chartism

• social causes of Chartism :

  • London's Working Men's association led by William Lovett, 1836. high fees and small membership. preferred to campaign peacefully
  • Great Northern Union led by Feargus O'Connor. 1837 Northern Star was the mouthpiece for the movement. charismatic speaker who had lots of support from Irish immigrants and unskilled workers
  • Birmingham Political Union failed 1831-2 so relaunched in 1837 campaigning for universal suffrage, led by Thomas Attwood
• economic causes of Chartism:

  • Corn Laws 1815 made grain very expensive
  • War of the Unstamped 1831-36. newspapers very expensive. so tax was reduced and stopped on pamphlets. 1831 'Poor Man's Guardian' sold at 1 penny and 2 years later they had sold 220,000 copies.
  • industrial revolution. power loom and weavers, wages and jobs reduced. women now working same jobs as men
• what was William Lovetts organisation called ?

  London Working Men's Association
• political cause pt 1:

  • 1833 Irish Coercion Act allowed the Lord Lieutenant to stop public meetings and arrest individuals at any time. Radical behavior in Ireland shocked Britain, leading to fears of similar unrest in Britain
  • 1832 Reform Act enfranchised a small amount of the middle class, but it was a disappointment. political cause
• political causes pt 2:

  • 1834 Poor Law Amendment Act replaced the old law due to cost concerns. Under the new law, individuals were paid less than the lowest paid and were forced to leave home to work in workhouses. The act were established in the North in 1837, coinciding with the depression of 1838-1842. Riots in Stockport in 1842 were triggered by food shortages.
• the People's Charter :

  1. universal suffrage achieved 1928
  2. no property qualifications achieved 1858
  3. annual parliament never achieved
  4. vote by ballot achieved 1872
  5. regular representation achieved 1885
  6. salaries for MPs achieved 1911
• 1839 petition 


  rejected but disagreed how to act. Lovett = peaceful but O'Connor = violent. At the Newport Rising in November Henry Vincent was imprisoned so John Frost led 10,000 soldiers to show support, 22 died and 50 were injured. in July the petition was rejected at 1,280,000 signatures as >1/2 MPs showed.
• 1842 petition:


  rejected again at 3.3 million signatures. Plug Plot Riots happened which brought factories to standstill but stopped quickly due to good harvests and improved conditions
• 1848 petition:


  rejected. O'Connor claimed it to have 5 million signatures when it only had 2 million. fake signatures like 'no cheese' and ones from the queen make the campaign look like a laughing stock
• national support

  • most support came from industrial northern towns.
  • Birmingham, Manchester, Glasgow
  • not much support in London due to lack of industrial development and Ireland had other concerns. The South had little support as landowners and agric workers opposed the movement
  • link to Northern Star. 1839 had 36,000. 1851 only 1,500 copies
• Trade Societies support:

  • many supported it as it was an outlet for workers and presented an element of hope to present their own issues
  • Chartism helped TUs as their organisation and leadership skills were invaluable
  • however, many didn't support them as they were more focused on issues like low pay. 21/23 associations didn't mind the lack of a vote
• female support:

  • did the majority of the ground work but didn't have a say in the decision making. 1/3 of signatures on 1839 petition + 20% of membership. 100 female chartist associations
  • boycotted shops, held Sunday schools, fundraisers
  • motivation that at some point they would get the vote but hope ran out in 1850s when it was clear that wouldn't happen
  • motivated by Corn Laws and Poor Law Amendment Act.
• what did William Lovett say?


  original charter included women but it was removed as they thought it would prevent men getting the vote
• middle class support:

  • initially had support. rich industrialists funded movement, anti-corn law league 1838
  • Complete Suffrage Union 1841 created by Joseph Sturge initially successful but collapsed after Northern Star opposed it.
  • big gap between working class political ambitions and middle class economic ideas.
• Chartism failed because of gov response

  • metropolitan police act 1829= organised police force of 1,000 men. Rural Police Act 1839= extended act to countryside
  • general Napier. 1839 given command over 4,000 soldiers. divided his troops into 3 departments and stationed them outside industrial towns
  • Kennington Common- 170,000 secret service. steamboats carrying soldiers who could be concentrated to 10,000 in minutes. gov buildings barricaded
• Chartism failed because of fluctuating support:

  • women- fundamental support until 1850
  • Trade Unions- surface support
  • National- partial support
  • middle class- short term support
• Chartism failed because of new technology:

  • electric telegraph= allowed gov to receive information almost immediately and therefore respond quickly
  • railways= Newport Rising 1839 meant that troops arrived 6 days late. In the Bull Ring Riots gov able to send 60 troops to Birmingham in a few hrs. 'railway mania' where 5,000 miles were built. allowed chartists to travel for meetings and news as well. London to Cornwall meant chartism could leak into rural areas
• Chartism failed because of actions/ tactic of chartists:

  • leadership differences= O'Connor wanted to be more violent/radical whereas Lovett wanted to protest more morally. O'Connor disapproved of the National Charter Association. Lovett retired from peoples Charter after being arrested at Bull Ring Riots. focused on education
  • mass petitions= 1st 1.2 mill. 2nd 3.3 mill and 3rd claimed to have 5.7 mill
  • mass meetings= Kennington Common expected 200,000 only 20,000. Northern Star read allowed