William Ewart Gladstone Facts & Worksheets

William E. Gladstone was a renowned British politician, serving as Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer for four separate terms. He was popularly known as “Grand Old Man” or “GOM.” and due to his politics, the working class also dubbed him “The People’s William.”

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Key Facts & Information

Family History

• William Gladstone was born on December 29, 1809, in Liverpool. He was the fourth son of Sir John Gladstone and Anne Mackenzie and had three brothers and two sisters.
• The Gladstones were an affluent family, with much of their wealth made from the corn and tobacco trade and slave-labor sugar plantations owned in the West Indies.
• His father, Sir John Gladstone, was a wealthy self-made merchant who also entered politics.
• In July 1839, Gladstone married Catherine Glynne, who became the mother of their eight children. The union also established him in the aristocratic governing class of the time.

Education

• He attended preparatory school from 1816 to 1821 at the vicarage of St. Thomas’ Church at Seaforth. 
• Following in the footsteps of his three older brothers, he attended Eton College, where he did not particularly distinguish himself.
• He matriculated at Christ Church, Oxford in 1828 where he achieved a double first-class degree in Classics and Mathematics.
• He served as President of the Oxford Union, where he developed a reputation as a fine orator. This skill followed him into politics, and he was well-known for his rousing speeches in the House of Commons.
• Gladstone was a Tory at university, and he mistrusted parliamentary reform.

Introduction to Politics

• The Duke of Newcastle was persuaded by his son, Gladstone’s friend at Christ Church, to support Gladstone as a candidate for Newark Parliament in the general election of December 1832.
• Initially a believer in High Toryism, his politics at the time could be described as a traditionalist form of conservatism, supporting a hierarchical society over utopian equality.
• He then gave his maiden speech on June 3, 1833, where he spoke about the defense of the rights of West Indian sugar plantation slave-owners, one of whom was his father. 
• To the surprise of the Duke, he also advocated the need to increase pay for unskilled factory workers.
• He then held office in Sir Robert Peel’s government, initially in the treasury and then as undersecretary for the colonies.

Ministry under Robert Peel’s Government (1841–1846)

• After taking office in the treasury and as undersecretary for the colonies, Sir Robert Peel appointed him vice-president of the Board of Trade. His performance astonished his colleagues.
• As vice-president, he proposed major simplification of the tariffs and proceeded to be president of the Board of Trade in 1843.
• He was responsible for the Railways Act 1844, which set up minimum requirements for railroad companies and paved the way for the eventual state purchase of railway lines.
• He resigned out of principle over the Maynooth Grant issue when the Cabinet proposed to increase the annual grant paid by the British government to an Irish Roman Catholic College.
• In 1845, he rejoined the Cabinet as secretary of state for the colonies. He was more inclined toward Liberalism by the end of his term, as he was forced to consider the desire of English-speaking colonists for independent governance.
• Gladstone and other loyalists followed Sir Robert Peel when his government fell in 1846. After Peel’s death, Gladstone became the leader of the Peelites in the House of Commons.
• The Peelites were a result of the split in the Conservative Party when they voted to repeal the Corn Laws to lower food prices during the disastrous famine in Ireland.

Chancellor of the Exchequer (1852–1866)

• In 1852, Gladstone was appointed the Chancellor of the Exchequer by Lord Aberdeen. As the Chancellor of the Exchequer, he became responsible for all economic and financial matters of the government.
• In his first budget speech in 1853, he laid down a comprehensive plan to enact a sizeable reduction in duties and eventually eliminate income tax.
• This budget provided the backbone for his success in 1853, where he also proposed a scheme for a competitive civil service system.
• During his term, he doubled the income tax in 1854 to fund the Crimean War. He firmly refused to borrow funds and insisted on raising taxes to turn wealthy Britons against expensive wars. 
• He, along with other Peelites, resigned when a committee of inquiry was appointed into the conduct during the war.
• Gladstone joined again as Chancellor of the Exchequer in 1859. He and fellow Peelites then became part of the new Liberal Party.
• During his term, he continued to reduce service estimates and abolish import duties. He also supported the Anglo-French trade treaty, doubling the value of trade. 
• In 1861, Gladstone included his proposition to abolish the duty on the consolidated finance bill, which the House of Commons and House of Lords accepted. By abolishing the duty, it would bring down the cost of publishing and allow the further dissemination of working-class ideas.
• Gladstone also established the Post Office Savings Bank, which increased his popularity among the working classes.
• In 1864, Gladstone advocated for electoral reform to enfranchise all mentally able men, including the working classes.
• He introduced the Reform Bill in March 1866, but it was defeated. Instead, Benjamin Disraeli from the Conservative Party passed a Second Reform Act. Gladstone lost in the elections and served as a Liberal mentor during that year.

First Premiership (1868–1874)

• Gladstone became prime minister for the first time during the 1868 general elections. His cabinet was lauded as possibly the most capable during its century, as Gladstone supervised the work of each department.
• His term saw significant efforts toward Irish and foreign policy, reforms in the British Army, civil service, and reducing restrictions on individual advancement.
• Gladstonian Liberalism became more prominent during his term as the policies intended to improve individual liberty and loosen political and economic restraints.
• Public expenditure was reduced as it was believed that the economy and society would benefit more if people spent as they saw fit.
• Promoting peace was also one of the main objectives to reduce expenditure and taxation and improve trade.
• Restrictions were introduced to reduce the price of manual labor and taxation on commodities that workers commonly needed.
• In 1871, his government passed the Trade Union Act, allowing trade unions to organize and operate legally.
• Other prominent bills passed during his term were the Irish Land Act and Forster’s Education Act of 1870, the Universities Tests Act of 1871, the Ballot Act and Licensing Act of 1872, and the Supreme Court of Judicature Act 1873, leading to the creation of the modern-day High Court and Court of Appeal.

Opposition (1874–1880)

• Gladstone dissolved Parliament in January 1874, but his party was heavily defeated by the Conservatives due to their immense organized power. 
• He gave up party leadership and retired to Hawarden to write articles attacking the infallibility of the pope due to papal authoritarianism.
• Gladstone was then brought back into active politics as a result of the Disraeli government’s indifference towards the brutality of the Turkish reprisals against the uprising in the Balkans.
• He published a pamphlet entitled “Bulgarian Horrors and the Questions of the East,”  calling the government to withdraw its support for Turkey and demanding Turkish irregulars remove themselves from the peninsula.
• During the Midlothian campaign of 1879, he denounced Disraeli’s foreign policies during the Second Anglo-Afghan War in Afghanistan and the government’s wasteful spending.
• Gladstone was then able to secure his own return to Parliament, overthrowing the government and securing a large Liberal majority.

Second Premiership (1880–1885)

• Gladstone combined the functions of a prime minister and the chancellor of the Exchequer for two and a half years.
• In 1881, Gladstone established the Irish Coercion Act, which enabled the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland to detain people without trial, as there was a widespread disturbance in Ireland between landlords and tenants. 
• He then established the second Irish Land Act in April 1881, which gave tenants the “3Fs”: fair rent, fixity of tenure, and free sale.
• On July 11, 1882, he ordered the start of the Anglo-Egyptian War of 1882 by bombarding Alexandria. Historians hypothesize that this was motivated to protect Britain bondholders with investments in Egypt and to drive domestic political popularity.
• A third 1884 Reform Act was proposed to enfranchise working-class males. Though the bill was passed by the House of Commons, it was met with much resistance by Queen Victoria and the House of the Lords, who rejected it with a vote of 250 to 146.
• The bill was reintroduced and only passed when a Redistribution Bill would follow its passage. Once it became law, it added about six million to the total number of those who could vote.
• Gladstone’s popularity fell when a rescue mission for General Gordon came too late, with a massacre in Africa killing approximately 7,000 British and Egyptian soldiers and 4,000 civilians.

Third Premiership (1886) and the Home Rule Bill

• Gladstone and the Liberals won during the 1885 General Elections, with his administration aiming to deliver Ireland a reform that would give it a devolved assembly.
• The Liberal Party allied with the Irish Nationalists, and Gladstone regained his position as Prime Minister, combining his office with the Lord Privy Seal.
• The proposed Home Rule Bill would provide a separate parliament for Ireland in Dublin and remove Irish MPs from the House of Commons. It would effectively render it independent in governance but without a separate army, navy, and trade agreements.
• This bill split the Liberal Party, leading to the Liberal Unionist Party, which formed an alliance with the Conservative Party in opposition to Irish Home Rule.
• Parliament was dissolved, and in the 1886 general elections, the number of Liberal MPs fell from 333 to 196 with no party majority.
• He then resigned on July 30 and continued to write several articles on Irish Home Rule and criticism of the ability of the House of Lords in blocking government legislation.

Fourth Premiership (1892–1894)

• In the 1892 General Elections, the Liberal Party did not achieve an overall majority although it had won the most seats. The government comprised different parties with Conservatives, Irish Nationalists, and Liberal Unionists. 
• The administration promised the previously introduced Irish Home Rule, which was eventually passed by the House of Commons on September 1, 1893, by 43 votes (347 to 304).
• Other priority bills during this term included the Workmen’s compensation Act, which enforced the right of workers to compensation in situations of personal injury.
• The Elementary Education (Blind and Deaf Children) Act in 1893 was also passed, requiring local authorities to provide separate education for blind and deaf children.
• Gladstone then came into conflict with his party when an Opposition motion proposed to expand the Royal Navy. He opposed the proposal in favor of free trade liberalism; however, his Cabinet colleagues also supported this proposal.
• The Conservatives continued to block the government’s legislation, and he decided to resign after accepting the Lords’ amendments to the Local Government Bill “under protest.”
• His last speech suggested that the House of Lords should not be able to refuse bills passed by the House of Commons.

William Ewart Gladstone Worksheets

This is a fantastic bundle that includes everything you need to know about William Ewart Gladstone across 29 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use worksheets that are perfect for teaching kids about William Ewart Gladstone, who was the Prime Minister of Britain for four separate terms.

Complete List of Included Worksheets

Below is a list of all the worksheets included in this document.

1. William Ewart Gladstone
2. Matching Statements
3. Important Figures
4. Recount History
5. The Four Premierships
6. Gladstone’s Legacy
7. Identify the Event
8. Straight from the Speech
9. The Gladstone Exhibit
10. Behind the Bills
11. In Your Opinion…

Frequently Asked Questions

What was William Gladstone known for?

William Gladstone was a British statesman who was in the Liberal party. He served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom for 12 years, from 1868 to 1894. He did this for 4 terms. His career lasted more than 60 years.

Why did Gladstone resign?

In 1882, Gladstone’s government added income tax to the Budget. On June 8th, 1885, Gladstone’s government was unexpectedly defeated in a vote on the Budget. As a result, Gladstone resigned from his position as Prime Minister the next day and Lord Salisbury formed a minority Conservative administration.

What did William Gladstone do as prime minister?

William Ewart Gladstone was a famous British prime minister. He was very moralistic and emphasized world peace, budgets, political reform, and efforts to resolve the Irish question.

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