Chartism Flashcards
In what years were the petitions presented to Parliament
1839, 1842, 1848
Who drew up the Chartist Land Plan?
Fergus O’Connor
Was William Lovett a ‘moral’ or a ‘physical’ force Chartist?
Moral
What government action/laws caused the Chartist movement to occur? Name 2 laws
1832 Reform Act, 1833 Factory Act, 1834 Poor Law Amendment Act
Which Chartist petition held 1,230,958 signatures?
The First Chartist petition
Who was John Frost and what did he do?
Welsh Chartist and one of the leaders of the Newport Rising
Why did the Newport Rising fail? Give 6 reasons
Bad weather, disorganised, spy network infiltrated the Chartists in South Wales, 3 leaders rather than 1, leaders not all in favour of armed insurrection, army ready in Westgate Hotel
What year did the Chartists hold their ‘sacred month’?
1839
What was the ‘sacred month’?
General strike, protests, rallies to protest about their demands
What was the name of the ‘voice’ of the Chartist movement?
The Northern Star
How would you describe Fergus O’Connor, James Bronterre O’Brien, George Julian Harney?
‘Physical force’ Chartists
What occurred on 10th April 1848?
Kennington Common Rally
Which Chartist leader was elected to Parliament in 1847?
Fergus O’Connor
How did the government respond to renewed Chartist activity in 1848?
Sent Queen Victoria to safety on Isle of Wight, drafted in thousands of extra troops to defend London, 150,000 troops at Kennington Common Rally, banned the procession of the 3rd petition to Parliament
Whose nickname was the ‘Lion of Freedom’
Fergus O’Connor
Why was Robert Peddie sentenced to 3 years hard labour in 1840?
Chartist Rising in Bradford
Where was Chartism strong in Britain? Name 6 areas
London, North East (Yorkshire/West Riding), North West (Lancashire), Valleys of South Wales, East Midlands, Staffordshire
What was a ‘hen chartist’?
Leading female Chartist activist
By 1847 how many branches of the Land Plan had been established in Britain?
600
Where was the first place that O’Connor’s Land Plan was put into action and when?
Watford in 1846
When was the Land Plan wound up by parliament (dissolved)?
1851
Where did the Plug Plot Riots occur?
Staffordshire
When was the vote given to all males?
1918
When were MPs paid?
1911
What happened with the annual election point?
Not enacted
When did each parliament constituency have roughly the same number of voters?
1885
When was the property qualification for MPs removed?
1858
When was the secret ballot?
1872
What were the Chartists ideas like?
. Radical not revolutionary
. Wanted equality politically and socially
What happened to chartist leaders Frost, Williams and Jones?
. Found guilts of high treason and sentenced to death
. After a huge public outcry it was changed to transportation
What was the Newport rising the last of?
Last large scale armed protest
When was the Newport Rising?
4th November 1839
What happened during the Newport Rising?
4000 chartist sympathisers under John Frost marched on Newport
What were soldiers ordered to do at the Newport Rising?
Open fire on the crowd
How many died and were injured at the Newport Rising?
. 22 demonstrators killed
. 50 injured
. 4 soldiers reported as injured
Where can the origins of Chartism be traced back to?
Wales to the Carmarthen Working Men’s Association in 1836
Who was Fergus O’Conner?
. Irish Chartist leader
. Advocate of the land plan
What did the land plan aim provide?
Small holdings for the labouring classes
What happened to O’Connor when the land plan failed?
His behaviour became irrational, probably due to syphilis
What was O’Conner declared as in 1852?
Insane and sent to an asylum
What did O’Conner campaign for?
. Political reform
. Universal male suffrage
. Better working conditions in industrial districts
What was O’Conner’s newspaper called and date?
‘The northern star’ in 1837
What did ‘the northern star’ provide?
An effective link between different groups of grievance
What did O’Conner attempt with little success?
To unify the movement
What happened to O’Conner in 1847 and why was this significant?
Elected MP for Nottingham - only chartist MP
What did O’Conner preside over in April 1848?
The last great Chartist demonstration on Kennington Common in South London
Who was William Lovett?
A British activist and leader of the Chartist political movement
What happened to Lovett in 1839-1849?
Imprisoned for seditious libel
What programme did Lovett devote himself to?
The National Association for Promoting the Political and Social Improvement of the people
What did Lovett seek to improve?
The lives of the poor workers and their children through a Chartist Educational Programme
What did Lovett establish?
The anti-milita association
What was Lovett mainly responsible for?
Drafting the people’s charter of 1838 demanding electoral reforms
What did Lovett found in 1836?
The London Workingman’s association?
How did Lovett die?
In extreme poverty
What was Henry Hetherington active in?
Active in the radical reform association
What did Hetherington publish?
. A series of radical newspapers to campaign for the vote for the working class
. ‘The Radical’ in 1831
In 1833 how many copies of ‘Poor Man’s Guardian’ was Hetherington selling?
22,000 a week
What was Hetherington selling at 22,000 copies a week?
‘Poor man’s guardian’
What did Hetherington play a leading role in?
Campaigning against heavy taxes on newspapers and pamphlets
Why were Hetherington’s campaigns successful?
Four penny tax on papers reduced to one penny
What did Hetherington campaign?
. Against child labour
. Fought for social justice
. Free press
. Universal suffrage
Why was Hetherington imprisoned?
Refused to pay stamp duty
Who was Thomas Cooper?
. Edited various Chartist weeklies
What did Cooper tour?
Various potteries to urge support for a general strike
What ended Cooper’s involvement with Chartism?
He quarrelled with O’Conner
Who was James Bronterre O’Brien
Irish Chartist leader, reformer and journalist
What did O’Brien edit and work on?
. Edited ‘Poor Man’s Guardian’
. Worked on ‘the Northern Star’
What was O’Brien the joint founder of in 1850?
National Reform League
What happened to O’Brien in 1840?
Arrested for making seditious material and was sentenced to 18 months
What happened to O’Brien’s newspapers?
They were not a financial success and they later ceased production
Who was George Julian Harney?
British political activist, journalist and chartist leader
What was Harney editor of?
‘Poor Man’s Guardian’
What did Harney found?
Wast London Democratic Association in 1837
What happened to Harney at the Chartist Convention?
Arrested for making speeches
What did Harney become a journalist for?
The Northern Star
What was Harney own newspaper?
The Red Republican
Who was William Cuffay?
. Chartist leader
What did Cuffay do in 1834
Went on strike demanding shorter days but it collapsed
What did Cuffay help form?
The Metropolitan Tailor’s Charter Association
What did Cuffay help organise?
Large Chartist rally Kennington Common in 1848
What happened to Cuffay?
Betrayed by a government spy and sentenced to 21 years transportation
Did Chartism fail?
. 6 points not fulfilled in chartist life time
. 5/6 eventually introduced
. First mass movement of working class
. Organisation
. Education
. Later trade unions
. Political consciousness
Was Chartism doomed from the start?
. Division between middle and lower class
. Too soon after 1832
. Too radical
. Mass movement
. Government position too strong
Why did Chartism fail? (7 reasons)
. Aims too diverse and radical
. Too soon after 1832
. Conflict amongst Chartist leaders - not unified
. Land lottery
. Single issue like 10 hour were successful
. Changing economic prosperity - 1840s better economy
. Role of government
What does JR Stephens suggest about chartists?
Simply a product of the economic climate
How did the government undermine the chartists?
Passed legislation to slightly improve the conditions of their supporters but not improving working conditions e.g. 10 hour act
How many troops did the government deploy for the Newport Rising?
. 60 soldiers
. 500 special constables
What did the government deploy when the third petition was presented?
8000 soldiers and 150,000 constables to prevent disorder
What type of force did Lovett and Attwood want to use?
Peaceful means such as pamphlets and petitions - moral force
What type of force did O’Conner and O’Brien want to use?
A direct challenge - physical force, favoured a general strike and O’Brien considered revolution
What did the conflicting attitudes of the leaders convey?
How uncoordinated the movement was
How many chartists were held in prison between 1839 and 1841 and what did this mean?
500 - movement became temporarily paralysed
When was the land plan?
1845
