What was Chartism?
In 1832, voting rights were given to the property-owning middle classes in Britain. However, many people wanted further political reform. Chartism was a working class movement, which emerged in 1836 and was most active between 1838 and 1848. The aim of the Chartists was to gain political rights and influence for the working classes. Chartism got its name from the formal petition, or People’s Charter, that listed the six main aims of the movement. These were: • a vote for all men (over 21) • the secret ballot • no property qualification to become an MP • payment for MPs • electoral districts of equal size • annual elections for Parliament The movement presented three petitions to Parliament – in 1839, 1842 and 1848 – but each of these was rejected. The last great Chartist petition was collected in 1848 and had, it was claimed, six million signatures. The plan was to deliver it to Parliament after a peaceful mass meeting on Kennington Common in London. The government sent 8,000 soldiers,
