Background
The three acts extended voting rights to previously disenfranchised citizens. Before 1832, one adult male in ten had the vote. Moreover the franchise varied a great deal. A few boroughs gave the vote to all male householders. But many parliamentary seats were under the control of a small group or sometimes a single rich aristocrat. Reforms had been proposed in the 18th century, both by radicals such as John Wilkes and by more conservative politicians such as William Pitt the Younger. But there was strong opposition to reform, especially after the outbreak of the French Revolution. The cause was continued after 1792 by the London Corresponding Society
Read more about this topic: Reform Bills
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