Why did Chartism become a mass campaign?
Many working people had supported the campaign that resulted in the 1832 Reform Act in the belief that this would be a first step towards wider democracy. Their anger at the Whig government’s failure to honour its political debts, coupled with fury over the new Poor Law which established the workhouse system, found an outlet in Chartism. This was also a time when, following the repeal of the anti-trade union Combination Acts, working people were becoming more confident in forming their own organisations. Finally, these were hard times; trade was poor, wages were low and faced further cuts, and the case for revolutionary change in society was strong.
