Shropshire Routes to Roots

1. Introduction to Chartism

Reform movements in the 1800s

The 1800s were a time of great change. Britain's economy was rapidly growing, because of an increase in industry. However, its increasing wealth was not shared equally. Those who owned the industries got very rich; those whom they employed remained poor and often had to work in appalling conditions. Only richer classes had the vote. Out of this anger at this huge difference in wealth, a movement called Chartism was born.

It was just one of several protest movements which developed in the first half of the nineteenth century. All the movements of the period - such as The Luddites, Rebecca Riots and Captain Swing Riots - were linked by a hatred of the gap between those who had money and political power, and those that did not.

What triggered the Chartist movement?

The Chartist movement started because of the passing of the 1832 Reform Act, which gave the vote to middle-class men, but not to the poorest men in society. People got even angrier when the 1834 Poor Law Amendment Act was passed by the newly reformed House of Commons. The Poor Law Amendment Act reduced the amount of support given to the poorest people in society. This combination of factors meant that poor people in society felt that they were being treated unfairly by the men in power.

What were the aims of the Chartists?

People were getting fed up with the failures of government, so four men - William Lovett, Henry Hetherington, James Watson and John Cleave - published the People's Charter in 1838.The People's Charter demanded:

• Universal Suffrage for all men over the age of 21
• Equal-sized electoral districts
• Voting by secret ballot
• Men no longer needing to own property if they wanted to stand as MP's
• Pay for MPs
• Annual Parliaments

The movement was split between those who advocated the use of violence (Physical Force Chartists) to achieve their aims, and those who wanted to reach a diplomatic settlement (Moral Force Chartists).

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