A Historical Background Chartism A Historical Background

What was the campaign about? When the Chartist movement was established in the late 1830s, only 18 per cent of the adult male population of Britain could vote (before 1832 just 10 per cent could vote). Much of the working-class population were living in poverty, but without a voice in politics, they did not feel they could change their situation. What was the campaign about? The electoral system in the early nineteenth century was radically different from the parliamentary democracy we have today. The system was not representative of the population in terms of wealth or region, and elections were open to corruption. Before 1832, just ten per cent of British adult males were eligible to vote – and this portion of the population was the richest. Having a say in political matters was essential for the working-class to be able to improve upon their status.

The Peterloo Massacre, 1819. This is a portion of the official report into a meeting held at St Peter’s Fields, Manchester in August 1819, during which 11 people were killed and 400 wounded. The assembled crowd, which was estimated to be upwards of 60,000 people, had gathered to hear famous orators of the day such as Henry Hunt talk about parliamentary reform. Fearing a riot due to the presence of so many reformers in a single location, the magistrate ordered the local yeomen to arrest Hunt. The crowd resisted and the yeomen charged, killing and wounding members of the crowd as they went. The event was soon known as the Peterloo Massacre in reference to the Battle of Waterloo, which had occurred four years before.

The Peterloo Massacre

Reform of the electoral system finally arrived with the 1832 Reform Act, which increased the proportion of eligible voters in England and Wales to 18 per cent of the adult-male population and 12 per cent in Scotland. Although the working classes had high hopes for the Reform Act, they eventually felt betrayed as despite the new legislation, the poor ultimately remained voiceless in the way their country was run. Reactions In the years following the Reform Act, the Chartists would begin to plan their campaign to try to effect real electoral change in Britain. In its final form the Reform Act of 1832 increased the electorate from around 366,000 to 650,000, which was about 18 per cent of the total adult-male population in England and Wales. The vast majority of the working classes, as well as women, were still excluded from voting and the Act failed to introduce a secret ballot. The working classes felt betrayed by an act which made no real difference to their lives. However, the reform of Parliament had begun, and this paved the way for the popular agitation of the Chartists.

The meeting at St Peter’s Fields did not directly achieve any parliamentary reform and actually led to a suppression of civil liberties. Following the massacre, the Tory government introduced 'Six Acts' to suppress radical newspapers and seditious meetings, with the aim of reducing the chance of an armed uprising. However, the Peterloo Massacre did create martyrs for the cause of reform and the anger of the masses only served to strengthen support for change. Result

What was the goal of the campaign? The ultimate goal of the Chartists, as stated in the first minutes of the London Working Men's Association, was 'to seek by every legal means to place all classes of society in possession of their equal, political, and social rights'. This was to be achieved by campaigning for six key changes to the parliamentary system: What was the goal of the campaign?

The People’s Charter This document, written in 1838 mainly by William Lovett of the London Working Men’s Association, stated the ideological basis of the Chartist movement. The People's Charter detailed the six key points that the Chartists believed were necessary to reform the electoral system and thus alleviate the suffering of the working classes. • Universal suffrage • Abolition of property qualifications for members of parliament • Annual parliamentary elections • Equal representation • Payment of members of Parliament • Vote by secret ballot

How did the campaigners become experts on the issue? The Chartists were able to spread information relatively quickly using a network of newspapers, as well as mass meetings and speeches. This enabled supporters of Chartism to learn about the issues and keep up to date with news and events. The Chartist leaders also met regularly at conferences and meetings. How did the campaigners become experts on the issue? Chartists held large public meetings where people gathered to hear orators speak about the Chartist cause. Their most important campaign tactic, however, was probably the three enormous petitions, which were collected and presented to Parliament.

The Chartists made extremely effective use of the print media to spread their message to the masses. A large number of the prominent Chartists owned or wrote for newspapers, many of which sold thousands of copies a week. Author of The People’s Charter, William Lovett, also published a newspaper. It was called The Charter and first published on 27th January 1839, priced at six pence. It was edited by William Carpenter, a radical reformer and journalist who was opposed to 'physical force' tactics. At its peak, the paper sold 5,000 to 6,000 copies a week, but was financially unsuccessful and ceased publication in March 1840, just over a year after it had been established By far the most successful of the Chartist newspapers was Feargus O’Connor’s The Northern Star. Other papers made an impact but the northern Star was the one that became a key factor in the Chartist Movement.

Was there a resource pool? Who were their allies? Chartism had a huge amount of support from the working classes, particularly in industrialized areas. The largest Chartist petition claimed to have nearly 6 million signatures. Many prominent Chartists had skills in writing, printing and oratory, which helped attract the support necessary to make Chartism a mass movement. Was there a resource pool? Who were their allies?

This is a daguerreotype (an early form of photograph) of the Chartist meeting held at Kennington Common on 10th April 1848.  It was the last time the Chartists attempted to present a petition to Parliament. Fearing an attempted revolution, the Government prepared immensely for the meeting and filled London with 85,000 special constables, as well as putting 8,000 soldiers on alert. Although there were probably upwards of 20,000 (perhaps as many as 50,000) people present, the meeting was a peaceful one. As the crowd dispersed Feargus O’Connor and the Chartist Executive delivered the petition to Parliament in a series of coaches. O’Connor claimed the petition had 5,700,000 signatures, but when the clerks in the House of Commons examined it, they found it to feature less than two million names. These included a number of falsely-signed names, such as those of Queen Victoria, Sir Robert Peel and The Duke of Wellington, which only served to discredit the petition further. Despite the huge amount of legitimate signatures, Parliament did not take the petition seriously and it was rejected.

Female Chartists Chartism is often portrayed as a male-dominated movement. The Chartists demanded universal suffrage for men only and the main leaders were all male, but despite this, women played an important, often overlooked, role in furthering their cause.  Women also formed their own Chartist organisations. This newspaper article from the Caledonian Mercury, published in October 1842, reports on a meeting to discuss the formation of a Female Chartist Association. The article demonstrates the struggle that female Chartists such as Susanna Inge and Anne Walker faced from within the movement.

Who were their opponents and what stood in their way? Chartism was opposed by almost all those who had the vote, together with MPs and the ruling classes – all of whom were among the wealthier members of society. The Chartists were sometimes portrayed as worthy of ridicule in the media, and sometimes as a source of danger. The Chartists created obstacles for themselves and the success of the movement through lack of unity and disagreements over tactics. There was a split between those who wished to use peaceful 'moral force' and those who wished to use the threat of 'physical force' to achieve the aims of the Charter. Who were their opponents and what stood in their way?

The Illustrated London News in 1848. The Chartists were often a source of fun for the media, as demonstrated by this article that was published in the Illustrated London News in 1848. On 10th April 1848 the Chartists presented their largest and final petition to Parliament after a mass meeting on London's Kennington Common. Feargus O’Connor claimed that the Charter had over five million signatures, but when this was examined by Parliament, it was found to have less than two million. Many of these signatures were clearly false, as names such as Queen Victoria, the Duke of Wellington and Mr Punch were on the document. This fact damaged the Chartists’ credibility and was fully exploited by the media, who created humorous cartoons such as this one. The petition was defeated heavily.

How did they plan for success? The People’s Charter was written by William Lovett, but Feargus O’Connor became the main leader of the Chartist movement. The Chartists were extremely clear about their central aims, which were published in The People’s Charter, together with plans for a secret ballot. They planned for success by presenting three enormous petitions to Parliament. How did they plan for success? Some such as William Lovett and the London Working Men's Association wanted to only use 'moral force' to achieve the aims of the Charter, while others such as Feargus O’Connor were advocates of 'physical force'. The Newport Rising was one of the extreme cases of when 'physical force' was used. The Chartists had other plans to alleviate the conditions of the working classes, such as building of the rural utopia O’Connorville.

The more radical Chartists took part in riots in Newcastle, Birmingham and elsewhere round the country, at which leading members of the movement were arrested. The most infamous episode in the history of Chartism was the disastrous Newport Rising, which took place on 4thNovember 1839. A group of Chartists stormed a hotel and 22 of the protestors were killed by waiting troops. The Newport Rising The Newport Rising took the wind out of the sails for the movement for a while as one newspaper article, published a few days after the uprising, describes the events as they happened. It is clearly written from a strong anti-Chartist perspective, referring to them as 'deluded men' and praising the military for their 'cool and determined conduct'.

How successful were they? Although the Chartists gathered enormous support in the form of signatures for their petitions, their demands were rejected by Parliament every time they were presented. By the time Chartism ended in 1858, not a single demand from the People’s Charter had become law. Although the Chartists failed to achieve their aims directly, their influence persisted and reformers continued to campaign for the electoral reforms advocated by the People’s Charter. How successful were they?

A new Reform Bill was passed in August 1867 that gave the vote to all male heads of households over 21, and all male lodgers paying £10 a year in rent. Further reform arrived with the Ballot Act in 1872, which ensured that votes could be cast in secret – a key demand of the People’s Charter. Some Improvements

In 1884 the Third Reform Act extended the qualification of the 1867 Act to the countryside so that almost two thirds of men had the vote. Eventually, only one of the Chartists’ demands – for annual parliamentary elections – failed to become part of British law. At the time, Chartism may have been judged unsuccessful, but there is no doubt that the movement's campaign for electoral reform played an important role in the development of democracy in the UK. Getting Better