CHARTISM. One of the major topics of debate: historians debate what it was and what it meant. E.P. Thompson, and other left-wing historians called it the first working class conscious movement in England. (In Thompson’s book called “The making of the English working class”) Some argue that Chartism is the first working class movement Keep in mind:
- Origins of Chartism (economic or political)
- Who were the Chartists? (Regions)
- Was it class conscious?
- Why was it a failure? (Leadership/class strategy)
Chartism was the agitation movement of the working classes. Its aim was to pressurise the government into accepting the 6 points of the Charter, drawn up by Lovett (with the help of the LWMA), and Place (a long-standing radical). These points were: These are traditional radical demands. Only Payment of MPs is new.
- Universal Suffrage
- No property qualifications
- Annual parliaments
- Equal representation (Constituencies of equal size)
- Vote by ballot
- Payment of members
All of these are political demands, as opposed to economic demands. It is a demand for the working classes to be included in the political system. ALL of these (with the exception of payment of MPs) are old demands: demanded in 1832 & before. All of these, with the exception of Annual Parliaments, are components of the modern political system. Annual Parliaments would have meant that there would be v.little time for governments to instill policies. CHARTISM: CHRONOLOGY.
1838(one of the high points of Chartism). Feb. 1839 National Assembly meets in London, but moves to Birmingham. Charter Number 1 is presented to & rejected by Parliament. July 1839 National Convention disperses: it is divided over ULTERIOR MOTIVES (= what to do once the charter is rejected), such as Sacred Month (=general strike), Newport Rising is suppressed.
After the Newport Rising, support from the Middle Classes decreases.
1839Jan 1840 Attempted risings, eg: Sheffield July 1840 NCA is formed: it aims to co-ordinate Chartism on a national scale. Dominated by O’Connor.
1842 (one of the high points of Chartism).
April 1842 Second convention May 1842 Petition rejected 1848(one of the high points of Chartism). Against a backdrop of revolution in Europe. April 1848 Third convention, and Kennington rally is a failure.
ORIGINS OF CHARTISM:
2)Economic distress.
- In the period after 1836, there was severe economic dislocation: the waves of chartist activity coincide with economic dips.
- 1838 Depression: 3rd bad harvest in a row, so the price of bread rises.
- 1848 Harvest failures make the price of bread rise.
- Membership of Chartist organizations is highest in the most depressed trades such as the textile industry: this affected handloom weavers especially in Lancashire.
- Also a link to the general problems associated with urbanization and industrialization: Chartist activity confined to towns affected by the Industrial revolution, eg: SW Scotland, S. Wales, W. Midlands, Tyneside.
- Vulnerable to the problems of ‘immature’ capitalism: cyclical unemployment and trade slumps.
- Also vulnerable to poor living conditions in rapidly-growing cities: squalid, cramped, disease-ridden: eg: 30,000 wiped out by cholera epidemic in 1831.
4)The Radical Press. - Newspapers were cheap enough to be affordable to the working classes: people thus bought them.
- Many people bought the newspapers, so it would have been ridiculous to try all the vendors Lord Lyndhurst declared that the law didn’t apply to the radical publications, but only to those publications with news in them.
- Created a network of organisation provided a network between meetings, uprisings and radicals.
- Gave protest a shape and direction
NATURE OF CHARTISM
1)Local or National Basis? 2)Divisions in Chartism fragmentation after 1839 3)Ideology: Socialism, Hunger Protest, or Political movement?
Local or National Basis? National Movement.
- Has a wide Geographical spread from South Wales to Scotland.
- Strong in traditional radical areas, but also in new areas, such as the Black Country
- Has a national organization in the form of the NCA after 1840: NCA headed by O’Connor.
- Has a national mouthpiece in the form of the Northern Star. Its circulation was c.20,000 at its peak
- Had National Demands: the charter wanted to reform national government.
Local Movement
- More prevalent in Chartism than national co-ordination this is shown in the work of Asa Briggs shows Chartism has local roots
- Chartism might be seen as disparate local threads focusing on the charter charter is the unifying part of a diverse movement.
- There are different types of Chartism in different areas:
- 2 types in London:
1)Lovett and the LWMA Had a radical artisan tradition. Was associated with artisans/skilled workers. Would co-operate with the middle classes. Advocated use of moral force Exclusive in membership 2)Harney and ELDA Was associated with depressed workers, especially silk @ Spitalfields Against co-operation with the middle classes Advocated use of physical force
Divisions in Chartism The most commented on division is that between moral and physical force Chartism. The split emerges at the 1839 convention in the debate over ulterior measures as it becomes clear that Parliament will not debate the Charter. Physical force can be seen in risings in 1839:Newport. 1840:Sheffield/Bradford. There isn’t a clear divide between moral & physical force wings: examples are people like O’Connor & Harney who had been pro-physical force pre-1839, but more cautious afterwards. O’Connor condemns the general strike. Moral force devotees often saw physical force as impractical. (See sources for more info.) Other divisions: Concentration on moral/physical divisions should not obscure the fragmentation of Chartism in other ways. Fragmentation occurs after 1839. Eg:
- The New Move Lovett and the LWMA
The New Move wanted to promote political and moral education of working classes to make them appear more deserving of the vote and more acceptable to other classes.
- Religious Chartism Chartist Churches were set up, especially in Scotland
- Temperance Chartism (abstaining from alcohol)
This was a campaign for the moral improvement of the working class, again to make them more deserving of the vote.
There was also co-operation with middle class organizations/campaigns: Eg: Anti-Poor law league Complete suffrage league. Ideology in Chartism There are three interpretations of Chartist ideology: 2 arise from a speech by J. R. Stephens, a former Methodist minister. He said that Chartism was “a knife and fork issue”, a “bread and butter issue” (see source sheets).
1)A basic interpretation is that Chartism is a reflexive economic movement. It is a response to the economic conditions of the 1830’s and 1840’s.
Proof:* Its strong points coincide with times of high prices and unemployment
- It died down when the economy improved after 1848.
- It is concentrated in the worst affected industries & areas (eg: handloom weavers)
2)Chartism means a right to be able to put food on the table Stephens is interpreted by Left-wing historians as showing the coherent problems of capitalism and a vision of a better future. G.D.H. Cole called Chartism “embryonic socialism”. Chartism shows signs of class consciousness, (=awareness of one’s place in society). Example of c.consciousness: the rhetoric on the subject of the middle classes betraying the working classes with legislation such as the Municipal Corporations Act. Also:The Northern Star had anti-capitalist writings
Some Historians say there is revolutionary consciousness in Chartism, shown by the Newport risings. In 1842, the NCA said “ours is the struggle of labour against Capital”
PROBLEM WITH THIS INTERPRETATION: it is a reductionist interpretation it neglects the complexity of Chartism and relies on a selective use of evidence. It doesn’t take into account any form of class collaboration, such as the Anti Corn Law League and the BPU. Chartism also wanted Education and Religion. But the biggest problem with this interpretation is that the 6 points of Chartism were POLITICAL, not Economic 3)Gareth Stedman-Jones = Chartism = political movement in the tradition of 18th Century radicalism, as there is a consistency in demands, strategies and language.
He says that Political representation is the critical precondition of any improvement. Linkage between politics and economics. They are not afraid to use economics to mobilise support this is an old radical strategy (was used in the Corn Law in 1815), and is in the tradition of movements for excluded groups within the system. Why Chartism failed. - Had a history of humiliations
- Half-hearted risings never posed serious threats (eg: Kennington rally in 1848)
- The charter was never accepted in its entirety, although contents were later incorporated into the constitution.
2 categories of weaknesses: internal weaknesses and external circumstances.
Many divisions in Chartism, such as those over:
- Moral and Physical force
- Class co-operation (with efforts such as Anti-Corn law league. Reason behind this wish not to co-operate was that they felt the middle classes had betrayed them previously, so the repeal of the Corn Law might lead to a reduction of wages.
- Branching out into religion and education after 1839 (FACTIONISATION)
Chartism had a divided & diverse leadership: leaders came from different backgrounds: Lovett was active in 1830-32 reform crisis O’Brien was active in the unstamped press O’Connor was involved in the anti-poor law campaign in the North Because of this, different strategies were used throughout the country. Egos (esp. O’Connor) got in the way (his writings in Northern Star). O’Connor was opposed to the diversionary ideas of Lovett (education), so egos cause friction. They each want Chartism to different things. The Charter was too ambitious it was democratic. Democracy wasn’t feasible in 1830s it was associated with the French revolution. This tarnishes its image. It had a poor strategy it wanted to force parliament to reform itself from the inside but they had no support within parliament. Especially after the Newport Rising, when they lost middle class support. Had they not insisted on independence, they would have had a voice in parliament. The use of physical-force Chartism was a bad strategy:
- They got none of the benefits, as they weren’t strong enough to mount a successful rising risings were unsuccessful and counter-productive.
- Because of the force, the government can associate them with revolutionaries and suppress/discredit them because of the risings so they reap all the problems
There were changes in the economy: due to the boom in railways & development in heavy industry (=INDUSTRIAL CAPITALISM) . Industrial Capitalism was more complex and provides a cushion to withstand the depressions on which Chartism thrived. Capitalism also looks more humane due to the 10 hour day (1847) thus Chartism loses its cause. The authorities are strong. They are stronger in 1840 than in 1819 the middle classes are now tied to the system, making it easier to suppress people because of:
- Better communications and troop transport due to railways
- Because the middle classes are ‘tied’ to the system, the government can raise support of m/c volunteer constables eg: 85,000 used @ Kennington as well as police and army.
- The army is run more efficiently: 7,000 rebels were suppressed by 30 troops @ Newport.
There was a changing political climate in 1840s. Legislation was passed that makes it look like the government is more responsive to the needs of the working classes, and hence the “Condition of England Question”: This could show that Chartism was successful in bringing about these changes. Repeal of Corn Laws 1848 10 hour act 1847 Public Health Act1848 Coal Mines Act 1842 |
