Was Chartism a failure

The Chartist movement has been considered by many historians as a great success due to the fact that historically, Chartism was the first working class movement composed to a great extent involving a huge population. As J. West argues “the Chartist movement… was the first organized effort to stir up class consciousness on a national scale…Judged by its essential and generally overlooked purpose, Chartism was a success. It achieved not the six points but a state of mind.” The state of mind that the Chartist movement had achieved was that of the working class consciousness which led to the formation of political organizations by the working people as well as higher participation in public life. The Chartist movement could be argued as necessary and a vital step in the development of the working class as it was more “mature than the spasmodic outbreaks at the beginning of the century. It left no direct heir but it has bequeathed a very real inspiration to subsequent generations.” The spasmodic outbreaks refer to the demonstrations led by the working classes in order to retain the Corn Laws and in regards to the extension of the franchise in the 1820s. The political significance of the Chartist movement was that it reached across a variety of trades and localities and reflected a class identity forged in the economic process and tempered by the politics of the 1830s. 

 The Chartist movement has also been seen as a success in terms of making the working classes aware of the consequences of political participation. This argument can be supported by the fact that in 1836-48, Chartism’s strength peaked at times when depression and unemployment reached an all high, which shows that the people realized that in order to improve their situation, political participation would be necessary.  Chartism, therefore, “drew attention to social and economic evils and awakened public opinion to the need for improvement” Marx described the Chartist movement as a success as it united the people under a common class which focused on the social evils which society had placed upon them. He believed that Chartism was a “compact form of (proletarian) opposition to the bourgeoisie”, thus he regarded the Chartist movement as a collective working class movement. The importance of Chartism, according to Marx was that it highlighted the importance of the working class conscience. The Chartist movement can be regarded as a crucial stage in the growth of political awareness in the working class as it “afforded the opportunity of an apprenticeship in political activity to working men, traditions handed down to a later generation assisting in the formation of the Independent Labour Party at the end of the century.” The Chartist movement was used by the working classes as an example upon which future movements and organisations could be built upon. The Chartist movement taught the people the valuable and extensive knowledge of how to organise and carry out protests. S. J. Lee argues that the Chartist movement showed the working classes “how to avoid the repetition of basic mistakes.”

        The failure of Chartism has been described by historians as a short term failure due to the fact that five of their six points were later conceded: abolition of property qualification for MPs (1858), the secret ballot (1872), equal electoral districts (by successive stages in 1876, 1884 and 1918), payment of MPs (1911) and adult male suffrage (1918). The fact that the aims of the Chartist movement were eventually introduced has been used by S. J. Lee to suggest that Chartism was “a far-sighted and progressive movement.” The failure of Chartism was traditionally attributed to the ‘premature’ and ‘extreme’ nature of the demands which were introduced in the People’s Charter, which can be used as evidence to suggest that Chartism was not a failure as “Chartism provided a powerful psychological influence in working class consciousness and movements in the future.”

 The failure of Chartism could be credited to the fact that within the political movement there were many divisions; however, Chartism cannot be described as complete failure as it instilled fierce determination within former chartists to pursue interests independently. The impact of Chartism can also be seen in later political movements which aimed to improve the conditions of the working classes in terms of education, temperance reform, trade unionism and elements can also be seen in the early development of labour politics. “Chartism provided a powerful psychological influence in working class consciousness and movements in the future” as it provided the link between the Reform Acts of 1832 and 1867 as even though the movement had disbanded, many of the chartist leaders and activists had entered into mainstream political organisations, which meant that they could continue to pressurise and fight for parliamentary reform.

        However, although the aims of the People’s Charter were introduced into government, there are no obvious links that suggest that there were any connections between the introduction of the Acts and the influence of Chartism. As S. J. Lee argues “In each case…more sustained pressure was necessary and the connections with Chartism were tenuous.” There has also been historical debate to suggest that the aims of the Chartists were introduced as Acts regardless of the pressures that they placed upon the government. Thompson refers to two main aims of the Chartists; firstly in regards to the reformation of the Poor Law which he attributes to the inefficiency and expense of the system and secondly, in regards to the introduction of free and universal education which he argues was already in place before the Charter. It can be argued that Chartism failed, in terms of subsequent working-class movements as there were no signs of a revival in Chartist thinking. However there is some evidence in the trade union and Labour movements of the second half of the nineteenth century to suggest some continuity of Chartist ideas. The Chartist movement, to an extent, has to be considered a failure due to the fact that had the movement been a success then the aims of the Chartist movement would have been implemented in 1848 instead of being introduced at later dates.  

                In conclusion, the failure or the success of Chartism can be determined by examining whether the Chartist movement was successful in achieving its aims. There were two main aims of Chartism which were, firstly, to implement the People’s Charter and secondly, to induce within the working classes a sense of political awareness. In terms of achieving the implementation of the People’s Charter, the evidence points to the Chartist movement being a success. Although in 1848, the chartist movement collapsed, the ideas and influences of Chartism remained and coupled with the fear of civil unrest led to many of the Chartist ideas being introduced in the Reform Acts of 1867 and 1884. Chartism was a success in instilling within the working classes a sense of class consciousness. The movement led the way as an example for future political organisation and movements. The Chartist movement opened the way for more working class people to understand the importance of political participation. Overall, Chartism failed as a movement but succeeded in inspiring future movements and organisations due to its ideas and influences. As J. West argues “Judged by its crop of statutes and statues, Chartism was a failure. Judged by its essential and generally overlooked purpose, Chartism was a success. It achieved not the Six points but a state of mind.”

References.

Bibliography:

• J. T. Ward: Chartism
• J. West: A history of the Chartist Movement (London 1920)
• Stephen J. Lee: Aspects of British Political History 1815-1914
• D. Richards & J.W. Hunt: Modern Britain (Longmans, 1967)
• C. Thorne: Chartism, (Macmillan, 1966)
• Pauline J. Walker : British Economic and Social History, (Macdonald & Evans, 1968)
• Gregg: Social and Economic History of Britain (Harrap, 1969)

Articles:

• John Boughton:  (from the Encyclopedia of Labor History Worldwide, St James Press, 2003)
• Mark Bevir: 
• Chartist Circular, 5 October 1839 taken from Norman Gash, The Age of Peel (London, Edward Arnold, 1973)
• Eric Evans: Chartism Revisited, in Historical Review March 1999

Websites:

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