istoryworld
Events relating to democracy
Irish nationalist Daniel O'Connell pioneers mass political demonstrations, which become known as 'monster meetings'
Louis Napoleon, asking the French people to approve his elevation to emperor as Napoleon III, receives a resounding yes in the plebiscite
Lionel Nathan Rothschild becomes the first Jew to sit in Britain's House of Commons, taking his oath on the Old Testament
Lincoln becomes the Republican presidential candidate, benefiting from a Democratic party split on the issue of slavery
The Liberals recover Mexico City and elect Benito Juarez as president
President Lincoln, in honouring the Union dead at Gettysburg, captures in three minutes the essence of American democracy
A committee to campaign for women's suffrage is formed in Manchester, the first of many in Britain
The Fourteenth Amendment to the US constitution (not ratified till 1868) assures equal rights as citizens to all born or naturalized in the USA
Britain's new Reform Act extends the franchise to working men in British towns
The US Congress passes Reconstruction Acts, dividing the defeated South into military districts and insisting on elections by universal male suffrage
The Fifteenth Amendment to the US Constitution (ratified in 1870) makes it illegal to deny the right to vote on racial grounds
As the result of a plebiscite, Rome and the remaining papal states are included in the kingdom of Italy
The Ballot Act adds to the British electoral system the essential element of secrecy in voting
Charles Stewart Parnell takes his seat in the House of Commons at Westminster and immediately adds zest to the campaign for Home Rule
The Compromise of 1877 settles the disputed US presidential election but ends active Republican commitment to the cause of Reconstruction in the southern states
Romania achieves a new status as an internationally recognized independent nation
The Tynwald in the Isle of Man becomes the first parliament to give women the vote
Those in Britain's Liberal party opposing Home Rule for Ireland become a separate group under the name of Unionists
A new Populist Party, dedicated to democracy and welfare, begins a brief career of considerable political influence in the USA
Keir Hardie wins the London seat of West Ham, becoming the first Labour member of the House of Commons
The Independent Labour Party, later changing its name to the Labour Party, is founded in Britain by the trade unionist Keir Hardie
The faction founded in Bohemia by Tomas Masaryk becomes known as the Progressive party
Puerto Ricans are granted limited democracy in a bill of rigfhts introduced after two years of US military occupation
Keir Hardie is returned to parliament for Merthyr Tydfil, beginning a long and close link between the Labour party and Wales.
The Irish Parliamentary Party, which split after the Parnell divorce case, reunites under the leadership of John Redmond
