Some opponents of the movement feared that Chartists were not just interested in changing the way Parliament was elected, but really wanted to turn society upside down by starting a revolution. They also thought that the Chartists (who said they disapproved of violent protest) were stirring up a wave of riots around the country. For example, Preston in Lancashire was the scene of rioting in 1842. Support for Chartism peaked at times of economic depression and hunger. There was rioting in Stockport, due to unemployment and near-starvation, and Manchester, where workers protested against wage cuts, wanting "a fair day's pay for a fair day's labour". The "Plug Plots" were a series of strikes in Lancashire, Yorkshire, the Midlands and parts of Scotland that took place in the summer of 1842. Workers removed the plugs from the boilers in order to bring factory machinery to a halt. Wage cuts were the main issue, but support for Chartism was also strong at this time. Although the Chartist movement ended without achieving its aims, the fear of civil unrest remained. Later in the century, many Chartist ideas were included in the Reform Acts of 1867 and 1884.
Chartism was a mass movement that attracted a following of millions. Hundreds of thousands of people were sometimes reported to have attended their meetings and their three petitions amassed millions of signatures, although some were proved to be fake. Friedrich Engels wrote that '...in Chartism it is the whole working class which rises against the bourgeois', but it was more than simply a working-class movement -it attracted some rural support as well as more radical elements of the middle classes. Although the People’s Charter did not advocate votes for women, Chartism was far from a male-only movement. William Lovett, the author of the People’s Charter, wrote in his autobiography that he was in favour of female suffrage. However, it was decided that calls for female suffrage would damage the prospects for the Charter’s success. Women may not have spoken publicly like the male Chartist orators, but many did attend meetings and mass demonstrations, and formed Female Charter Associations. Others actively challenged the Chartists to campaign for female suffrage.
The Chartist movement was not a completely unified organisation and its leadership was often fragmented. All members decided on the end purpose of Chartism, but there were radical differences in opinion over the means to achieve it. For example:
'Moral force' Chartists such as William Lovett believed that tactics such as holding public meetings, publishing pamphlets and newspapers, and taking petitions to government would succeed in convincing those in power of the moral right of electoral reform. However, many people believed that electoral reform would not be achieved through the use of 'moral force' alone.
'Physical force' Chartists, such as Fergus O’Connor, advocated the use of violence to demand the six points of the Charter be granted, should that not be achieved by peaceful means.
The more radical Chartists took part in riots in Newcastle, Birmingham and elsewhere round the country, at which leading members of the movement were arrested. The most infamous episode in the history of Chartism was the disastrous Newport Rising, which took place on 4thNovember 1839. A group of Chartists stormed a hotel and 22 of the protesters were killed by waiting troops. For a while the energy went out of the movement, though the National Charter Association was established in 1840 to co-ordinate its work across the country. Eventually, the Chartists split into several factions and the movement's influence declined. The last big protest was at Kennington Common in April 1848, which was followed by a procession to Westminster to present another petition. The Chartist leaders claimed this petition had over 5 million signatures, but many were proved to be fake. There was a massive police and military presence, but the meeting was peaceful, with a crowd estimated by some at 150,000. The petition was defeated heavily. In 1837 and with the start of the bad times (the Hungry 40s) the Birmingham Political Union had revived and helped to launch the Charter nationally in 1839. Initially, educated and politically experienced men from the working classes dominated Chartism but the Charter reflected the Utopian idealism of the English radicals. The Charter became the rallying cry for all with a sense of grievance. The working classes embarked on a crusade to seek a socio-economic Utopia by political means. The Chartists asked for too much all at once. If they had concentrated on universal manhood suffrage, the rest would have followed. Compare the demands of the Chartists to that of the Anti-Corn-Law League which had a single objective.
In conclusion the Chartist movement developed from 1836 because of the London working men's association was set up and 1836 was the start of 'the bad times' in 19th century England. The introduction of machines in industrial areas that put many out of work (example – Machines in the cotton industry all but dominated the franchise as they could work with minimal cost, as long as needed and produce noticeably more [Higher output]) causing mass unemployment. This gained support for the chartists who wanted benefits and changes made by the government for the people. Chartism looked particularly 'juicy' to those affected and those worried about being affected by harsh government policy and the industrial revolution. Many of the chartists opponents (particularly in the government / house of commons / lords) saw Chartism as a potential 'Working class revolution' and due to the revolution that had just occurred in France, powerful people had the right to be worried ( King Louis overthrown).