The Appeal of Chartism

Paper Summary:

The Chartist Movement came into existence after the breakdown of earlier attempts by the laboring poor to improve their condition. It developed from friendly societies into societies that threw their energies directly into politics, especially parliamentary reform. This paper explains the different issues that led to the 18th century working classes turning to Chartism in an attempt to improve not only their working conditions, but also their standards of living. It looks at the Acts of Parliament passed at this time.

From the Paper:

"London was the world of dwindling craft industries. London's craftsmen were the drive of Chartism. Silk handloom weavers were the principal single cluster, but other craftsmen were also engaged in the movement. Under these circumstances, they had nothing in common with the factory hands employed in the North of England. The craftsmen objected to the use of machinery, partly due to a decline of their own trades as a result of industrialisation. The majority of London was not employed within these factory settings, the violent fluctuations in the levels of employment were not the same as they were in the North. So there was not a great mass suffering from hardship at the same time as in the industrial areas."

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