ABSTRACT
This book examines how and why the representative system of the eighteenth century was transformed into that of the late nineteenth century, a transformation which amounts to a peaceful revolution. By the end of the century, however, it was clear that the economic and social infrastructure of the political system was beginning to change. During the early decades of the nineteenth century, it has been wisely pointed out, 'there were, in fact, in Britain two nations struggling in the bosom of one land'. The 1832 Reform Act preserved enough of the old system to ensure that politics in many places continued to be dominated by the same kind of people as before. It could be argued that American corn did more damage to this power than the Reform Acts. Thus parliamentary reform, then, was largely a reflection of changes in the economic and social structure of the country.
