Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. In 1662, two British political parties emerged after the English Civil War. Originally known as the Court Party and the Country Party, they soon took on the names of the Tories and Whigs. Regarded as rather radical in their views by the Court/Tory Party, the Tories came up with the rather derogatory term of Whig for their opponents. What did the word "Whig" originally mean?
2. In 1685 a number of leading Whigs were involved in a conspiracy to prevent the Catholic brother of Charles II (the Duke of York) from succeeding to the throne after Charles' death. The Whig faction unsuccessfully backed the Duke of Monmouth, sending many leading Whigs to their death or exile. Having a Catholic King in the person of James II was intolerable to the protestant Whigs. In 1688 a group of five Whigs and two Tories decided to offer the Crown of Britain elsewhere. To whom did they offer the crown?
3. Lord Shaftesbury and the founding of the Whig party had a tremendous influence on political thought and philosophy into the 18th century. There were many learned treatises written, but perhaps one writer/political philosopher stood out as having the greatest influence on government. Who was this?
4. Mary II died childless. None of Anne's children survived either, her last hope as heir to the throne dying in 1700, leaving the next Protestant claimant as Sophia, Electress of Hanover (the youngest daughter of James I's daughter Elizabeth). By Act of Parliament the succession was fixed after Anne's death.
Anne was the last Stuart monarch, spending much of her life contentiously at odds with her sister. Mary despised Anne's friend of many years, Sarah Jennings, a troublesome, meddlesome person who married one of Anne's officers. Anne's followers tended to follow Tory ideas, and for a while the Whigs were out of favor. Anne's troublesome friend Sarah was to marry one of Anne's commanders, whose name and family would become known for military prowess and service to the Monarch. Who was this man?
5. The succession of the Hanover line having been fixed by law, there was still much Tory and Catholic pressure brought to bear on her to come down in favour of the brother that Ann had never met. Having relied on Tory ministers Marlborough and Godolphin, Anne became more and more reliant on the Junto Whigs. One result was a dramatic deterioration in her relationship with the Duchess of Marlborough. The Whigs found themselves in opposition, having been pushed out of power by Robert Harley and his Tories. What precipitated their return to power?
6. The Whigs became the dominant party of government for the long period between 1714 and 1760, leaving the Tories a shadow of their former selves as a political force. This burgeoning power did not happen by chance. One so often asks if the time creates the man or the man creates the time. One man stood out. Who was he?
7. After the retirement of Walpole, the Whig banner was carried forward by Henry Pelham and his elder brother the Duke of Newcastle, the party having been in control from 1721 to 1756 with only one brief break. This arrangement changed in the reign of George III. The party had splintered into various factions, and George wanted to return to some greater formality. A quasi-coalition was formed between Lord Bute, great Whig families such as the Pelhams, intellectuals such as Edmund Burke, and Lord Chatham and his followers. Lord North contributed a strong Tory influence. What was the principal cause for this ill-assorted coalition to collapse?
8. The British system does seem to function best with only two parties. Fox stated in the House of Commons in December, 1783 that '....if a change must take place, and a new ministry found and supported, not by the confidence of this House or the public, but the sole authority of the Crown, I for one shall not envy that hon. gentleman his situation. From that moment I put in my claim for a monopoly of Whig principals.'
This was a time of continuing unrest. There was a great divide between Fox's supporters and those of Pitt. What continuing outside issues were directly impacting the stability of the British Government at this time, that threatened the fabric of English life?
9. It was only after the death of George III in 1830 that the Whigs had the opportunity to return to power under the government of Lord Grey. Despite the need for change in many areas of life both the Whigs and the Tories maintained a rather conservative outlook at this time. Lord Grey, however did manage to pass an important piece of legislation. What was this?
10. The demise of the Whig Party took place as the First Reform Act was carried. The British Liberal Party rose in its place. The Whigs had been greatly in favor of doing anything that would control and limit the crown. By the 19th century, the Liberal Party felt that they needed to address themselves far more towards social reform. They addressed the development of a liberalism for the middle classes, especially in light of so much social change due to the Industrial Revolution. Who was the first leader of this new party?
11. During the 19th Century the Liberal Party adopted a laissez-faire economic policy and were greatly in favor of free trade and minimal Government interference. In the 19th century it was known as Gladstonian Liberalism. We, perhaps, today would call it classic liberalism.
William Ewart Gladstone was the most important British Liberal reformer of the 19th century. In about 1865, after Palmerston's death, Gladstone became party leader, and after a landslide victory in the 1868 election, he became the first true Liberal Prime Minister. His greatest achievements in reforms were in electoral reform, working conditions for the poor, and the lot of women and children, not to mention land reform in Ireland. Among his many achievements in British politics, he holds which particular distinction?
12. A the end of the 19th Century the issue of Irish Home Rule reared its ugly head again, and remained there for many years to come. There was much infighting over both Ireland and the Boer War. Dubbed Liberal Imperialists, such people as H.H. Asquith, Edward Grey and Richard Burdon Haldane formed their own imperialist clique. David Lloyd-George quickly becoming known as a master of rhetoric, was vehemently pro-Boer. The infighting continued until 1902, at which point Campbell-Bannerman was able to return the party to cohesive and traditional liberal thinking on free-trade and land reform, that led the party into the greatest victory in their history. Who was a new convert, having recently moved across the aisle from the Conservatives?
13. The Liberals pushed through a great deal of social reform, in the process having to endure two further elections, which left them without a clear majority in 1910 and having to rely on the votes of the Irish Nationalists. The Liberals began to get into a tail-spin. Asquith was forced to introduce a third Home Rule Bill in 1912, The Ulster Protestants had the full support of Bonar Law, head of the Conservatives. Emotions ran high - what was the main issue that began to bring down the Liberals?
14. At the 1922 and 1923 elections, the Liberals won barely a third of the vote, and in 1922 Labour became the official opposition. Labour was determined to destroy the Liberals, making Labour the sole party of the left. Ramsey MacDonald was forced into a snap election in 1924. Despite losing the election, he managed to reduce the Liberals to merely 40 seats. Churchill returned to the Conservatives.
The next 15 years saw much contention between various factions of the Liberal, Labour and Conservative Parties. With the rise of fascism in Europe, there was a rise in pacifism, appeasement and downright support for the Nazis. The Liberals were strongly on the side of pacifism. One clear voice was now given a chance to speak, who was this?
15. Throughout the 1950s and 60s a few Liberals survived, mainly from a handful of rural Scottish and Welsh constituents, who clung to their Liberal traditions. The Liberals were also the first political party to advocate joining the EEC. The middle-class suburban generation began to find the Liberal policies very attractive. Jo Grimond ans then Jeremy Thorpe moved their small party forward, extracting as much influence as possible. Edward Heath (Conservative Prime Minister) tried to get Thorpe into his government to help facilitate the UK move into Europe. Thorpe's party objected, and he eventually stood down as leader in favor of David Steele.
Which Labour Minister had the most influence in moving the Liberals into an entirely new thinking party?
Source: Author
Englizzie
This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor
stedman before going online.
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