality

• “Suffragettes”

Emmeline Pankhurst* militants - arrested and

imprisoned* 1917: She and her daughter,

Christabel, formed the Women’s Party in 1917:– Equal pay for equal work– Equal marriage & divorce

laws– Equality of rights &

opportunities in public service– A national system of maternity

benefits

Representation of the People Act

* 1918 - Women over 30 got the right to vote

* All men gained suffrage

– Property qualifications were completely eliminated!

* Reform Act of 1928– Women over 21 years

of age gained the right to vote at last!

La Belle Epoque

The Beautiful Age1870-1914

France

• Franco-Prussian War (1870-71)– France “goaded” into declaring war

by Bismarck– France loses – Napoleon III is captured

• 1871 – German unification– Emphasizes the weakness of France

Third French Republic Declared!

• September, 1870• Napoleon III abdicated • New government headed

by Adolphe Thiers• continued the fight against the

Germans

• France surrendered in February, 1871 after 40,000 Parisians died

The Third French Republic

• Thiers’ government was seen as:–Too conservative–Too royalist–Too ready to accept a humiliating peace with

Prussia

• French government established itself at Versailles, NOT in Paris.

–Parisians angry–Opposed policies of new gov’t–Attempted to restore order in Paris

Paris in Revolt!

• The Paris Commune [Communards] was elected on March 28 and established itself at the Hôtel de Ville

Attempted Communard Reforms

* Allowed trade unions & workers cooperatives to take over factories not in use and start them up again

* Set up unemployment exchanges in town halls

* Provide basic elementary education for all they were strongly against church-controlled schools

* Attempted to set up girls schools* Daycare near factories for working

mothers

Civil War!

Communards

Troops from Versailles

The Commune was suppressed by government troops led by Marshal Patrice MacMahon during the last week of May, 1871

Known as the “Bloody Week”

The Communards

Paris City Hall Destroyed

Communard Casualties

Declaring the3rd French Republic

An Overview of the 3rd French Republic

Politically very unstable. Rivalry between monarchists and

republicans A number of scandals including The

Dreyfus Affair [L’Affaire]

Because there were so many factions, all governments were coalitions

Still, it survived longer than any other regime since 1789!

The Dreyfus Affair

The Dreyfus Affair

* In 1894 a list of French military documents [called a bordereau] were found in the waste basket of the German Embassy in Paris

* French counter-intelligence suspected Captain Alfred Dreyfus, from a wealthy Alsatian Jewish family one of the few Jews on the General Staff

The Dreyfus Affair

* Dreyfus was tried, convicted of treason, and sent to Devil’s Island in French Guiana

* The real culprit was a Major Esterhazy, whose handwriting was the same as that on the bordereau

* The government tried him and found him not guilty in two days

The Dreyfus Affair

* A famous author, Emile Zola, published an open letter called J’Accuse!

– He accused the army of a mistrial and cover-up

– The government prosecuted him for libel

– Found him guilty sentenced to a year in prison

J’Accuse!

The Dreyfus Affair

DreyfusardsAnti-

Dreyfusards

* Public opinion was divided it reflected the divisions in Fr. society

* The Dreyfusards were anti-clericals, intellectuals, free masons, & socialists

* For Anti-Dreyfusards, the honor of the army was more important than Dreyfus’ guilt or innocence

–Were army supported, monarchists, & Catholics.

Dreyfus, the Traitor!

The Dreyfus Affair

* Dreyfus finally got a new trial in 1899* Brought back from Devil’s Island a broken

man* Results:

–Found guilty again, BUT with extenuating circumstances

–Was given a presidential pardon–Exonerated completely in 1906–Served honorably in World War I–Died in 1935

19th C. French Life

World Exposition

• 1889• Gustave Eiffel• 1,063 ft tall• 7,300 tons• $1.6 million to

build• Entrance to Fair

Vive La Bohème!

The Bohemian Way

• Challenged status quo by rejecting mainstream values and mocking the bourgeoisie

• Comprised of – Artists– Students– Writers

The Bohemians

• Motto: “Truth, beauty, freedom and love”

• Frequented cafés & music halls

• Most popular areas:– Latin Quarter– Montmartre

The Bourgeoisie

• Fashion, behavior, etiquette mimicked the aristocracy

• Frequented:– Theater– Opera– Restaurants– Casinos– Gardens

Montmartre

Le Moulin Rouge

• Est. 1889• Most famous

symbol of the Bohemian life

At The Moulin Rouge

• Dancers (Can-Can)

• Elephant• Drink

– Absinthe

OMG! It’s the Can-Can!