Gladstone, William 123Gierke’s efforts led him to write a massive three-volume
opus, Deutsches Privatrecht (German Private Law)
between 1895 and 1917. His concepts played a major
part in the new code, which, with modifications,
remains the foundation for the German legal system.
In 1900, the British jurist Frederic William Mait-
land wrote a partial translation of von Gierke’s four-
volume Das deutsche Genossenschaftrecht(The German
Law of Associations) and published it as Political Theo-
ries of the Middle Ages.In the work, von Gierke con-
tended that feudalism led to a synthesis of land
ownership and rule. Nonetheless, during the same
period, the role of the individual became strengthened
through the recognition of natural law. Many pluralists
used Maitland’s translation to bolster their arguments
for more decentralized political systems, although in
doing so they disregarded von Gierke’s emphasis on
political authority.
Further Reading
Cameron, R. Frederick William Maitland and the History of En-
glish Law.Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1961.
Gladstone, William (1809–1898) British states-
man and Prime Minister
William Gladstone was a British statesman and the
dominant personality of the Liberal Party from 1868 to
- As chancellor of the exchequer, he actively pur-
sued a free-trade agenda; he was prime minister four
times and achieved notable reforms. Among his many
achievements were the passage of the Irish land act,
the establishment of competitive civil-service examina-
tions, a closed voting system, parliamentary reform,
and reform and expansion in education.
One of his earliest successes was the 1867 Reform
Act. Specifically, the act accorded suffrage to every
male adult householder living in a voting district. In
addition, male renters in some cases were also granted
the vote. The act also reapportioned members of Par-
liament based on population distribution. In sum, the
1867 Reform Act gave the vote to about 1,500,000
men. The following year in the general election 1868,
the Conservatives were defeated and Gladstone,
leader of the Liberal Party, became prime minister. In
1870, Gladstone and his education minister, William
Forster, persuaded Parliament to pass the govern-
ment’s Education Act, which established school
boards in Britain.
After the passage of the 1867 Reform Act, blue-col-
lar men formed the majority in most political dis-
tricts; however, employers were still able to influence
voters because of the open system of voting. In parlia-
mentary elections, people still had to mount a plat-
form and announce their choice of candidate to the
officer, who then recorded it in the poll book.
Employers and local landlords therefore knew how
people voted and could seek retribution for not sup-
porting their preferred candidate. In 1872, Gladstone
removed this level of intimidation when his govern-
ment brought in the Ballot Act, which introduced a
secret system of voting.
From 1874 to 1880, the Liberal Party lost POWERto
Benjamin Disraeli and the Conservatives. Now in the
role of opposition, Gladstone decided to bide his
time and turn his attention to writing. During this
time, he completed two books, titled An Inquiry into
the Time and Place of Homer in History(1876) and
Bulgarian Horrors and the Question of the East(1876).
When Parliament was dissolved in 1880, the Liberal
Party reclaimed the majority under Gladstone’s di-
rection.
During this term, Gladstone renewed his reform
efforts in the form of three measures. First, the Cor-
rupt Practices Act, in contemporary terms known as
campaign finance reform, specified how much money
candidates could spend during an election and
banned such activities as the buying of food or drink
for voters. Second, in 1884 Gladstone introduced pro-
posals to extend voting RIGHTSfurther to additional
male voters who resided outside of urban centers. The
net effect was to add approximately six million to the
total number who could vote in parliamentary elec-
tions.
Finally, Gladstone turned his attention to the issue
of Irish home rule. The proposal was unpopular in the
Liberal Party, dividing it nearly evenly. The measure
was defeated in Parliament but did not serve to pre-
vent Gladstone’s reelection in 1892. The following
year, the Irish Home Rule Bill was passed in the House
of Commons but was defeated in the House of Lords.
In his last reform effort, Gladstone had gained consid-
erable enmity from Queen Victoria who criticized his
position on home rule. William Gladstone resigned
from office in March 1894 and died in 1898.Further Reading
Stansky, Peter, and Gladstone, William Ewert. Gladstone, A
Progress in Politics.New York: W. W. Norton, 1981.