Chartism 1838-1850

Chartism 1838-1850

1. Who were they and what were their aims?

   • Came from the LMWA led by William Lovett, 6 radical MPs, and reformist groups who had campaigned for change following the reform act
   • Aimed for: universal suffrage for all men over 21, secret ballots, property qualification abolished, salaries for MPs, redrawn constituencies and annual parliamentary elections.

2. Why did it appear?

   • W/c disillusionment with the 1832 act due to it mainly being aimed at m/c as a tactic for the whigs.
   • 1834 poor law, failure of parties to address reform and poor working/living conditions.

3. The national convention 1839

   • 53 members met to propose their petition to parliament, South were more moderate, North were more violent. Failed at first due to divisions in London, but reconvened in Birmingham with 35 people and a plan to carry out the 'sacred month' strike.
     • First petition June 1839: It had 1.2 million signatures bur parliament declined it 235 to 46.
       • Some wanted violence, and the 'sacred month' was voted against 13 to 6.
       • Second petition 1842, saw 3.3 million signatures but was rejected 287-49, which led to many strikes including the 'plug-plot'.
         • A peaceful rally was organised on Kennington common, and the govt feared violence so put in special police. Whilst the chartists claim 150,000 turned up, the govt said it was 12-000-15,000 and

4. The Newport rising

   • 5000 miners led by John Frost marched to free chartists from prison, 24 died and between June 1839-40 over 500 were arrested.

5. Who supported chartism?

   • London and south helped initially with the LWMA and the six-point people's charter, however as it developed the south was dominated by the north.
   • Birmingham was supportive until the fall of the first petition in 1839.
   • Leeds, Manchester, Stockport, Newcastle and Glasgow particulary supported due to anger of under-representation.
   • M/c support dropped after the Birmingham riots and newport rising of 1839, many felt alientated, especially by the anti-corn law league stance. (birmingham was more supportive with the Complete suffrage union)
   • After 1840, it was extremely supported by w/c, especially handloom weavers, miners and metal workers.
   • Rural workers didn;t show much support due to the Poor law act which benefitted them.
   • Women made up 20% of signatures on the three petitions and the Hyde chartist society had 300 male and 200 female members, and the Birmingham charter assoc had 3000 female members.
     • Started up chartist Sunday schools, with key figures being Susanna Inge and Anne Knight.

6. Who were Feargus O'Connor and William Lovett?

   • Lovett met Henry Hunt and Cobbett and was strictly pro-peace. He was the founding member of the LWMA and authorised the 6 point charter and his peaceful approach actually resulted in the confusion and split of the first petition of 1839.
     • He focuses upon trying to unite the m/c and w/c by working with the Birmingham universal suffrage assoc, but was hindered by O'connor who attacked him on his newspaper 'the northern star'.
   • O'Connor offered charismatic leadership in the movement and his popularity grew when he served in prison for 18 months for sedition, where he smuggled letters out to publish in his northern star.
     • The Northern Star sold 36,000 copies weakly, and O'Connor became an MP in 1847 which gave him influence. He also created the NCA in 1840 which revived the movement, which claimed by 1842 to have 400 branches and 50,000 members.
     • He was also very divisive, arguing with every chartist member and was extremely opinionated about the use of violence.

7. What were govt responses to chartism?

   • Both the Whigs and the Torys agreed that the 1832 act was sufficient enough, but there were also a number of MPs that supported it, especially the Whigs who allowed for the Manchester Moor of Sept 1838 which involved 30,000 people.
     • Main tactics after 1839 was to arrest leaders or use police to break up meetings and protests.
       • supported by the rail network and electric telegraph in 1840s.
     • Major General Napier prevented a lot of violence against the chartists by becoming commander of the military in the north between 1839-42, he reassured local magistrates with protection to prevent panic like the Peterloo massacre.

8. what is evidence of failure and success by the chartists?

   • Rejections by parliament, divisions, conflict with anti-corn laws and 1847 factory act, effective govt tactics and inconsistent support all contributed to the failures of the movement.
     • It did create impact and taught future reforms valuable lessons. It also created an exclusively working-class culture in Victorian Britain through trade unions, where between 1872-79 there were more than 300 strikes per year.