John Russell, 1st Earl Russell Facts & Worksheets

• Public health was a major issue in fast-growing cities. Under Russell, the government created the Metropolitan Commission of Sewers and passed the Public Health Act of 1848, which put the government in charge of things like clean water, sewer systems and waste removal.
• Russell also tried to expand religious freedom. When Lionel de Rothschild was elected to Parliament in 1847, Rothschild could not take his seat because the oath required mentioning Christianity. Russell tried several times to pass a Jewish Relief bill, which would have allowed Jewish MPs to sit in the Commons. The Commons approved it, but the House of Lords blocked it each time. Rothschild would not be able to take his seat until 1858.
• The biggest crisis of Russell’s ministry was the Great Irish Famine. More than a million people died, and more than a million left Ireland. Russell began with a public works programme that hired hundreds of thousands of starving people, but it eventually collapsed under its own size. The government then shifted to relief through soup kitchens and workhouses. A new law, the Poor Law Extension Act, put most famine costs on Irish landlords, which led many of them to evict tenants to save money. Russell believed Irish property owners should pay for Irish poverty.
• Russell also tried to improve relations with the Catholic Church in Ireland. He proposed giving money to the Catholic clergy to improve cooperation, but the plan failed because church leaders feared government control. He did manage to pass a law to restore diplomatic relations with the Pope, but Parliament added limits that made it impossible, and no exchange of ambassadors took place.
• In 1850, Pope Pius IX restored Catholic bishops in England. Many Protestants were furious. Russell wrote what became known as the ‘Durham Letter’, criticising the Pope for interfering in British religious matters. This made Russell very popular in England, but it angered Irish MPs and weakened his support in Parliament. He later passed the Ecclesiastical Titles Act, which tried to stop Catholic bishops from using English territorial titles. The Act was mostly ignored and caused further political damage.
• Russell also struggled constantly with his Foreign Secretary, Lord Palmerston, who often acted without approval. Palmerston created diplomatic conflicts and frequently ignored Russell’s instructions. In 1851, Palmerston supported Napoleon III’s coup in France without asking anyone. Russell finally demanded that he resign. Palmerston soon struck back. He turned a vote on a militia bill into a vote of confidence in the government. Russell lost the vote on 21 February 1852, and his ministry fell.

MID-CAREER (1852–1865)

• After Russell left office in 1852, the government changed hands several times. The Earl of Derby became Prime Minister, but his Conservative government was weak because it did not have enough support in the House of Commons. The Whigs, Peelites and Irish MPs could not agree on a new leader, and Russell’s own position in the Whig Party had been damaged by his quarrel with Lord Palmerston. Many Peelites also did not trust him anymore.
• When Derby’s government was defeated at the end of 1852, the Queen asked Lord Lansdowne to form a government, but he refused. The Queen then turned to Lord Aberdeen, who succeeded in creating a coalition of Whigs and Peelites. Russell agreed to join Aberdeen’s coalition, though he was not fully pleased about serving under him. He began as Foreign Secretary but he soon gave up the post and continued as Leader of the House of Commons instead.
• Russell used his position to push for another Reform Bill. He wanted to lower the amount of property a man needed in order to vote, and he also wanted to change how seats were shared among constituencies. Yet rising tension with Russia and the start of the Crimean War forced him to delay the bill. Once war began, he was pressed by the cabinet to drop the plan entirely. He threatened to resign, and although Aberdeen convinced him to stay, the fall of the government in 1855 meant the reform had to wait many more years.
• Russell and Palmerston both believed Britain should stand firmly against Russia. This helped lead Britain into the Crimean War. But Russell soon became unhappy with how the war was being run. Reports from the front described soldiers suffering from poor supplies, bad conditions and weak organisation. Russell believed the War Office needed stronger leadership and urged Aberdeen to replace the Secretary of State for War, but this did not happen. 
• When Parliament voted to open an official inquiry into the mismanagement of the war, Russell resigned rather than vote against an investigation. The inquiry passed, Aberdeen resigned, and many blamed Russell for helping bring down the coalition.
• The Queen and Aberdeen both felt that Russell had behaved in a way that made the coalition less stable. Russell tried to form a new government but found he did not have enough support. Palmerston became Prime Minister instead, and Russell unwillingly accepted the job of Colonial Secretary. He was later sent to Vienna to negotiate peace with Russia, but the talks failed, and he resigned again in 1855.
• From 1855 to 1859, Russell sat on the backbenches. He continued to speak out on issues he cared about, such as better education and lowering the property limit for voting. He also criticised Palmerston’s foreign policies, especially the Second Opium War. These arguments helped bring down Palmerston’s government in 1858.
• In 1859, after another short Conservative government collapsed, Palmerston and Russell healed their old disagreements. Russell returned as Foreign Secretary in what is often seen as the first true Liberal government. His time in this post was eventful, with major world changes such as the unification of Italy, the American Civil War, and the war over Schleswig-Holstein. In 1861, Russell was made Earl Russell, which moved him from the House of Commons to the House of Lords. He stayed as Foreign Secretary until 1865.

SECOND TERM AS PRIME MINISTER (1865–1866)

• Russell became Prime Minister again in 1865 after Lord Palmerston died. This time he led a Liberal government, but his return to office was not easy. His main aim was to pass a new Reform Bill that would allow more men to vote. He felt Britain needed another step towards a fairer political system.
• Russell and William Gladstone introduced the bill in 1866, hoping to lower the property rules that limited who could vote. But the Liberal Party was split. Some members thought the plans were too bold, while others believed they did not go far enough. These arguments inside the party weakened Russell’s government.
• On 18 June 1866 the government lost an important vote in Parliament on its reform plans. This defeat counted as a vote of no confidence, and Russell’s government collapsed soon after. Lord Derby then formed a new Conservative government, with Benjamin Disraeli playing a major part. Ironically, it was Derby and Disraeli who later managed to pass the voting reform that Russell had long hoped to achieve.

LATER YEARS AND DEATH

• In the 1870s, Russell and his wife faced family tragedy. Their daughter-in-law, Viscountess Amberley, died in 1874, and their son, Viscount Amberley, passed away in 1876. After these losses, Russell and his wife took on the responsibility of raising their grandchildren, including John (‘Frank’) Russell, who later became the 2nd Earl Russell, and Bertrand Russell, who grew up to be a famous philosopher.
• John Russell spent his final years at Pembroke Lodge, his home in Richmond Park. He died there on 28 May 1878. The Prime Minister at the time, the Earl of Beaconsfield, offered a public funeral and burial at Westminster Abbey, but Russell’s wife declined, following his wish to be buried with his family. He was laid to rest in the Bedford Chapel at St. Michael’s Church in Chenies, Buckinghamshire, among his ancestors.

Key Political Achievements of John Russell:

• Became a Member of Parliament at age 20 and supported reform and religious freedom
• Helped pass the Reform Act 1832
• Won pardons for the Tolpuddle Martyrs
• Improved prisons
• Passed the Marriages Act 1836 for civil and non-Anglican marriages
• Reduced the number of crimes carrying the death penalty
• Started the public system to record births, marriages and deaths
• Improved local government outside London
• Introduced education reforms and teachers’ pensions
• Passed the Public Baths and Washhouses Acts
• Supported the Factories Act 1847, limiting work hours for women and young people
• Passed the Public Health Act 1848 and improved sewer systems
• Tried to allow Jewish MPs to take their seats (Jewish Relief bills)
• Managed the government’s response to the Irish Famine
• Passed the Ecclesiastical Titles Act 1851 for Catholic bishops
• Advocated further electoral reform
• Served as Colonial Secretary and Foreign Secretary, supporting Italian unification
• Tried to expand the voting rights as Prime Minister in 1865–1866