Peel And Pressure Groups Flashcards
What were early trade unions like and how much support did they attract
- 1799 act by Pitt made it hard to have unions so many were forced underground with secret pacts consequently meaning that there was reduced activity on the surface
- unions faced the problems of unskilled workers going into factory jobs where they could be trained quickly
What movements was John Doherty a part of and how successful were these?
- In 1829 he created the Grand General Union of Operative Cotton Spinners (limited success due to lack of funds to pay striking workers and there was an economic downturn reducing demand for cotton
- 1829: NAPL(national association for the protection of labour) 70,000 members
- BUT: people had different aims as lots was to do with hand loom weaving which had little impact upon craftsmen, union activity was associated with violence
What was the 1831 Merthyr rising
Welsh rising from coal and steel workers and by may it had spread and the whole area was rebelling (armed force came and 20 were shot)
What was the support for the Chartists like and how many signatures did they get?
- May 1839 Charter had 1.2 million signatures and the meeting that launched it had 159,000
- 3.3 million in 1842 led to strikes and mass arrests after it wasn’t passed
- 1848 5.5 signatures (authorities claimed only 2 million were valid)
What were the main causes of Chartism?
- Long term causes of population and economic change (1801: 78% of population in countryside and 1851: 50% urban)
- Factories taking over
- disappointment at the 1832 reform act
- People were getting more used to forming groups etc
What was the Newport rising and what was the impact of this?
- Chartist protestors (8,000 estimated) attacked west gate hotel where leaders were being help under arrest
- 1.5 million signed a petition for release of arrested leaders
- Feargus O’Connor blamed and imprisoned
What was the National Charter association
- 1840 and rejected violence and focused on getting working class MPs and local councillors elected
- 401 branches and 50,000 members
- the Plug plots which was workers removing plugs from boilers meant little was achieved and there was a decline in the association
Why did the Chartists have such a hard job?
- Couldn’t unite the working and middle classes due to varying aims e.g. Corn law repeal threatened to reduce wages
- members included domestic workers and factory ones so different ideals
- An alliance with Ireland may have worked but Daniel O’Conell was a whig sympathiser and disliked Chartists
What was the 1845 Chartist Land Plan?
- Buy a large Gloucestershire estate
- divide into plots and draw lots for which investors gained land
- 70,000 invested a total of £100,000 but the project failed by 1850
What were the different ways the government suppressed Chartists?
- Used force: Sir Charles Napier threatened it and whilst he didn’t use it unessesarily he still did after Newport etc
- recruited special Constable’s (170,000) they were middle class
- Used spies which meant they got to Newport quickly
- Arrested and trialed leaders
- They were public so spread fear
What was the impact Chartism had on Britain?
- Many saw it as a knife and fork movement as it decreased when there was a 1843 improvement in economy (increased with a 1847 financial crash but then died away)
- although it was a while before policies took in place there was a huge increase in newspaper readership etc
When was the Tolpuddle Martyrs and how did this have an impact?
- A group of labourers in Dorset village Tolpuddle formed a friendly group of agricultural labourers to negotiate with farmers
- George Loveless was key and a Methodist preacher
- They were tried 1834 under Pitts treasonable acts Oath of 1797
- GNTCU held mass protests but men were sent to Australia and then pardoned March 1836
