Chartism 1838-50

Chartism 1838-50

1. The origins of Chartism

   • The disappointment of the Reform Act
     • The new Parliament looked even less sympathetic to the working classes.
     • Henry Hunt lost his seat in Parliament.
     • The working classes felt increasingly betrayed by the middle classes.
   • The Anti-Poor Law campaign 1837-8
     • Passed by the Whig government in 1834
     • It abolished 'outdoor' relief so that poor relief would only be available in workhouses.
     • It demonstrated how little control Parliament had over the daily lives of working people.
   • The Factory Act 1833
     • In 1830, the Ten Hour Movement was launched to limit the length of the working day in factories and mines to ten hours.
     • The Factory Act was a huge disappointment to the reformers.
     • Restrictions on the hours that children could work in factories.
     • The Parliament showed little interest in the improvement of working conditions.
   • The Municipal Corporations Act 1835
     • Parliament extended the vote for local town councils to all ratepayers.
     • This excluded the working classes from participating in local government.
     • The new town councils began to establish modern police forces that many of the working classes saw as threatening.
   • The 'war of the unstamped' press
     • Since the Acts of 1819, newspapers had to pay stamp duty.
     • This was an attempt to deprive the radical press of its working-class readers.
     • The Poor Man's Guardian, edited by Henry Hetherington, was priced at a penny and sold over 15,000 copies a week.
     • In London, 740 sellers of unstamped newspapers were put on trial between 1831 and 1836.
     • The Whig government gave in in 1836

2. The Charter, the Petition and the Convention 1837-9

   • The National Petition and the Chartist Convention
     • A petition demanding the six points of the Charter would be presented to Parliament.
       • In July 1839, Parliament rejected the petition by 235 votes to 46.
   • 'Moral force' versus 'physical force'
     • Most believed that Chartism was a fair cause that they could win people over with the power of their arguments.
     • Most also believed that they needed the sheer force of numbers behind them.
     • The idea of 'defensive violence' was adopted by many Chartist leaders.
     • O'Connor has been associated with physical force Chartism, yet he was primarily an advocate of the peaceful approach.
       • Lovett is seen as a leading 'moral force' Chartist.
   • William Lovett (1800-77)
     • He worked to improve working-class education.
     • He was criticised by O'Connor for relying on 'moral force' Chartism.
   • The Convention breaks up, September 1839
     • The movement lost its central direction and much would depend on local leaders.
     • Although the Convention voted against the idea of a month-long strike, delegates called for a 3-day strike in August.
     • The response in the localities varied and many local leaders were arrested.
   • The Newport rising 1839
     • 10,000 men marched from South Wales to Newport.
     • They surrounded the Westgate Hotel, where some local Chartist leaders were being held.
     • Over 20 bodies were left at the scene.
     • 3 of the leaders were sentenced to death, but the Whig govt. changed the sentence to transportation instead.
     • Many of them were armed.
   • The nature of Chartism
     • Some historians see Chartism as a form of 'hunger politics'.
     • Other historians have concluded that it was politically motivated.
     • Chartism is best seen as both an economic and political movement.
     • The Charter kept alive working-class hopes throughout the years 1838-48.

3. Chartism in the 1840s

   • The National Charter Association
     • Set up in 1840, this was to be the most important Chartist organisation.
     • By 1842, it had 50,000 members in 400 branches.
     • First independent, working-class political party.
   • 'New Moves'
     • When William Lovett was released from prison in 1840, he concentrated on promoting education for the working classes.
     • He devised a scheme with schools, libraries and teacher training colleges.
     • These new schemes were all exclusively 'moral force' strategies.
     • Other Chartists advocated teetotal Chartism.
   • The 'Plug' strikes and riots, August 1842
     • The strikers pulled the plugs from boilers, forcing the factories to close down.
     • In the late 1839s and early 1840s, 6000 troops were deployed in the north.
     • The Chartists were no match for the physical force of the troops led by General Napier.
     • By the end of 1842, 1500 people had been put on trial for Chartist-related offences.
   • Economic recovery and the Land Plan 1845-8
     • Chartist Land Company was O'Connor's scheme to establish rural Chartist communities.
     • By 1848, 100,000 people had subscribed and 5 communities has been set up.
     • Chartism lost its mass support in the mid-1840s due to the arrest of many of its leaders, divisions among other leaders, economic recovery and reforms carried out by the govt..
   • 1848: the final phase
     • In the 1847 general election O'Connor was elected to Parliament.
     • A third Chartist petition and convention was planned for April 1848.
     • A mass meeting was planned to take place on Kennington Common.
       • The govt had 7000 troops, 4000 policemen and 85,000 special constables recruited.
         • The meeting attracted a crowd of only 20,000
   • The failure of Chartism
     • The power of the State was too strong for the Chartists.
   • Feargus O'Connor
     • He established the Northern Star in Leeds in 1837.
     • The paper acted as a unifying element, enabling news and views to be exchanged.
     • O'Connor was a powerful speaker.