How Important Was Economic Conditions In The Development Of Chartism 1836
How important was economic conditions in the development of Chartism 1836-41
Chartism was a working class movement for political reform in Britain. There were many reasons as to why Chartism developed, one of which was the poor economic conditions in Britain and this was quite important however was not the sole reason as there were also other strong origins such as disappointment of the Great Reform Act.
The economic boom of the early 1830s was short lived as by 1836 Britain’s economy was suffering due to bad harvests and partly because of industrialisation. It was a time where there was high unemployment, especially in the north such as in Cheshire and Yorkshire, because the process of industrialisation had hit these areas harder than others as many handloom weavers’ jobs were replaced by machinery. Employers had reduced wages at a time of high food prices meaning that the working class had to act fats or risk starvation and they did by joining the radical Chartist movement. General Sir Charles Napier referred to the 1840s as the ‘hungry forties’ which gives us an idea of how bad things had gotten.
Other than economic there were several other factors leading to Chartism, the first being the disappointment with the Great reform Act of 1932. Although labelled ‘great’ it didn’t reform a huge amount, it just tidied up what was already in place for example the total number of seats stayed the same in parliament at 658 and even though more people were allowed to vote only around 1 in 7 males could vote. The act benefitted the middle class as they could now vote to elect MPs; however the act was seen as a big betrayal to the working class, the ‘Great betrayal of 1832’. This was because many boroughs, in which many working class citizens lived, such as Middlesex, had been disenfranchised meaning they lost the vote.
Another reason for the growth of Chartism was opposition to Whig social legislation for example the New Poor Law of 1834, the Irish Coercion Act in 1833 and
Chartism was a working class movement for political reform in Britain. There were many reasons as to why Chartism developed, one of which was the poor economic conditions in Britain and this was quite important however was not the sole reason as there were also other strong origins such as disappointment of the Great Reform Act.
The economic boom of the early 1830s was short lived as by 1836 Britain’s economy was suffering due to bad harvests and partly because of industrialisation. It was a time where there was high unemployment, especially in the north such as in Cheshire and Yorkshire, because the process of industrialisation had hit these areas harder than others as many handloom weavers’ jobs were replaced by machinery. Employers had reduced wages at a time of high food prices meaning that the working class had to act fats or risk starvation and they did by joining the radical Chartist movement. General Sir Charles Napier referred to the 1840s as the ‘hungry forties’ which gives us an idea of how bad things had gotten.
Other than economic there were several other factors leading to Chartism, the first being the disappointment with the Great reform Act of 1932. Although labelled ‘great’ it didn’t reform a huge amount, it just tidied up what was already in place for example the total number of seats stayed the same in parliament at 658 and even though more people were allowed to vote only around 1 in 7 males could vote. The act benefitted the middle class as they could now vote to elect MPs; however the act was seen as a big betrayal to the working class, the ‘Great betrayal of 1832’. This was because many boroughs, in which many working class citizens lived, such as Middlesex, had been disenfranchised meaning they lost the vote.
Another reason for the growth of Chartism was opposition to Whig social legislation for example the New Poor Law of 1834, the Irish Coercion Act in 1833 and