Britain Depth 1: Radical Reformers

Question 1

when did the french revolution break out?

Answer 1

1789 - became more explicitly violent from 1791.

Question 2

what happened as a result of the french revolution?

Answer 2

wide ranging series of reforms reduced the power of the monarchy, abolished feudal privileges along with many rights enjoyed by catholic church and aristocracy.

Question 3

who was the leading british conservative thinker following the FR

Answer 3

edmund burke

Question 4

what was the main factor in suppressing radical movements in the 1790s?

Answer 4

the war between britain and france sparked nationalistic sentiment, suppressing radical ideas.

Question 5

what is habeas corpus?

Answer 5

a writ requiring a person under arrest to be brought before a judge or into court, especially to secure the person’s release unless lawful grounds are shown for their detention.

Question 6

aims/composition of the LCS?

Answer 6

london corresponding society - one of several radical organisations that emerged in london in the 1790s; founded by thomas hardy. promoted the causes of universal suffrage and annual parliaments. existed 1792-93

Question 7

methods of the LCS?

Answer 7

spread political ideas through printed pamphlets. ideas were made clear in a pamphlet issued in november 1792. in it, they stated their methods would be peaceful, largely by petitioning parliament.

Question 8

opposition/government response to LCS?

Answer 8

number of loyalist societies were established as radical activity in france turned violent. corresponding societies drew membership from the skilled working class, while loyalist societies were made almost exclusively from the middle classes. the government condoned the loyalist societies and used their press to issue patriotic propaganda.

Question 9

reasons for decline of the LCS?

Answer 9

parliamentary act banned the organisation by name in 1799.

Question 10

aims/composition of the Luddites?

Answer 10

aim was to remove labour-saving machinery, especially in textile industry.
composed of Croppers of West Riding of Yorkshire; Cotton weavers of Lancashire; framework-knitters of the Midlands, particularly Nottingham. Men who used traditional, hand-operated machinery for spinning, weaving and other processes.
existed 1811-1817.

Question 11

methods of the luddites?

Answer 11

Movement took its name from Ned Ludd, a youth reputed to have smashed up some machinery in a fit of half-witted temper
During 1811 almost 1000 frames valued at over £6000 were destroyed. Outbreaks soon spread to Yorkshire and Lancashire; mills were attacked in Leeds, Manchester & Stockport. At Middleton near Manchester, a power-loom was attacked by a crowd of several thousands but driven back by musket fire – 10 killed.

Question 12

opposition and government response to the luddites?

Answer 12

Government made frame-breaking punishable by death. Thousands of troops were stationed in the north and Midlands to counter the Luddite threat. Jan 1813: Government took a strong line – using troops to break up demonstrations and hanging 17 Luddites at York.

Question 13

reasons for decline of the luddites?

Answer 13

After several executions and the return of better economic conditions, Luddite outbreaks petered out.

Question 14

aims/composition of John Cartwright and Hampden Clubs?

Answer 14

formed in 1812
advocated for universal manhood suffrage
cartwright had travelled round the north of the country seeing how government policy had caused economic hardship in these areas.
Composition of group: the high annual subscription of two guineas (£2.10) limited its membership to a very small number of middle-class and aristocratic men.
named after john hampden (one of the main opponents of Charles I in english civil war)

Question 15

methods of the hampden clubs?

Answer 15

From 1816 Cartwright encouraged the creation of regional Hampden clubs – membership was open to all who could pay a weekly subscription of one penny and frequent meetings took place to discuss national news and to debate political issues.
this organisation was the successor to the LCS.

Question 16

opponents/government opposition to the hampden clubs?

Answer 16

although the hampden clubs worked within the law (less radical than other organisations)
authorities used any excuse to arrest members.
magistrates would employ spies, and then arrest members for attending seditious meetings under the seditious meetings act of 1817.

Question 17

reasons for decline of hampden clubs?

Answer 17

H.Clubs could not act effectively after 1817 after the Gagging Acts were passed (Suspension of Habeas Corpus 1817 and banning of seditious meetings – 1817

Question 18

aims/composition of william cobbett and the political register?

Answer 18

advocated for universal manhood suffrage, and annual elections.
exposed various parliamentary corruption, including “placemen” and “pensioners”, both of whom received income of questionable legitimacy

Question 19

methods of william cobbett and the political register?

Answer 19

published a 2d (pence) pamphlet in 1816 called “political register” - sold 44k a week. low price meant cobbett would not have to pay high duty set by govt. themes in paper were around crushing taxation and need for parliamentary reform.

Question 20

opposition/government response to cobbett and the political register?

Answer 20

Gagging Acts of 1817 – Suspension of Habeas Corpus, Treason Act & Seditious Meetings Act

Question 21

reasons for decline of cobbett and the political register?

Answer 21

To avoid arrest, Cobbett fled to America in 1817, returning in 1819. On 1832 he became the radical MP for Oldham in Lancashire.

Question 22

aims/audience of henry hunt?

Answer 22

aims were to gain universal suffrage, secret ballot and annual elections. he had no interest in gaining support of “gentleman reformers” - instead he organised or spoke at huge outdoor gatherings, seeking the support of the masses to provide a springboard for a rising.
spoke as a powerful orator from 1810-1819

Answer 23

aimed to have meetings be non violent - he believed that the masses could demonstrate their newfound discipline and ability to vote by being peaceful.
Largest meetings took place in Manchester, Birmingham and London. Thousands would walk miles to hear him speak at open- air meetings.

Question 24

opposition/government response to henry hunt?

Answer 24

Hunt’s meetings were dispersed by troops eg Spa Fields, 1816 & Peterloo 1819. He was arrested and later imprisoned for 2 years for his part in the episode.

Question 25

reasons for decline of henry hunt?

Answer 25

arrest
Hunt became an MP for Preston in 1830 – a popular constituency with a large electorate and in the 1830 election Hunt defeated the anti-reform Tory candidate. He opposed the 1832 Reform Act because it did not grant the vote to working men.

Question 26

aims/attendance of spa fields?

Answer 26

meeting was a protest advocating for reform of parliament in 1816
Followers of Thomas Spence (a radical who favoured active revolution on the French model) planned a mass meeting in east London, which they hoped would lead to rioting and disorder.

Question 27

methods of spa fields?

Answer 27

henry hunt was invited to speak at the demonstration, and petition the prince regent to reform parliament. over 10000 in attendance - biggest gathering in the country for several decades. before hunt could speak several spenceans who stirred up the crowd. sections of the crowd left, looted several gunsmiths and intended to seize the tower of london and royal exchange.

Question 28

response to spa fields?

Answer 28

The coup was thwarted by the quick action of the Lord Mayor of London and his constables who dispersed the rioters and arrested their leader.

Question 29

aftermath of spa fields?

Answer 29

The trial of the ringleaders in 1817 exposed the role government informers and spies in the Spa Fields affair. The defence was able to prove that a government informer named Castle had encouraged the riot and that he had duped the ringleaders into taking extreme action. In the light of this revelation, the jury acquitted all the defendants.

Question 30

aims/composition of the pentridge rising?

Answer 30

1817 -
Aim: An insurrection (seizure of Nottingham Castle) to encourage a nationwide rebellion - set up a provisional government which would send relief to the workers. Composition of group: Discontented workers (300 poor stocking makers) in Pentridge, Derbyshire led by JEREMIAH BRANDRETH

Question 31

methods of the pentridge rising?

Answer 31

Oliver the Spy (a former convict called Richards in the pay of Lord Sidmouth, the Home Secretary) infiltrated the group and led them to believe that, if they rose up and marched on Nottingham, their rising would be the start of a nationwide rebellion (radicals were supposedly waiting for them in London – which was a lie) and they would receive support from many other parts of the country.

as soon as they arrived in nottingham the 200 men were rounded up and arrested

Question 32

response to the pentridge rising?

Answer 32

Oliver the spy had acted as ‘agent provocateur’ and had led the Pentridge Rising into illegal & treasonable activities. Following a trial the three main leaders, including Brandreth, were hanged and beheaded in public - 14 were transported. A week after the attempted uprising the Leeds Mercury published a detailed investigation that exposed Oliver’s role. Public revulsion had no effect on the trial

Question 33

reasons for decline of pentridge rising?

Answer 33

leaders were executed

Question 34

aims of the march of the blanketeers?

Answer 34

1817 - Textile workers (unemployed weavers) in Manchester wanted to march to London and petition the Prince Regent to take steps to improve the cotton trade.

Question 35

methods of the march of the blanketeers?

Answer 35

A crowd of around 10,000 saw off some 600 men, mostly poor weavers, walked in groups of ten (ten was the maximum number allowed by law to present a petition) to ask the Prince Regent to help their unfortunate industry.

Question 36

response to the march of the blanketeers?

Answer 36

About 200 were arrested at Stockport and most of the remainder were chased away by cavalry at Macclesfield. One man was allowed through but nothing came of this pathetic incident except that 13 of the leaders were sent to prison.

Question 37

outcome of the march of the blanketeers?

Answer 37

Imprisonment of leaders and use of cavalry led to movement’s decline. Gagging Acts of 1817

Question 38

aims/background of peterloo?

Answer 38

st peter’s field - 1819 slump in exports and a return to unemployment. This led to renewed Radical demands for reform and a plan to hold a meeting of Radical leaders from all over the country.
henry hunt had recently stood for election but radical reform was unpopular with the electorate and he was defeated.
despite cobbett fleeing to america in 1817, the radical press remained strong. manchester was fertile ground for working class radicalism to flourish

Question 39

methods of peterloo?

Answer 39

Radical activists decided to stage a meeting in Manchester in 1819 and invited Henry Hunt to address the gathering.
The meeting was held on 16th August in St Peter’s Fields – it attracted some 80,000 men, women and children – largest crowd that had ever gathered in Britain. Most people came from Manchester itself but numbers were swelled by contingents from surrounding towns, including Oldham, Stockport and Ashton-under-Lyne.
Whole families turned out in their ‘Sunday best’ keen to hear Hunt ‘the intrepid champion of the people’s rights’ – there were brass bands and when the national anthem played, people took off their hats.
the meeting was peaceful.

Question 40

opposition/response to peterloo?

Answer 40

Hunt arrived at 1pm and began to address the crowd. The magistrates, who were watching from a nearby house decided to issue a warrant for the speaker’s arrest, and ordered the Manchester and Salford Yeomanry to ride through the crowd and arrest Hunt.
As the yeomanry tried to reach Hunt the crowd closed ranks to stop them doing so. In the panic that followed, some of the yeomanry used their swords to clear a path and later the troops were sent in.
There are conflicting accounts about what happened. Were the yeomanry drunk? 11 people were killed (including two women and one child) and 400 injured. The event became known as Peterloo after the British victory at Waterloo 1815.

Question 41

aftermath of peterloo?

Answer 41

The event provoked widespread national revulsion, leading to several outbreaks of sporadic rioting and further growth of political unions. Peterloo soon entered national folklore as the symbol of savage repression of working-class people by an authoritarian government.

Gash argues a different view – ‘Peterloo was a blunder, it was hardly a massacre’ – ‘it was because Peterloo was uncharacteristic that it achieved notoriety.’ The amateur yeomanry had been gripped by a sense of panic.

There was an outcry in the press, including the Times – even in Parliament much was made of the massacre. The government was criticised for congratulating the Manchester magistrates for their ‘prompt, decisive and efficient measures for the preservation of public tranquility’

Question 42

aims of the cato street conspiracy?

Answer 42

1820 - a half-baked plan to murder the entire cabinet at a dinner, parade the heads of the ministers on pikes, capture the Tower, Bank and Mansion House (residence of the Lord Mayor of London) and proclaim a republic. Leaders included Arthur Thistlewood and James Ings, a butcher

Question 43

outcome of cato street conspiracy?

Answer 43

Government spies knew all about it and the conspirators were arrested at a house in Cato Street (off Edgware Road)

Question 44

response to cato street conspiracy?

Answer 44

Five leaders, including Thistlewood, were executed and five other transported.

Question 45

aftermath of cato street conspiracy?

Answer 45

The incident justified the Six Acts & the agitation died down towards the end of 1820 as the economic situation improved.