Radical Reformers

What effect did the French Revolution 1789 have on British politics?

revitalised the movement for parliamentary reform in Britain and stimulated demand for more radical reforms

What was 'The Rights of Man'?

-book published by Thomas Paine in 1791 in response to Burke.
-he applauded the revolution in France and dismissed Burke's insistence on the need to follow tradition and the role of the monarchy.
-he advocated sweeping reforms to improve lives of working people e.g called for free education
-called for universal manhood suffrage
-sold 200,000 copies within the first year, and passages were often read out in pubs and clubs to the illiterate working class- it reached out to those who were not usually involved in political debate and discussion and advocated political reform

London Corresponding Society

formed in 1792
-led by Thomas Hardy
- held weekly meetings and discussed the poverty and high prices facing working people, called for universal manhood suffrage, the secret ballot and payment of MPs. by 1793 the LCS had gained 6000 signatures for a petition supporting parliamentary reform

What was the government's response to the growing threat of reform?

-in 1790s despite much loyalist support, the gov became increasingly afraid of the growth of radical societies.

What measures did the gov pass to counter the threat? (Pitt's policies)

-1795 Treason Act confirmed assaults (physical or written) against King were high treason-> could be transported for 7 years.
-1794 30 radicals were arrested including Hardy, were arrested and charged with high treason.
-from may 1794 to july 1795 habeas corpus was suspended.
-1795 Seditious Meetings Act of more than 50 people were prohibited without the approval of a magistrate
-Combination Act 1799 made lcs illegal

What caused radicalism to be largely silenced by the end of 1795?

-gov policy was a success
-war outbreak between Britain and France in 1793 created a patriotic feel in Britain which led many to view radicals as traitors.
-far more people joined loyalist associations than radical ones
-1799 Combination Act made LCS illegal

Luddism

- A protest movement in the early 1800's against industrialization and mechanization
-not politically motivated
-reports of attacks on mills and factories that had installed new machines, particularly textile industry, in cities such as Yorkshire, Nottingham

Where Luddites against industrialisation?

-craftsmen who still used hand operated machinery for spinning, weaving etc
-felt their jobs were under threat from new machines and from the employment of more and more women and children to mind the machines in new factories.

What was the gov's response to Luddites?

-machine breaking was made a capital offence
-after several executions and the return of better economic conditions, Luddite outbreaks petered out.

What were the economic results of the war with France on Britain?

-were victorious, but had been very expensive
-to finance the war, the gov increased taxes and burrowed money
-in the years after the war, interest from the loans used up to 80% of gov income

How did the gov manage to pay off the loans etc?

-during war, the gov introduced a direct tax (paid directy to state) on the rich. They had said it was just be temporary.
-after war, MPs reminded gov of this, and insisted tax to be dropped.
-instead of this direct tax, gov introduced new indirect taxes on everyday items like sugar, tobacco etc that hit the poor hardest

Unemployment after the war

-over 300,000 men returned from war service looking for work
-industries like textiles producing army uniforms and coal, iron and engineering (producing weapons) now found that gov contracts dried up and so more workers were laid off.

What were the Corn Laws?

-1815
-laws which imposed tariffs on foreign wheat.
-import of wheat was banned until the price of British wheat reached 80 shillings.

Why were the Corn Laws introduced?

-landowners said that Britian needed to be self sufficient in case of another war, and that hunger and famine had been one of the causes of French rev
-also that agriculture employed more people than other industries and that thousands of farmers would be out of work if Britain was flooded with cheap foreign wheat.

Who was John Cartwright?

Published pamphlet "Take Your Choice!", one of the earliest examples of pro-reform literature. In 1780 helped establish Society for Constitutional Information, did an evangelising tour of the distressed industrial areas of the UK founded Hampden Club in 1812

Who was William Cobbett?

Started the newspaper 'The Political Register' in 1802, circulation reached 4000 by 1806.
-in it, he attacked the government. particulary singled out the 'placemen' who recived incomes, paid for from taxation for the 'places' they held in government.
-attacked the pensioners and the fundholders
-his arguments found an enthusiastic response from working classes
1810 tried and convicted for sedition, after release in 1812 continued to campaign against newspaper taxes and government restrictions on free speech.
reduced the price of the 'Political Register' in 1816 to 2d- to avoid stamp duty and also more accessible for the poor, sold over 200,000 issues in 2 months

Hampden Club

-formed by Cartwright in 1812 in order to agitate 'general suffrage', 40 in Lancashire alone
-wanted an end to the Corn Laws

Henry Hunt

-came from a prosperous family
-reputatiton as magnificent speaker
-campaigned for universal manhood suffrage, and after 1815, became the most prominent, popular, radical leader.
-main speaker at Peterloo meeting 1819; was arrested and imprisoned for two years
-he became known as the 'Orator'

When and where was Spa Fields meeting?

London Dec 1816

What happened at the Spa Fields Meeting?

-10,000 people
-Henry hunt due to speak
-a small section of crowd rioted, seizing weapons from gun shops and marched towards Tower of London
-riots lasted for several hours
-majority of crowd were peaceful and were singing national anthem
-hunt called for lower taxes and reform of the gov

Consequences of Spa Fields Meeting

-gov suspended the law of habeas corpus meaning that people could now be arrested and held without trial
-gagging acts 1817

Gagging Act

1817
-stated that any place where political meetings took place, with the purpose of discussing the injustice of any law, constitution, gov and policy of UK will be declared abuse of order and be punished.

When was the Pentridge Rising?

June 1817

What happened at the Pentridge Rising?

-Oliver the spy infiltrated a group of discontented workers in Derbyshire and organised a march to Nottingham, which he said would spark a nationwide rebellion
-200 men with pitchforks set off
-when in Nottingham they were met by troops and rounded up

Consequences of Pentridge Rising

-leaders were handed and 30 were transported
-served as a deterrent to other agitators
-but was public outcry

When was the Peterloo massacre?

Aug 1819

What happened at the Peterloo massacre?

-st peters field Manchester
-50-60,000 attended
-families in their Sunday best came to hear Henry Hunt speak
-national anthem played
-yeomanry (volunteer cavalry force) were told by magistrates to arrest hunt
-as they tried to reach him the crowd closed ranks to stop them, so some of the yeomanry used their swords to clear a path
-11 people killed and 400 injured

Consequences of Peterloo massacre

-outcry in the press eg the times and other middle class papers
-the gov were criticised when they congratulated the Manchester magistrates for their 'prompt, decisive and efficient measures for the preservation of public tranquility'
-as the story was told and retold, the radicals attracted more and more sympathy and support while the gov became increasingly unpopular
-6 acts

What were the 6 acts 1819?

-banned military style drilling and training
-gave magistrates increased powers to search for arms
-banned public meetings of over 50 people unless they had magistrate's permission
-speeded up trials
-imposed further restrictions on the press
-increased the tax, or stamp duty, on newspapers so as to make radical writings, like those of Cobbett, too expensive for poorer people

These laws enabled authorities to suppress political activity further.
Followed the Peterloo massacre 1819

Lack of progress with objectives

-annual elections not a serious possibility
-middle classes didn't have vote or greater representation
-rotten boroughs still over represented, whilst nothern urban was under-represented

Inability to overcome opposition

-acts passed easily by parliament severly hampered reformist efforts
-eg LCS weakened by 1799 Combination Act
-stamp tax forced publications underground
-1795 & 1817 acts made mass protest difficult

Lack of co ordination

no unifed motive
a lot of divisions over philosophies

lack of education of population

-education provisions very limited
-if people were able to get hold of pamphlets/ papers, they often couldn't understand
-1820 only 675,000 attended day schools

Creating Awareness

-awareness among gov and public
-made reform an important political issue
-liberal media criticised gov for harsh actions eg peterloo

Set foundation for future progression

-general awareness and parliamentary discussion around reform laid foundations for reform crisis of 1830-32
-representation of the people act 1832 began to slow process of extending parliamentary representation.

Sheffield Corresponding Society

by 1792 had over 2000 members and was the largest corresponding societies. Sheffield sent out 'missionaries' who organised societies in Leeds, Birmingham and Coventry. In 1793 10,000 Sheffielders signed a petition for reform that was rejected by parliament as 'insolent'

Extent of support for franchise reform

Place and Benthamites- householder franchise, Cobbett, Hunt, Cartwright propertied suffrage (moderate), Bamford, Spence universal suffrage

Personality clashes

Francis Place described Cobbett as an "unprincipled, cowardly bully", and Hunt as "impudent and vulgar", Cobbett said that he wasn't happy in any movement that was "not subdued to his influence"

Impact of economic improvements

Thomas Wooler "Black Dwarf" publication, ceased publication in 1824 blamed hunger politics

E Evans support for reform (historian)

"directly proportional" to extent of economic recovery

1820 Cobbett

i defy you to agitate a man on a full stomach

1820, trade boom- especially in textiles

most radical support was located in textile/weaving regions

Crown and Anchor Associations

founded in 1792 by John Shreeves to campaign against the ideas of the French revolution and their British supporters. By the end of 1793 there were more than 2000 local branches established. They disrupted radical meetings, attacked printers of Thomas Paine's works, initiated prosecutions for sedition and published loyalist pamphlets

Loyalist propoganda

Appealed to traditional hatred of France and exploited fears of revolutionary violence. Pro-govt newspapers gave highly emotive accounts of radical activity and called on the public to resist them
(produced by govt & crown and anchor associations)

Thomas Spence

radical reformer, believed in universal suffrage, nationalising all land and abolishing the aristocracy and landlords. Distributed Paine's work, was arrested and imprisoned without trial under the suspension of habeas corpus from May-December 1794. 1801 was arrested and imprisoned for selling seditious publications.

Education

by 1820, 675,000 children were being educated in day schools with 500,000 attending Sunday schools