Unit 3: How significant was extra parliamentary protest, 1790-1819?

Question 1

Describe the French Revolution 1789.

Answer 1

It resulted in a series of reforms that reduced the power of the monarchy, abolished feudal privileges and proclaimed the principles of liberte, egalite and fraternite.

This threatened the nature of existing governments.

But there was no serious threat to the Hanoverian monarchy in Britain.

Edmund Burke (agent for conservative forces in Britain) predicted that France will fall into chaos.

Radicals hoped that the French Revolution would encourage demands for reform in Britain eg Tom Paine hoped it would lead to universal male suffrage.

Question 2

What was the Whig party?

Answer 2

They supported aristocratic families.

Question 3

What were the Tories?

Answer 3

They supported minor gentry and smallholders, and the legitimacy of the Church of England.

Question 4

Describe the changes in peace.

Answer 4

War broke out in 1793 between Britain and France

The return of peace in 1815 and the difficulties of adjusting to a peacetime economy, saw the reemergence of radical reform

Economic and social distress was widespread and was a fertile ground for radical agitation.

Question 5

Pitt’s government found that the calls for reform might lead to outbreaks of rebellion. How was this prevented?

Answer 5

The imposition of domestic harmony such as the suspension of habeus corpus, attacks on the freedom of the press and the banning of large scale meetings and demonstrations.

Question 6

What were the results of the government’s determination to destroy reforming activity during the Napoleonic War?

Answer 6

British radicalism was effectively silenced in the early years of the 19th century.

After 1815, the extreme radical groups were divided on their aims and methods, while support was growing for the moderate reforming programme of middle class leaders such as Sir Francis Burdett.

Question 7

What happened at Spa Fields 1816?

Answer 7

Unhappy with the moderate stance of the reform meetings in London during the early months of 1816, followers of Thomas Spence planned a mass meeting in east London which they hoped would lead to violent rioting.

The radical leader and speaker, Henry Hunt presented a petition to the prince regent at the Spa Fields, nearly threatening him to reform- this failed.

A second protest meeting for the 2nd of December was pre-empted by Spenceans who urged the crowd to take direct action, so they set off to seize the tower of London and the Royal exchange- stopped by the Lord mayor of London, the leader was arrested.

The jury acquitted all the defendants in 1817 because of the use of spies and agent provocateurs- it was proved that a government informant encouraged the riot.

Question 8

Describe the Pentridge Rising 1817.

Answer 8

The Committee of Secrecy was established by Liverpool’s government which operated a network of spies- they gathered information that would prepare them for the outbreaks or revolutionary activity.

Oliver persuaded some revolutionary activists who held meetings in Pentridge that there would be a radical uprising by radicals in London for 9th June.

Oliver was actually a former convict called Richards who spied on radical groups and acted as an agent provocateur intending to lead the Pentridge activists into treasonable activities.

Jeremiah Brandreth (leader) led 300 men to Nottingham to seize the city. However they were intercepted by soldiers; 80 were arrested.

Impact- it became the last attempt to overthrow the government because the economy recovered, the government became more pervasive and responsive, ministers became more wary of employing untrained spies.

Question 9

Describe the Peterloo Massacre 1819.

Answer 9

Henry Hunt stood for election in 1819 but was unpopular because of his advocacy for parliamentary reform- radical activity declined due to economic improvements and government action in 1816-1817.

Manchester and the surrounding towns instigated working-class radicalism.

Blanketeers 1817 was where textile workers intended to march to London to encourage the Regent to work to improve the cotton trade- they did not get far, local yeomanry arrested many marchers.

Radical activity fluctuated in line with economic conditions eg. meeting in Manchester 1819 Henry Hunt addressed a crowd of 80,000.

The magistrates ordered the arrest of Henry Hunt and the Manchester and Salford yeomanry to ride through the crowd. The density of the crowd and throwing of stones caused the men and their horses to panic- 11 dead and 500 injured.

Impact- The Great Reform Act 1832, formation of trade unions, founding of the Labour Party.

Question 10

Describe the London Corresponding Society.

Answer 10

The success of the American and French revolution led to the growing interest in political affairs among working people.

LCS founded in 1792 by Thomas Hardy, promoted universal suffrage and annual parliaments but didn’t directly champion political reform because he believed it would come about naturally.

Promoted political education through publishing pamphlets eg. ‘The Address of the London Corresponding Society to the other societies of Great Britain’ issued November 1792 explained that their methods were peaceful.

Question 11

What was the reaction to the formation of the London Corresponding Society?

Answer 11

Received backlash from conservative groups, regarded radicals as being disloyal to the King and Country.

The Association for Preserving Liberty and Property against Republicans and levellers formed 1792- membership drawn from middle-class.

Association movement promoted patriotic propaganda by taking action against reformers.

Question 12

How did the changing reform climate contribute to radical success?

Answer 12

From 1810, the reform climate changed in both nature and extent. Radicals were better organised than before, and the ideas of reform were supported by people drawn from all social classes. Most organisations still aimed for parliamentary reform, but some, notably the Spenceans, aimed at the revolutionary seizure of the state. The economic difficulties of the post-war years were overcome and gave way to stability and growth in the years to 1830. Although political agitation had calmed down after Peterloo, radicalism remained as a powerful influence, especially among the working classes.

Question 13

How did schooling contribute to radical success?

Answer 13

Recent research estimates that in 1820 some 675,000 children were being educated in day schools, with a further 500,000 attending Sunday schools. Growing literacy meant that many families were able to access newspapers and pamphlets, and this was reflected in changes in the newspaper industry.

Question 14

How did reform programmes contribute to radical success?

Answer 14

The reform programmes that developed from 1812 differed from those of the 1790s in both the nature and the extent of their support. Middle class support remained strong, especially from those whose business activities had suffered during the war, and the skilled and literate working classes maintained their interest in reform. However, the dynamics of radicalism had changed over time. In the 1790s, the unskilled working classes in industrial towns and cities had begun to organise themselves into trade unions until they were suppressed by the Combination Acts of 1799 and 1800.

Question 15

How did pamphlets contribute to radical success?

Answer 15

In the 1790s, the forces of British radicalism were responsible for the creation of a great national debate, carried on through pamphlets, books and the press, on the meaning of the French revolution and its significance for British government and politics. Many pamphleteers, from the conservative Burke to the brilliant radical Paine, all used forceful arguments to try to sway public opinion to their way of thinking.

Question 16

How did the post-war era contribute to radical success?

Answer 16

As the French wars drew to a close, interest in reform revived, but workers were to become more interested in political reform. Many Hampden Clubs were established, especially in the northern textile towns, and soon had large and committed memberships. Radicalism of the 1790s had been dominated by people and organisations based in London. This situation was reversed in the post-war years, as northern radicalism, especially in Manchester, took the lead in organising protests.

Question 17

How did the increase in printing paper contribute to radical success?

Answer 17

The 18th century saw major growth in the number of papers printed annually, rising from one million in 1690 to over 14 million by 1785. Pitt feared that large numbers of literate working-class men would gain access to radical printed propaganda, and thus between 1789 and 1815 the duty on newspapers rose from 1.5d to 4d.

Question 18

How did war with France contribute to radical failure?

Answer 18

War with France broke out in 1793 and lasted almost without a break for the next 22 years. French armies undertook to export the principles of freedom and equality to other countries in Europe, and Britain was not immune to the attractions of liberte, egalite and fraternite. In the years 1790-99, radicalism was largely the preserve of the middle classes. Even some Whigs jumped on the reform bandwagon with formation of the Friends of the People, an aristocratic, exclusive and short-lived organisation that called for parliamentary reform.

Question 19

How did lack of national figures contribute to radical failure?

Answer 19

There were no national figures able or prepared to take up positions of leadership. Cobbett’s role was that of a journalist and propagandist, not an active agitator, and the powerful oratory of men such as Henry Hunt was not transformed into political action. Secondly, post-war reformers faced the classic dilemma of those seeking change in society. Reformers were split between those, like Cobbett, who wanted to achieve change through moral force and persuasion, and those who believed that it was only through violence, or physical force, that radicals could achieve their aims.

Question 20

How did educational provisions contribute to radical failure?

Answer 20

Educational provisions in the late 18th century were very limited and haphazard: a national system of state education was not established until 1870, and it was left to individuals and local bodies to make educational provisions if they wished. In 1780, Robert Raikes founded a Sunday school in Gloucester. Many parents sent their children to the school, where they were educated to read and write. Raikes’ innovation was taken up my many nonconformist groups, especially the Methodist groups.

Question 21

What were the government’s response/actions?

Answer 21

Pitt in the 1790s, and Liverpool in the post-war years, relied on local magistrates to maintain order in towns and cities. They used the limited forces at their command, such as the volunteer yeomanry who were deployed with disastrous consequences at Peterloo. They could also call on local regiments where necessary, though in a pre-railway age it was difficult to move large numbers of troops with any speed to potential trouble spots.

The vital role played by the magistrates explains the government’s actions after Peterloo, when they congratulated the Manchester justices for their prompt action in dispersing the crowd at St Peter’s Fields. To have done otherwise would have lost the government much support from the magistrates in the country as a whole.

The government promoted a sense of national unity, and to suppress any internal dissent. Reform was often equated with revolution, which made the task of the radical movement all the more difficult. While radicalism was a powerful force at the time, a number of patriotic and national movements, such as the associations and the volunteers, attracted far more volunteers.

The government also used a large network of spies, who infiltrated radical organisations and reported back to the Home Office on their activities. Their information enabled the government to take pre-emptive action to deal with unrest. The value of the spy network was shown clearly in the Pentridge Rising of 1817, when the spy, Oliver, played an important role as an agent provocateur, which caused the attempted rising to fail.