In 1832, fewer than 1 in 20 people had a vote, and it was cast in public. Women were barred from voting by law. By 1928, all adults were able to vote. Over the century between these dates, millions of people protested, fought and sometimes died to achieve the right to vote. This course will look at the important people, movements and events that created popular democracy in the UK. It will show how an elite group of people systematically clung to power and excluded people from political participation through widespread corrupton, misogyny, religious bigotry and arbitrary property requirements. It will explain how a combination of idealism, organisation and persistence overcame these barriers, often at great personal cost to those involved. The final session will look at our modern democracy, and we will discuss how far it matches the ideals of those who fought for it, and what might re-energise people's engagement with politics and political ideas.
Course aim
Through a series of illustrated lectures this course will chart the development of popular democracy in the UK up to 1928, when all adults were finally able to vote.
Do I need any particular skills or experience?
- This course is for beginners and improvers
By the end of the course I should be able to:
- recount how popular democracy developed in the UK
- understand the extent of opposition to 'ordinary people' having a vote
- understand the extent to which control of Parliament has given control over daily life in the UK
- discuss whether we have truly achieved 'universal suffrage' in the UK
- Relate historical information to current social and political contexts
What else do I need to know?
Please think about why 'a vote' is important to you (or not). If you have family stories about involvement in the fight for the vote, please bring them along.
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