Chartism + Plug Plot

Question 1

name some reasons for chartism

Answer 1

1. 1832 RA didnt give the WC the vote
2. 1834 PLAA punished the poor for being poor
3. everything pretended to benefit the WC, but when examined closely, it didn’t
4. parliament increased cost of bread

Question 2

in london, how many sellers of unstamped newspapers were arrested from 31-36

Answer 2

750

Question 3

who composed the chartists?

Answer 3

1. factory operatives in the north, middle class members such as Thomas Attwood, skilled craftsmen such as Lovett + the london working mens associationand labourers

• it was a nationwide campaign

Question 4

when did the chartist campaign take place

Answer 4

1838-1842

Question 5

what did the chartists want?

Answer 5

radical political reform to give the working class a voice in government.

Question 6

what did the chartists hand to parliament in 1838?

Answer 6

The People’s Charter
1.Universal Manhood Suffrage: The vote for every man over 21.
2.Secret Ballot
3.No Property Qualification: Removing the requirement for MPs to own property, allowing working-class representation.
4.Payment for Members of Parliament (MPs): Enabling working men to afford to serve in Parliament.
5.Equal sized constituencies
6.Annual Parliaments

Question 7

who primarily lead chartism?

Answer 7

Feargus O’Connor: Known as the most prominent leader and “founding father” of the movement
William Lovett: A key figure in the London Working Men’s Association, he led the “moral force” side, advocating for education and peaceful petitioning to achieve political reform.

Question 8

in what years were chartist petitions handed to parliament?

Answer 8

1839, 1842 and 1848
All three petitions were rejected and after 1848 support dwindled.

Question 9

how many signatures did each petition get and what was the result in parliament?

Answer 9

1. 1839 Petition 1 million signatures → rejected (235–46)
   2.1842 Petition 3 million signatures-Also rejected
   Roughly 1 in 3 adult males signed
   3.1848 - supposed 6 mil signs - parliament found fakes

Question 10

how many chartists attended a meeting in brum?

Answer 10

200k

Question 11

what helped the movement?

Answer 11

their peaceful and calm nature - they weren’t thug like or violent, this helped gain MC support

Question 12

why did the convention break up in 1839

Answer 12

• delegated called for a 3 day strike but many refused to leave work for a short term gesture
  -many local leaders were arrested for their speeches
• rejection of petitions lead to confusion on what to do next

Question 13

post 1839, what startegies emerged? what did one of the leaders, Attwood say?

Answer 13

Lovett was released from prison and concentrated on promoting education for WC
- many realised that the WC had to prove, by self help that they were responsible citizens
-teetotal chartism - many refused to drink alcohol
‘we shall not shed blood, but if our enemies do they must accept the consequences’

Question 14

when was the plug plot

Answer 14

1842

Question 15

what caused the plug plot

Answer 15

1. 1842 trade depression
2. wage reduction + rising food prices
3. knife n fork issues

Question 16

what ignited exploding point that essentially caused the plug plot?

Answer 16

spinners at Bayleys mill in Stalybridge were told their wages were going to be cut
-1000s striked and neighbouring towns went to stalybridge and demanded workers stopped working

Question 17

where was a mass meeting of workers held and what did it result in?

Answer 17

Manchester - protesters pulled the plugs from mills demanding the People’s Charter and removed boiler plugs from steam engines to stop factory production

Question 18

what were the strikes like?

Answer 18

largely peaceful but when manufacturers tried to stop them there were clashes with police and troops

Question 19

how did the plug plot link with chartism?

Answer 19

there were claims that the chartists were behind it as some members were directly involved - by this point their popularity faded and they gave the plug plots their official backing

Question 20

why was the plug plot important in the history of the chartist campaign?

Answer 20

the chartists were now associated with thug like behaviour which reduced their legitimacy

Question 21

by the end of 1842 how many were put on trial for chartist related offences

Answer 21

1500

Question 22

what were the main reasons for chartist failure?

Answer 22

Poor leadership
Divisions over tactics – Moral Force versus Physical Force.
Lack of co-ordination, reflecting the essentially local nature of much Chartist activity.

Question 23

what judgement can we make about the chartist movement

Answer 23

Although it failed, it wasn’t insignificant. It drew attention to working-class grievances. Although much Chartist activity was local, the movement achieved a higher degree of organisation than any previous working class movement. Some historians would see it as an important step on the road to organising an effective working-class movement

Question 24

why was o’connor essential to the movement?

Answer 24

he appointed and paid agents to work in different parts of the country so they could report for his newspaper - the Northern star
-any profits were used to pay for the chartists on trial and their families

Question 25

when o'connor was imprisoned in the 40s what did he still do?

Answer 25

write articles for the northern star

Question 26

what did o'connor encourage the establishment of?

Answer 26

the National Charter Association - NCA - by 1842 it had 30k members

Question 27

when was o'connor elected into parliament?, what was the result?, what was planned?

Answer 27

1847 - support increased bcs of the return of the economic depression and a mass meeting was planned just outside the commons

Question 28

after haring news of the meeting, how did the gov respond

Answer 28

recruited 7k troops and 85k special constables (mostly the MC) But the meeting was peaceful and the petition that was handed have to parliament was said to have fake sigs

Question 29

when did chartism die again

Answer 29

after the last petition, there was no longer a mass following