What was the Chartists response?
This annoyed the more extreme Chartists led by former Irish MP Feargus O’Connor. He caused a division between those who favoured “physical force” and those, like Lovett, who preferred “moral ‘suasion”, at least at first. Militants called for rebellion, and there were riots in Newcastle, Birmingham and elsewhere, where leading Chartists were arrested. The only armed uprising was in Newport, Wales, in November 1839. It all went badly wrong. When they stormed a hotel to free their recently arrested colleagues, 20 Chartists were killed by waiting troops. The leaders of the rebellion were transported, though they were later pardoned. For a while the energy went out of the movement, though the National Charter Association was established in 1840 to co-ordinate work across the country. Eventually, the Chartists split into several factions and their influence declined. The last big protest was at Kennington Common in April 1848, to be followed by a procession to Westminster to present another
