Chartism or the Chartist Movement free essay sample

Peoples Charter of 1838: In 1837, six Members of Parliament and six working men, including William Lovett, (from the London Working Mens Association, set up in 1836) formed a committee, which then published the Peoples Charter in 1838. This stipulated the six main aims of the movement as:[1] 1. A vote for every man twenty-one years of age, of sound mind, and not undergoing punishment for crime. 2. The secret ballot. To protect the elector in the exercise of his vote. 3. No property qualification for members of Parliament thus enabling the constituencies to return the man of their choice, be the rich or poor. 4. Payment of members, thus enabling an honest tradesman, working man, or other person, to serve a constituency, when taken from his business to attend to the interests of the Country. 5. Equal Constituencies, securing the same amount of representation for the same number of electors, instead of allowing small constituencies to swamp the votes of large ones. We will write a custom essay sample on Chartism or the Chartist Movement or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page 6. Annual parliaments, thus presenting the most effectual check to bribery and intimidation, since though a constituency might be bought once in seven years (even with the ballot), no purse could buy a constituency (under a system of universal suffrage) in each ensuing twelve-month; and since members, when elected for a year only, would not be able to defy and betray their constituents as now. The Chartists obtained one and a quarter million signatures and presented the Charter to the House of Commons in 1839, where it was rejected by a vote of 235 to 46. Parliament, by a large majority, voted not even to hear the petitioners. Many of the leaders of the movement, having threatened to call a general strike, were arrested. When demonstrators marched on the prison at Newport, Monmouthshire, demanding the release of their leaders, troops opened fire, killing 24 and wounding 40 more. The leaders of the movement: John Frost, Henry Vincent and Samuel Holberry. 1842: Chartisms biggest petition and the General Strike 1842 was the year in which more energy was hurled against the authorities than in any other of the 19th century. [4] In early May, 1842, a further petition, of over three million signatures, was submitted, which was yet again rejected by Parliament. The depression of 1841–1842 led to a wave of strikes in which Chartist activists were in the forefront, and demands for the charter were included alongside economic demands. Workers went on strike in 14 English and 8 Scottish counties. Several Chartist leaders, including Feargus OConnor, George Julian Harney, and Thomas Cooper were arrested, along with nearly 1,500 others. The 1848 petition On 10 April 1848, a new Chartist Convention organised a mass meeting on Kennington Common, which would form a procession to present another petition to Parliament. The original plan of the Chartists, if the petition was ignored, was to create a separate national assembly and press the Queen to dissolve parliament until the charter was introduced into law. However the Chartists were plagued with indecision and the national assembly eventually dissolved itself, claiming lack of support. But it was the end of the movement. And finally I’d like to remark that the apparent failure of Chartism as a political movement in the mid-19th century proved to be temporary. Five of the six points in the Charter were adopted by 1918.