Radical Reformers 1780-1819 COPY Flashcards
When was the French Revolution?
1789-99
When were the Napoleonic Wars?
1793-1815
When was the LCS founded?
1792
Who founded the LCS?
Thomas Hardy
London Corresponding Society (LCS)
Promoted twin causes of universal suffrage and annual parliaments; worked to promote political education of its members by publishing pamphlets
Who was the LCS supported by?
Skilled craftsmen in London
Why did the organisation of the LCS mark a new departure for radical groups?
Never tried to limit its membership to any particular class and charged a very low subscription fee; kept its local associations deliberately small
When was the activity in France at its most extreme?
1791-93
When was the Spa Fields meeting?
1816
Who was invited to address a meeting in Spa Fields in November?
Henry Hunt
How many people gathered at the Spa Field meeting in November?
10,000- largest gathering seen in London since the anti-Catholic Gordon riots of 1780
What was the aim of the Spa Fields meeting in November?
Hunt was asked to present a petition to the Prince Regent, urging him to reform Parliament
What did Hunt champion in his November Spa Fields speech?
Moral force behind the petition, but came dangerously close to suggesting the use of physical force if the petitioners’ demands were not met
Why was a second Spa Fields meeting called in December?
Hunt was not received by the Prince Regent
When was the second Spa Fields meeting called?
2 December 1816
Why weren’t the Spa Fields rioters successful?
Quick action of Lord Mayor of London and his force of constables dispersed them and arrested their leader
When was the Pentridge Uprising?
1817
When was the significance of the use of spies by the government highlighted?
Pentridge Uprising
Who joined the Pentridge meetings?
A Londoner who called himself Oliver
When did a government informant join the Pentridge meetings?
May 1817
When did the government informant persuade the Pentridge radicals that there would be nationwide uprisings?
9 June 1817
Who led the Pentridge radicals towards Nottingham?
Jeremiah Brandreth
How many Pentridge radicals marched towards Nottingham?
300
What happened to the Pentridge radicals as they tried to march?
Rebels were intercepted by a regiment of soldiers before they could reach the city; many fled but 80 were arrested
How were the Pentridge radicals punished?
14 men were transported and Brandreth, along with 2 others, was hanged and beheaded in public
When was Peterloo?
16 August 1819
Where did Peterloo take place?
Saint Peter’s Fields in Manchester
Why did significant protest take place in Manchester in 1819?
City and its surrounding mill towns provided fertile ground for working-class radicalism to flourish; long tradition of trade unionism in the region
What exemplified the working-class activity in Manchester?
March of the Blanketeers in 1817- badly organised attempt by Manchester textile workers to publicise their grievances
Who was invited to address the gathering at Peterloo?
Henry Hunt
How many people turned for Peterloo?
60,000
What did several groups carry to Peterloo?
Banners proclaiming slogans such as ‘Reform or Death’, ‘Votes for All’
How many people were killed at Peterloo?
Eleven people including women and children
How many people were injured at Peterloo?
400
Who had been called in to arrest Hunt at Peterloo?
Authorities - Yeomanry’s in particular
What did Peterloo provoke?
Outcry in the press & critics of the government in Parliament
When was the Battle of Waterloo?
June 18 1815
What did William Cobbett write many pamphlets about?
Polemics - military corruption
How had Hunt managed to establish himself as one of the most important leaders of British radicalism by 1815?
Shared a prison cell with Cobbett and upon his release campaigned for manhood suffrage
When were the Gagging Acts?
The Gagging Acts was the common name for two acts of Parliament passed in 1817. The specific acts themselves were the Treason Act 1817 and the Seditious Meetings Act 1817.
Treason Act 1795
It made it high treason to assassinate the Prince Regent. It also made permanent the Treason Act 1795, which had been due to expire on the death of George III
Seditious Meetings Act 1795
The Seditious Meetings Act was an act which made it illegal to hold a meeting of more than 50 people.
When were the Six Acts?
1819
Six Acts 1819
Six Acts aimed at suppressing any meetings for the purpose of radical reform
- An Act forbidding unauthorised military training
- An Act which gave magistrates emergency powers to search houses for weapons
- An Act to prevent all but the smallest public meetings
- An Act to prevent evasions of newspaper stamp duty
- An Act to enable magistrates to destroy blasphemous publications
- An Act to prevent the delays by the accused in blasphemy and treason trials
Thomas Paine (1737-1809)
Early Radical who spent 13 years in America where he published ‘Common sense’
Later on published both ‘The Rights of Man’ and a part 2 to ‘The Rights of Man’
Held a strong belief in equality and liberty, also believed that land should be shared or that those without land should receive payment from the government
Edmund Burke (1729-97)
Strong believer in hereditary monarchy whose priority was to protect GB from dangers of democracy
Published ‘Reflections of the Revolution in France
Why was Paine’s ‘Rights of Man’ part two so popular?
He succeeded in questioning the legitimacy of GB’s political institutions
How many copies of ‘Rights of Man’ part two were sold in a year?
200,000 within a year
Why was Paine’s writing so important?
Inspiration to political radicals in Britain from the 1790s onwards
When was the Hampden Club formed in London?
1812
Who founded the Hampden Clubs?
John Cartwright
What were Hampden Clubs?
Radical clubs where people gathered to read articles and pamphlets, discuss ideas etc
Their aims were to achieve manhood suffrage and to win over ‘respectable’ support for reform
Who was Henry Hunt?
Born into prosperity he became the most popular radical leader - he spoke at many public meeting and opposed the 1832 Reform Act as it gave no vote to working men
Who was William Cobbett?
Influential radical who became an MP later in 1832
A strong critic of the government as he felt they abused their privileged position and could not justify the inequality in GB
