Chartism evidence for essays

Question 1

when was the Metropolitan Police Force established in London

Answer 1

1829

Question 2

when was the Representation of the People Act

Answer 2

1832

Question 3

when was the Factory Act and what did it do

Answer 3

1833 – favoured factory owners by refusing to include 10 hour working day limit

Question 4

when was the Poor Law Amendment Act

Answer 4

1834

Question 5

when was the People’s Charter written

Answer 5

1839

Question 6

when was the National Convention and First Chartist Petition

Answer 6

1839

Question 7

when was the Newport Rising

Answer 7

1839

Question 8

when was the Rural Police Act and what did it do

Answer 8

1839 – police forces in several counties

Question 9

when was the Second National Convention and Second Petition

Answer 9

1842

Question 10

when was the plug riots

Answer 10

1842

Question 11

when was the Repeal of Corn Laws

Answer 11

1846

Question 12

when was the second Factory act

Answer 12

1847- reduced working week for factory workers

Question 13

when was the Third Petition and Kennington Common Rally

Answer 13

1848

Question 14

when was the Public Health Act and what did it do?

Answer 14

1848– improved conditions in urban areas

Question 15

what were the 6 points of the charter

Answer 15

• universal suffrage
• equal sized constituencies
• secret ballot
• annual parliaments
• abolition of property qualifications for MPs
• payment of MPs

Question 16

when and what was the municipal corporations act

Answer 16

1835 - excluded working class from government

Question 17

what was the impact of the PLAA 1834

Answer 17

• plaa - seen as punishing the poor by making workhouse conditions so bad + taking advantage of the poor to benefit the rich. for confirmed the gov. hostility to the w/c and demonstrated how little control the poor had over their own lives.
• led to emergence of mass movement and northern star

Question 18

when was the trade depression

Answer 18

1837-42

average life expectancy of a trade labourer in Liverpool was 15

Question 19

what was the support for Chartism like amongst the northern w/c

Answer 19

• remained the dominant force behind Chartism
• high levels of support
• worse impacted by poor law, most underrepresented

Question 20

what was the support for Chartism like in London

Answer 20

• limited levels of support
• lacked community of rural towns
• had higher wages
• London support increased with eco depression

Question 21

what was the support for Chartism amongst the middle class

Answer 21

• sympathetic to w/c
• some attempts to unite m/c and w/c (e.g. by Lovett)
• support lost after riots and some issues alienated m/c
• w/c suspicious of m/c support
• limited support

Question 22

what was the support for Chartism amongst women

Answer 22

early - substantial support
- 1839 - 1/3 of sig were women
- fundraisers, boycotts
- Birmingham had 3,000 women chartists
by 1850 - support waned after first petition
- people thought they should prioritise family not politics
- didn’t want to attend meetings in male dominated pubs

Question 23

what was the support for Chartism w/c in south

Answer 23

• not massive, largely unaffected by many issues that attracted people to the movement e.g. underrepresentation, PLAA

Question 24

an example of a physical force chartist

Answer 24

Feargus O’Connor

Question 25

an example of a moral force chartist

Answer 25

William Lovett

Question 26

leadership being a benefit to the movement

Answer 26

• Lovett was co-author of the peoples charter and other letters and key speeches
• Lovett worked closely with the Birmingham Universal suffrage association to unit m/c and w/c supporters
• O’Connor was charismatic and popular
• O’Connor owned the Northern star

Question 27

leadership not being a benefit to the movement

Answer 27

• Lovett was involved in other campaigns like improving education and abolition of slavery
• O’Connor’s ideas were inconsistent + he argued with almost every other leader, alienation potential supporters
• O’Connor’s Land Plan absorbed time and money and discredited the movement

Question 28

Police Force - how effective was the response to Chartism?

Answer 28

the creation of these new professional bodies proved to be a further weapon in handling outbreaks of disorder

Question 29

electric telegraph - how effective was the response to Chartism?

Answer 29

invaluable in 1848 when the government received info about the chartists intentions and likely strength following the rejection of the third petition.

Question 30

arrests of leaders - how effective was the response to Chartism?

Answer 30

prevented martyrs from forming (sentences not death penalty )
leaves the movement without consistent leadership needed to sustain momentum

Question 31

Major General Napier - how effective was the response to Chartism?

Answer 31

he is responsible for limiting violence between chartists and military forces
his tactics helped prevent a potentially chaotic response of the kind that had been so damaging to gov in 1819

Question 32

growth of rail network -how effective was the response to Chartism?

Answer 32

very - meant chartist marches and protests struggled to get started before troops arrived to disperse them

Question 33

how many chartists were arrested in 1839-40

Answer 33

around 500

Question 34

Major General Napier

Answer 34

• sympathetic w/ radicals and respected chartist aims but didn’t think the movement would be successful
• experienced military man - calming effect on his troops
• prevented authorities reacting with violence
• commander of 11 northern districts