Chartism (AQA GCSE History)

 Summary

The changes brought about by the Great Reform Act left the working class without the vote. Some of the people who demanded political representation for the working class published a document known as ‘The People’s Charter’. These people became known as the Chartists. The Chartist movement gathered enormous support and, although there were disagreements over the best way to campaign, nearly all of their demands had been met by the early 20^th century.

Causes of Chartism

• Britain’s working class had been ignored by the Great Reform Act of 1832

• The Industrial Revolution continued to cause disruption and uncertainty to working people because:

  • Many jobs had been replaced by machines

  • Wages were often lowered 

  • Living conditions in the rapidly expanding cities were appalling

• Poor harvests in the 1830s led to higher food prices and made the struggle for working-class people even harder

• The new Poor Law of 1834 meant that those who could not afford food or rent were sent to the workhouse

  • Life in the workhouse was so hard and physically demanding that they were nicknamed ‘prisons for the poor’

• As working-class people couldn’t vote, their problems were often ignored

  • Politicians concentrated on pleasing those who could vote

• The London Working Men’s Association was set up by William Lovett in 1836 to campaign for working men to be able to vote

• The Birmingham Political Union (BPU) joined the campaign

• The first national Chartist convention was held in Birmingham in 1839

• The Chartists had six main demands:

  • Every man over 21 should be able to vote

  • All voting to take place in secret

  • Equal-sized constituencies (voting districts)

  • MPs should be paid

  • MPs should not have to own property

  • Elections should be held every year

• Lovett was a devout Christian and committed to achieving these aims by peaceful methods such as collecting signatures on petitions

  • The first Chartist petition collected over a million signatures and was presented to Parliament in 1839

  • Its demands were rejected by Parliament with 245 MPs voting against it and just 46 voting to pass it

Why did Chartism Pose a Threat to the Government?

• The rejection of the first Chartist petition led to calls for a change in how they campaigned for change

• Moderate Chartists, such as William Lovett, argued that they should continue to use peaceful methods as it gave their arguments moral force

• Others, such as Feargus O’Connor, argued that they should use the physical force of their enormous number of supporters to intimidate the government into change

• A second petition, containing over 3 million signatures, was rejected by Parliament in 1842

  • This led to Feargus O’Connor becoming the leader of the Chartists

  • His calls for more direct action led to the Plug Riots where workers vandalised factory machinery in a similar way to the Luddites

  • O’Connor called for a general strike and encouraged his supporters to demand that Britain become a republic

• Support for the Chartists was so great that fears for Queen Victoria’s safety led to her moving to the Isle of Wight

The Third Petition, 1848

• In 1847, Britain experienced an economic depression that led to many working people losing their jobs

  • As a result, support for the Chartist cause increased and a third petition was taken to Parliament in 1847

• The government, led by the Duke of Wellington, greatly feared what might happen when the petition was formally presented

  • Over 85,000 special constables blocked 50,000 Chartist supporters from entering the City of London

  • O’Connor personally presented the petition and claimed it contained over 5 million signatures

    • This number is disputed as many of the signatures were forgeries, with Queen Victoria’s name appearing several times

    • This enabled Parliament to dismiss the petition as a stunt and ignore its demands

Impacts of Chartism