chartist movement

• Who were the Chartists

  - working class men who supported 1832 reform campaign

  - many didn't pay £10 in rent so couldn't vote
• Who was Lord Russell?


  - Whig mp (prime minster in 1846)

  - nicknamed finality jack

  - at speech at first parliament of Victoria's reign he insisted reform act was final
• What was the 1838 People's Charter


  William Lovett called the 6 points of the Chartist movement
• What were the peoples charter demands

  1- vote for all men over 21

  2- a secret ballot

  3- equal electoral districts

  4- no property qualifications to become an mp

  5- payment for MPs

  6- annual parliament
• Who was Fergus O'Connor?

  - Irish landowner and lawyer

  - wanted all men to have the vote, but not women

  - radical newspaper 'northern star' became Chartist bible

  - mp for Nottingham in 1847, only Chartist mp

  - put forward the 1848 Chartist petition
• Factors for Chartist movement

  - working class found it difficult to find jobs as new machines did work of 10 men in quick time

  - poor law reformed in 1834 to deal with Industrial Revolution problems

  - people who needed poor law assistance were sent to workhouses

  - bad harvest in 1830s
• Who was William Lovett

  - member of London working men's association

  - formed Chartist 1836

  - Birmingham political union joined campaign

  - 1839 Chartist convention

  - peaceful movement due to Christian faith

  - first petition was sent and rejected in 1839
• Violent actions of chartists - O'Connor

  - Chartists in south wales, where unemployment was high and people were starving, marched to Newport in nov 1839 to attack a prison and free their leader - soldiers opened fire and killed 22

  - when 1842 petition was declined O'Connor called violence

  - factory workers vandalised machinery in 'plug plot'

  - O'Connor called a general strike and queen was moved to isle of white for safety

  - wanted land reform called 'oconnorville
• Peaceful actions of chartists - Lovett

  - sent petitions in 1839 and 1842 - both rejected

  - committed to education and reform through a cooperative movement

  - encouraged involvement in trade unions

  - promoted temperance - would only be listened to if sober

  - established 'the Chartist' newspaper
• How did the government respond?

  - rejected petitions

  - local governments put up anti - Chartist meeting posters

  - freely arrested Chartists

  - spared of death penalty but transported to Australia and
• The third petition - 1848


  - O'Connor and around 50,000 supporters met on Kennington Common in London on 10th April 1848

  - The authorities expected more people so had prepared troops and thousands of police to stop O'Connor's supporters entering the city

  - O'Connor had to take the petition into London himself - it said to have 5 million signatures but it only had 2 million and many names were forged

  - Government saw it as a joke and rejected the petition
• When we're Chartist aims met

  - votes for all men - 1918

  - voting in secret - 1872

  - wages for MPs - 1911
• Why did the chartist movement fail short term ?

  They had strong opposition in parliament

  leadership movements were divided

  the government suppressed local meetings

  Other movements occurred (trade unions)