Chartism (People's Charter of of 1838)

• The leaders of both Chartists groups were put in jail
• none of the demands were meet during the movements
• in later years their ideas were adopted by other groups and eventually 5 out of 6 demands were put in place

Purpose/Goals of the movement:

Tactics of both Chartist Groups

Chartists has six main demands which were:

• Votes for all men over 21
• Equal electoral districts
• Abolition of the requirement that Members of Parliament be property owners
• Payment for M.P.s;
• Annual general elections
• The secret ballot.

O'Conner/Vincent

Physical Force Chartist

Lovett/Attwood

Moral Force Chartist

• Protests
• Kennington Mass Meeting
• Newport Rising
• Plus Riot
• The Northern Star (Radical Newspaper)

• Chartist Newspapers

• Petitions
• General Strikes
• Public Meetings
• The Charter (Intellectual Newspaper)
• Female Unions

The purpose of the working class movements was to increase their say in government systems and to have democratic policies.

Historical Context

Chartism was a collection of movements from 1830s to 1848 in England, that was implemented by working men of the middle class. They wanted reform in Parliament and felt that the middle class wasn't being represented. It was a set radical political movements that were responding to economic downturn.

• why were they angry? The textile loom created job loss and cut pay for skilled workers; reform act didn't provide effective representation
• demands were put into "The People's Charter" developed in 1838 by William Lovett who became one leader of the National Charter Association (a nonviolent group) alongside Thomas Attwood
• Another leader was Feargus O'Conner; he lead the East London Democratic Association (a violent group) with Henry Vincent
• Popular reform movement in the time of European revolutions

Relationship to Classical Liberalism:

Chartism

(People's Charter of 1838)

A radical collective group, which rejected self interest.

The group believed that humans are reasonable and can make rational decisions that will benefit both themselves and society as a whole. They also believed in the primacy of individual rights and freedoms. Such as the right for all men to vote and a secret ballot.

They were against the idea of limited government and believed that governments were necessary in order to protect the people. The Chartists just felt that they needed a more prominent role within the Parliament system and make amendments so the middle class could have a better state of living.

BY: MEAGAN WOOLSEY & JAIMIE FIRLOTTE

Sites:

http://www.victorianweb.org/history/hist3.html

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/chartism.htm

http://www.uoguelph.ca/englit/victorian/INTRO/inchart.html

http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/chartism.htm

http://www.victorianweb.org/history/chartism.html

Consequences:

Political Cartoon

• The popularity of the movement decreased significantly due to their tactics
• Both Chartists groups weren't taken seriously because of their status and their quarrels each other

"Our Petition smashed the door frames of the narrow House - it broke them in pieces - it took forty or fifty men to carry in the fragments. I took a famous lump on my shoulder to the table of the House." - Feargus O’Connor