The repeal of the Corn Laws, tariffs on imported grain intended to protect farmers and landowners from cheaper imports, reduced the economic power of the aristocracy, complementing their loss of political power as a result of the Reform Act of 1832.
Great Britain’s Corn Laws imposed tariffs on imports of grains, which are collectively called “corn” in Great Britain. The laws had existed for several centuries and had been revised a number of times, most recently in 1828. The Corn Law Act of 1828 had established a sliding scale with the duty on grain rising as the selling price of English grain decreased, in order to keep grain prices high enough to ensure a profit for farmers and, especially, large landowners. These groups believed that their prosperity and the continuation of English agriculture depended on maintaining high import duties. Most of the leaders of both the Tory and Whig
Among economists, however, the great majority, especially those belonging to the predominant classical liberal school of thought, sometimes called the Manchester School
Industrialists, businessmen, and middle-class radicals generally opposed the Corn Laws, while the working classes were badly split in their attitude toward them. Many leaders of the working classes feared that if food became cheaper, the industrialists would only use it as an excuse to lower wages.
In the comparatively prosperous times up to 1837, there was little interest in the Corn Law question. There was a gradual increase in anti-Corn Law literature, and an Anti-Corn Law League
The Anti-Corn Law Association of Manchester
The first attempts to move the abolition of the Corn Laws were decisively defeated in Parliament. Although a motion to terminate the Corn Laws secured 172 votes in February, 1839, when it was introduced, the combined opposition of the Whig
This defeat spurred the anti-Corn Law groups to form a single centralized organization, the Anti-Corn Law League,
The league publicly argued its cause not on the particular advantages to manufacturers, but on a more general and moral plane. Cobden contended that repeal would lower food prices for the poor, that by increasing trade it would aid general prosperity throughout Great Britain and the world and thus would aid world harmony, and that it would make British agriculture more efficient by competition.
Sir Robert Peel introducing free trade laws in Parliament.
The league hoped to obtain the support of the working classes, but their leaders, heavily involved in the Chartist
Under pressure from the Whig-liberal leader Lord John Russell
Although he favored retaining some protection for grains, Sir Robert Peel, the new Tory prime minister, hoped to defuse the issue by introducing a general overhaul of the tariff. These measures did not satisfy the league, and its orators began to speak of violence and revolution. Some employers even encouraged strikes and revolutionary unrest among their employees to pressure Parliament. These tactics failed, however, and the league returned to more peaceful efforts, focusing on propaganda and large public meetings.
Finally, in 1846, prospects for repeal suddenly improved. Several years of good harvests were followed by an extremely wet growing season; above all, the potato harvest in Ireland failed almost entirely. In the face of this situation and Cobden’s
Peel’s first attempts to persuade his cabinet to suspend the Corn Laws caused his ministry to break up. However, Russell, the leader of the opposition, proved unable to form a government, and Peel returned with a reconstructed cabinet. When Peel proposed a drastic reduction in the duties on foreign grain, to lead, three years later, to total repeal, a large section of his own party revolted against him and the other party leaders. Peel argued that economic necessity in the face of famine and the political need to prevent a clash between the middle classes and the aristocracy forced his hand. Russell
Peel was defeated shortly afterward on an Irish measure by a combination of liberals and protectionist Tories, and he resigned. The issue of the Corn Laws split the Tory Party, Peel’s followers being known as Peelites, while the protectionist Tories reformed as the Conservative Party under the leadership of Benjamin Disraeli.
Corn Law repeal helped push along the reorganization of British political parties from aristocratic factions into modern political organizations dependent on the support of voters. The Anti-Corn
Corn Law repeal was the first step in the conversion of British tariff policy to one of free trade instead of protectionism. The policy persisted as dogma for more than eighty years.
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Briggs, Asa. The Age of Improvement, 1783-1867. 2d ed. New York: Longman, 2000. Briggs, a British historian, presents a comprehensive collection on social and political reform in late eighteenth to mid-nineteenth century England. Chapter six discusses “Reform and the Working Classes,” “The Chartists,” “The Anti-Corn Law League,” and “Peel and His Achievement.” -
Gash, Norman. Sir Robert Peel. 2 vols. London: Longmans, 1986. Volume two of this Peel biography contains two chapters on the Corn Law crisis. -
Halévy, Elie. A History of the English People: The Age of Peel and Cobden. Translated by E. I. Watkin. London: Ernest Benn, 1947. Provides an extensive description of the Corn Law agitation and the negotiations leading up to repeal. -
McCord, Norman. The Anti-Corn Law League, 1838-1846. London: George Allen & Unwin, 1958. A full description of the activities of the Anti-Corn Law League. -
Pickering, Paul A., and Alex Tyrell. The People’s Bread: A History of the Anti-Corn Law League. New York: Leicester University Press, 2000. Examines the Corn Laws in the light of British economics, trade, and protectionism. -
Read, Donald. Peel and the Victorians. Oxford, England: Basil Blackwell, 1987. Contains two chapters on the Corn Law issue in the context of the Victorian age. -
Schonhardt-Bailey, Cheryl, ed. Free Trade: The Repeal of the Corn Laws. Bristol, England: Thoemmes Press, 1996. An excellent source for primary documents, including documents of Parliament, speeches, pamphlets from the Anti-Corn Law, League, and the writings of contemporaries on the effects of the repeal. Includes an introduction by the editor and bibliographical references. -
Woodward, E. L. The Age of Reform, 1815-1870. 2d ed. Oxford, England: Clarendon Press, 1962. Originally published in 1939 but still a sound basic treatment of Victorian politics.
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John Bright; Richard Cobden; Benjamin Disraeli; Thomas Robert Malthus; Sir Robert Peel; David Ricardo; John Russell.