Chartism, a movement for men?

Chartism began to form in 1838, following the Reform Act of 1832. The act was put in place to correct the many problems which had infested the British political system. One of the many important things to come out of the Reform act of 1832 was the newly established distinction between the middle class and the working class who could still not vote, there was a sense of betrayal amongst the many who were left out of parliamentary representation by the 1832 Reform Act. Chartism or the Peoples Charter was a response to this piece of government reform. There was huge support for the Chartist movement from men and women, however it seems as if the Peoples Charter was drawn up primarily for men. There is an interesting discussion to be had regarding the idea that Chartism was a movement devised only for males.

Firstly, the Peoples Charter was drawn up in 1838, and the two key figures in the creation of this charter were two men named, William Lovett and Francis Plate, both men were considered as radicals and were both part of the London Working Men’s Association. This Association who were the creators of the Charter was created specifically for working class men in London, meaning that women could not be a part of this group[1]. The Charter had six points, starting with universal male suffrage, the wording of this is interesting as it quite clearly is leaving women out of the picture. Furthermore, the group which wrote up the Peoples Charter was named the London Working Men’s Association. Its clear that the originators of the Charter were not considering women in their strife to gain parliamentary enfranchisement. The leadership of the Chartism movement was also made up of men, recruited from towns all over Britain and these men had reputations for being radical[2]. Many of the pamphlets and leaflets that were created to increase awareness of the movement were aimed at men, large numbers of them referring the ‘working men’ of Britain. The language used in such pamphlets show the movements desire to encourage men to join.

However, there was much support for Chartism amongst women, there were over a hundred societies and associations for women who wanted to be part of the Chartism movement. However, it is interesting to note that many of these associations were in favour of the Peoples Charter as they were being supportive of male political demands or were insisting on their rights and their needs as family members[3]. It is likely that many women wanted women’s right to vote to be equally at the forefront with the men’s however, women’s involvement in political activity during the 19^th century did not fit the role at the time. It’s also significant to note that despite the Chartism movement only seemingly befitted men, many women helped spread the ideas of reform throughout the pre-and post chartist years[4]. Furthermore it is important to note that the demands were named the ‘Peoples’ Charter, this includes both men and women.

It is clear that the Chartist movement was to benefit men and to appeal to primarily the male working-class population, as the language of the Peoples Charter itself suggests, and the many ways that Chartists tried to spread word of this new movement further suggests.

[1] Edward Royle, Chartism, Addison Wesley Longman Limited, 1996, p. 18.

[2] Dorothy Thompson, Chartism as a Historical Subject, in The Dignity of Chartism Essays by Dorothy Thompson, Ed by Stephen Roberts, Verso, 2015, p. 8.

[3] Dorothy Thompson, Women Chartists, in The Dignity of Chartism Essays by Dorothy Thompson, Ed by Stephen Roberts, Verso, 2015, p. 44.

[4] Helen Rodgers, From ‘Monster Meetings to Fire-side Virtues’? Radical Women and ‘the people’ in the 1840’s, Liverpool John Moore University, p. 57.

 

Bibliography

• Rodgers, Helen. From ‘Monster Meetings to Fire-side Virtues’? Radical Women and ‘the people’ in the 1840’s, Liverpool John Moore University.
• Royle, E. Chartism, Addison Wesley Longman Limited, 1996.
• Thompson, D. The Dignity of Chartism Essays by Dorothy Thompson, ed Stephen Roberts, verso, 2015.

Figures

•  The People’s Charter, 1838, The Peoples History Museum, LHASC: VIN/6, Vincent/Pickles Collection.