England In The Early 1800 S
Hist-H210
Essay 1
Prompt #2
England in the early 1800’s was very segregated place. Social classes were distinguished by many factors including wealth, land ownership, gender and race. The wealthy white land owning males were at the top of the chain while blacks, women, and land workers were at the bottom. The aristocracy was considered the top of the social chain. There were many things happening at this time in British history that affected the public and the public’s view of the aristocracy. The aristocracy held high positions in society and government. Beginning in the late 1600’s British people starting to get more freedom. In 1689 the Bill of Rights gave British citizens freedom of speech and took power away from the king. The Toleration Act followed this in the same year, which allowed freedom of worship to people not part of the English church. However, this only gave freedom to the minority parts of Protestantism and not worshippers of other religions. This started a shift towards equality for the British. However, there was still some favoring of the aristocracy. The aristocracy mostly made their living off the land that they owned. In 1815, the Corn Laws were passed. The Corn Laws were put in place to protect the price of English grain against foreign competition. This law favored landowners over the urban dwellers because it decreased competition for the price of corn, which increased the wealth of the landowners. These laws favored the privilege of the aristocracy and le to famine and unemployment. People who were against free trade opposed these laws. These people wanted more equality between social classes and were considered radicals at that time. These radicals wanted to increase the vote to 20% and appealed to the urban masses. These radicals were in favor of acts like The Emancipation Act and The Catholic Emancipation, both of which gave more people freedom and more rights. One of these radicals was William Hazlitt.
Essay 1
Prompt #2
England in the early 1800’s was very segregated place. Social classes were distinguished by many factors including wealth, land ownership, gender and race. The wealthy white land owning males were at the top of the chain while blacks, women, and land workers were at the bottom. The aristocracy was considered the top of the social chain. There were many things happening at this time in British history that affected the public and the public’s view of the aristocracy. The aristocracy held high positions in society and government. Beginning in the late 1600’s British people starting to get more freedom. In 1689 the Bill of Rights gave British citizens freedom of speech and took power away from the king. The Toleration Act followed this in the same year, which allowed freedom of worship to people not part of the English church. However, this only gave freedom to the minority parts of Protestantism and not worshippers of other religions. This started a shift towards equality for the British. However, there was still some favoring of the aristocracy. The aristocracy mostly made their living off the land that they owned. In 1815, the Corn Laws were passed. The Corn Laws were put in place to protect the price of English grain against foreign competition. This law favored landowners over the urban dwellers because it decreased competition for the price of corn, which increased the wealth of the landowners. These laws favored the privilege of the aristocracy and le to famine and unemployment. People who were against free trade opposed these laws. These people wanted more equality between social classes and were considered radicals at that time. These radicals wanted to increase the vote to 20% and appealed to the urban masses. These radicals were in favor of acts like The Emancipation Act and The Catholic Emancipation, both of which gave more people freedom and more rights. One of these radicals was William Hazlitt.