Chartism arose in England and experienced its heyday in the 30s and 40s of the 19th century. It was a social and political movement .
Causes of Chartism
The term "Chartism" arose after when in 1839 a people's charter was submitted to the Parliament of England. Modern historians also agree that this movement was a prerequisite for the emergence of the social democratic idea. Its main core was the numerous proletarian class that arose in England after the Industrial Revolution.
The causes of Chartism should be sought in the then difficult situation. In the 20s and 30s, a wave of economic crises swept across the UK. The enterprises went bankrupt and closed, and the workers were left without work and means of subsistence. So what is chartism? This was the reaction of the proletariat to the emerging economic conditions, when it was almost impossible to get a job. The situation was especially difficult in industrialized areas, for example, in Lancashire (a county in the north-west of England). Workers staged spontaneous riots, which ended in riots, pogroms and robberies in food stalls.
Hunger and despair should have resulted in the general movement of the discontented and, in the end, this happened. The workers had a positive example. In 1832, the bourgeoisie achieved parliamentary reform, which took into account its interests. The same hard workers of factories and factories sought the same thing.
People’s Charter
The main document of the Chartists - the People’s Charter contained several points. These were the requirements of universal suffrage for men over 21 years of age, the abolition of property qualifications for those wishing to become deputies, as well as secret ballot. In addition, the workers wanted a reduction in parliamentary powers to a term of one year and the emergence of equal constituencies. Some of these points of the program found support among the bourgeoisie. For example, such was the requirement of equal and secret suffrage. Knowing all these requirements, it is much easier to understand what Chartism is.
The impoverishment of the working class
The main causes of Chartism are conflicts between parliament and the poor. In 1934, deputies tightened legislation regarding the functioning of work houses. These establishments were part of a charitable or penal system. They were created in order to stimulate the poor and criminals to work for the good of society. And work houses also hit people who could not get settled because of the massive unemployment that arose after the industrial crisis.
The deteriorating working conditions of all these people led to protests against parliament and its decisions. Another reason for the emergence of Chartism is the new Law on the Poor, adopted in 1834. The main form of workers ’protest was mass rallies, which, as a rule, ended with petitions to deputies. Hundreds of thousands of dissatisfied took part in such actions.
The struggle of the proletarians for their rights
At first, rallies arose spontaneously. Over time, among the proletarians, activists stood out who began to create centralized organizations. The first such structure was the London Workers Association, which appeared in 1836.
What is Chartism and how did it differ from past protests of discontented poor people? It was precisely because opponents of parliamentary politics were able to organize and create their own society that effectively defended their interests. After London, such structures appeared in other cities, becoming a common occurrence throughout England.
It was the metropolitan association that formulated the points that formed the basis of the famous People’s Charter. Over time, workers gained support in numerous newspapers and other media outlets, which also began to promote the demands of the Chartists. Universal suffrage was especially popular , the thought of which echoed in many well-known magazines of various political orientations. Although, of course, the workers were mainly supported by the left.
Radical and moderate
To better describe what Chartism is, it is necessary to mention the fact that this movement was never monolithic. It consisted of two wings. Supporters of the alliance with the bourgeoisie wanted to fight for their rights through peaceful protest: rallies, petitions, and processions. They were opposed by radicals who believed that the goals of the movement can only be achieved through drastic measures. This path meant the use of violence against the authorities. The radicals, as a rule, were the left.
The right wing also paid particular attention to the issue of grain laws. They were passed by Parliament decades before protecting English farmers from foreign competitors. This was done by introducing duties on grain imported into the country. These measures also increased bread prices, which workers did not like.
Chartist Convention
The Chartist movement led to a rally of enormous proportions in the spring of 1838 in Glasgow. According to various estimates, about 200 thousand people attended it. These were the visual results of Chartism. Now every poor worker in the country was involved in a protest movement.
In February 1839, the first general convention of Chartist supporters was held in London. It was conceived as an alternative to a legitimate parliament and was to become a mouthpiece for popular discontent. It was on it that the charter was agreed. After that, mass agitation began throughout the country. Under the petition, workers' voices were gathered.
Finally, in the summer of 1839, the document was submitted to the House of Commons. By this time, more than a million people had signed it. However, the parliament turned out to be deaf to the demands of the Chartists. The petition was rejected by a majority of the deputies.
Armed resistance
The parliamentarians did not want to admit that Chartism was a movement for the rights of a huge number of people in the country. Immediately after their refusal to recognize the petition, armed clashes between workers and police began in England. Skirmishes and street fights have become normal.
Many leaders of the Chartist movement were jailed. This led to the fact that in 1839 10 thousand people attacked the prison, which caused numerous victims. The state increased its pressure on the radical part of the movement. In the end, the unrest was suppressed.
However, the causes of Chartism have not disappeared. As before, the situation of many workers left much to be desired. Therefore, the right wing of the Chartists renounced violence and again tried to attract the attention of parliament with the help of several petitions. New charters were filed in 1842 and 1848.
Last Chartists Charter
The last attempt coincided with several important events. First, in 1847, a new industrial crisis began in Great Britain, which threw thousands more workers into the street. Secondly, at the same time, revolutions began throughout Europe. The first of these was in Paris, where the discontented bourgeoisie overthrew Louis-Phillip I, who infringed on her rights.
This example became contagious, although the English chartists had noticeably less power than the French capitalists. Many leaders of the protest movement were scattered back in past years. Therefore, it all ended with another charter, which again collected millions of signatures. In 1848, parliament again rejected the petition, although it made some occasional concessions such as the abolition of grain duties and the regulation of the working day in factories.
A few years later, the British economy went uphill again. The dissatisfied lost their initiative and soon the Chartist movement came to naught. Of course, the problems of the workers have not gone away. The proletarians continued to fight for their rights, but in other forms that were not connected with Chartism.
Movement value
What is the result of the Chartist struggle for their rights over the course of a decade? In 1842, parliament introduced an income tax, and a little later abolished duties on foreign grain, which reduced the price of bread. The main success of the protest can be considered factory law. It was adopted in 1847 and introduced a 10-hour work day for children and women, which was a small but concession for the proletarians.
Many researchers have tried to formulate what Chartism is. The definition of this movement often describes it as a harbinger of the unions that began to appear en masse in the second half of the 19th century.
The significance of Chartism also lies in the fact that it has become a useful experience for proletarians throughout England. Since then, the workers were firmly aware of their rights and learned how to organize to defend their interests.
Chartism and the USSR
Chartism gained particular popularity in the Soviet Union, where the ideology of the primacy of the proletarian class reigned. Numerous textbooks by domestic educators and economists have explained what Chartism is. The definition of this phenomenon in Soviet science corresponded to the Marxist course. Chartism was seen as a prologue to the awakening of the proletarian class.
It was England that became the first country where workers began to fight for their rights in modern ways. Numerous strikes and strikes can serve as an example. The proletarians halted production, and sometimes it came to sabotage, when industrial equipment was deliberately destroyed.