Is it Possible to Understand Chartism Purely as a Movement for Political Reform?

Chartists have been defined as 'members of movement in Britain in 1837-8 seeking electoral and social reform' (Oxford Dictionary, 1991, 117). These people, primarily associated with the working classes, came together in protest of the economic and social conditions, which had plagued Britain for a number of years. The passing had not eased these conditions for the Reform Bill of 1832, the factory Reform Act of 1833 or the Poor Law Reform Act of 1834. While the government, along with the members of the aristocracy and gentry were trying to maintain the status quo, the working classes were toiling in factories and other areas of employment, which neither guaranteed safe working conditions nor decent wages. It was these abhorrent conditions that led the people to rebel against the upper classes and to try to begin to gain some semblance of rights and justice for themselves.

Background

The seeds of Chartism began to take root in the 1830s. The working classes were faced with conditions, which, if present in areas of the Western world in this day and age, would have brought employers and the captains of industry before courts and tribunals, facing financial ruin and the possibility of incarceration. Substandard housing, contaminated water supplies, polluted working areas, long hours with few breaks and mal-treatment were but a few of the more common problems that the working classes were forced to contend with in the period leading to the early 1830s.

The economy became depressed with the enacting of the Corn Laws in 1815 and continued on a downward spiral into the 1830s. This downturn also manifested itself by the leaders of industry trying to undermine the influences of local markets and inflicting heavy damage to both the import and export economies upon which the manufacturing environments were so heavily dependent. The heightened levels of unemployment, coupled with the high price of necessities such as food, began to flame with the fires of discontent even higher. Reforms were needed in many sectors of the government, finance and the economy. Indirect taxation was becoming the workingman's bane. Sources such as the Peel Web stimate a level of taxation of approximately 16 percent, which came from wages of the working classes. This fact, combined with the lessening of the value of a pay packet, and the additional pressures such as the new mechanical methods of manufacturing and inadequate harvests in the agricultural environment were making life increasingly harder to manage at the lower class levels.

Working conditions were in many parts of the country substandard, if not sub-human. William Cobbett was quoted in reference to the people and working conditions, "...these creatures are kept, locked up fourteen hours each day, in summer and winter, in a heat from eighty to eighty four degrees of the. The rules which they are subjected to are such as no Negroes were ever subjected to..." (Brown/Daniels, 1984, 20). buse and fines for breaking of rules within the factory environment were the norm. Children were often beaten, and workers were forced to give up segments of their wages for sins such as taking a rest or talking. In the midst of such wretched doings, the management of the factories and the upper classes themselves seemed to have a blind spot to the woes of their lesser.

Management and the upper classes were seemingly of the viewpoint that all was right with the world, and the working classes should have nothing to complain about. Mills in Turton and Egerton were said to be spacious, well ventilated, warm and clean. In the Halifax are, Mr. E. Akroyd maintained that 'workers who were healthy and happy, and morally sound were better employees than those who lived in filth and squalor'.From the glowing accounts of Akroyd and others, it is not hard to envisage why the upper classes could not understand the working class point of view. The good conditions of a minority of mills and factories were seemingly enough to color the perspective of those who had no contact with the working environs. But to the masses that toiled day after day in the majority, existence was a void of hard times and painful living.

Up to the point of the birth of the People's six point charter, the Reform Bill of 1832, the Factory Reform Act of 1833, and the Poor Law of 1834 had been enacted, but showed little relief to the working classes. If anything resulted from the enacting of the aforementioned reforms, it was a worsening of conditions for the workers. 1832 saw the loss of the working class right to vote, in 1833 working time was slashed by 6 hours, which while good in theory and on the paper it was written, was not enforced and had little affect on the people it was meant to help. In 1834 the Poor Law Reform Act actually reduced the number of workers that could receive poor relief. It could be argued that during these three years the Acts and Reforms were brought into law, Parliament thought they were helping the working people, but in reality they were costing those same people they were seeking to help, their very livelihood, dignity, and lives.

Birth of rebellion

With the founding of the London Working Mans Association (LWMA) by William Lovett, Francis Place, Henry Hertherington, James Watson and John Cleave, a new chapter was started in the drive toward social and economic reform. However, the social and economic reforms were now intermingling with the seedlings of political reform. The LWMA was also enjoying the attention of Members of Parliament such as Thomas Attwood, Thomas Wakeley, Thomas Duncombe and Joseph Hume, who also supported reform. From this group the 'People's Six Point Charter' was drawn and delivered. The Charter, which hoped to stop the suffering of the working classes, petitioned for these points:

· Universal Suffrage (for males)

· Annual Parliaments

· Removal of the property qualification needed to gain a seat in Parliament

· Vote by ballot

· Equal representation in electoral districts

· Members of Parliament to be paid

While the ideology of the points in the charter have a political agenda on the surface, the depths of these points could be interpreted as the rallying call to bring hardship and non-representation of their class to an end. The six points covered could allow the working classes an avenue to air their grievances and to be heard. The hallowed halls of the political domains could be reached by all for whom the government was supposed to preserve and protect, not just those who were of privilege and position.

Chartism sought to bring these points to the forefront. But the internal struggle between factions within the movement, primarily the Physical Force Chartists, led by Feargus O'Connor, James Rayner Stephens and George Julian Harney; and the Moral Force Chartists, led by William Lovett and the founders of the LWMA, did more harm to the advancement of the causes than to any good that was achieved. The demonstrations and uprisings that followed the introduction of the Charter made the government nervous and wary. Parliament rejected the Charter on several occasions, and subsequently there were clashes with the army and police, resulting in the death of some Chartists, and the jailing of others. Ultimately, the massive forgery on the 1848 petition to Parliament, with its inflated signature count and falsified signers could only bring the group into disrepute. This most likely became the beginning of the end of the Chartist era.

Conclusion

Chartism in and of itself could not be simply viewed as an organization for political reform. The economic viability and social equality for which the people were fighting for serve as a counterpoint to the political arguments. The six points of the people's charter in the first instance serve to make known what the working classes wanted from the government that was supposed to represent them. However, those six points are also the basis for giving the working classes the means by which to live a life where hard work and moral character was rewarded with even the most basic of human rights; decent housing, edible food, clean water, good health and hazard free working environments.

The Chartist movement was gearing toward a democratic government that served the needs of all the people, not just those who had rank, a title or money. A government by, of and for the people, all the people. Far-fetched as the idea may seem, it was not so far off the mark. The timing of the Chartist movement was not ideally suited, but nevertheless it had an impact that was far-reaching. In the heyday of Chartism, the ideals and dreams of the movement were never realized. But in the years and decades that followed, many of the idealisms and attributes of the movement came to pass. According to one internet website, the reform acts that were passed in 1858, 1867, 1872, 1844, 1911, 1918 and 1829 were a result of the Chartism movement.

Bibliography

Books

BROWN, Richard and DANIELS, Christopher, 1984, The Chartists: Documents and Debates, London, Macmillian Press

DRABBLE, Margaret (Editor), 1996, The Oxford Companion to English Literature, Bath, Oxford University Press

EPSTEIN, James and THOMPSON, Dorothy (Editors), 1982, The Chartist Experience, London, Macmillian Press

ROYLE, Edward, 1997, Modern Britain: A Social History 1750-1997, New York, Oxford University Press

The Story of the British People in Pictures, London, Oldham Press Ltd (Author and date of publication unknown)

Websites

1. 'The Chartist party' http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/Pchartists.htm (20 Feb 2003
2. 'Causes of Chartism' http://dspace.dial.pipex.com/twon/terrace/adw03/peel/Chartism/causcha.htm. (20 Feb 2003)
3. 'A Chartist Chronology' http://dspace.dial.pipex.com/town/terrace/adw03/peel/chartism/charchro.htm (20 Feb 2003
4. 'Newport Rising' http://www.pub.socialistreviewindex.org.uk/sr235/knight.htm (20 Feb 2003)
5. 'Newport Tories: We admire repression' http://www.waleswatch.welshnet.co.uk/rarebits/chartists.htm (20 feb 2003)
6. 'Women and Chartism' http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/CHwomen.htm (20 Feb 2003)
7. 'Chartism' http://dspace.dial.pipex.com/twon/terrace/adw03/peel/chartism/whatchar.htm (20 Feb 2003)
8. 'Moral Force Chartism' http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/CHmoral.htm (20 Feb 2003)
9. 'Physical Force Chartists' http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/CHphysical.htm (20 Feb 2003)
10. 'Chartists' www.phoenixpress.co.uk/articles/institution/chartists.pp.asp (20 Feb 2003)
11. 'The Chartists' http://www.britishhistory.about.com/library/weekly/aa012701a.htm (20 Feb 2003)
12. 'Sirhowy Valley Chartists' http://www.geocities.com/jenks436/chartists.htm (20 Feb 2003)
13. 'The Chartists' http://www.channel4.com/learning/main/netnotes/dsp_series.cfm?sectionid=341 (20 Feb 2003)