History > Key Stage 3

Popular Protest in the 19th Century
Course Notes and Worksheets

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Power to the People – 19th Century Britain

Two hundred years ago the ruling classes – the aristocracy, gentry and middle classes – were scared stiff of riots. Riots were common and, without a police force and with only a small army, many feared the mob. People would riot for many reasons, especially economic ones such as the price of food going up. In 1780 people in London rioted against what they believed to be the unfair privileges of Roman Catholics.

The early years of the 19th Century saw many demonstrations against the ruling class. These were the years of the Napoleonic Wars (so called because Napoleon Bonaparte, ruler of France, was trying to get control of Europe).

War brings many consequences. Economically it always seems to put prices up and cause shortages of food. Socially it affects many by bringing death and disease. Wars cost money, which means taxes go up. Those affected most tend to be the poor. They have to fight, pay higher taxes and higher prices. Many find that they cannot get jobs when they return from war.

The 19th Century saw many instances when working people, fed up with their lives, protested in the hope their lives would improve. We are going to examine some of the main stories of this protest.

The Industrial Revolution – a big change in the way in which industry had been organised – had changed the lives of ordinary people. For some it had provided work, but at a cost. For many there was no simple way to protest. Today, a vote allows a person to say whether they agree or disagree with how something affects their daily life.

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Unit 1: The Luddites

There were many attempts at peaceful protest by groups of people badly affected by the Napoleonic Wars. The use of machines in the new factories also caused problems. Machines put people out of work. A group of weavers who wanted to walk to London from Stockport were stopped by the authorities.

Other groups decided that violence was the only way to achieve their demands. In Nottinghamshire in 1811, there was a rising against 'frames' – machines which replaced the work done by skilled craftsmen in making stockings.

Workers broke into factories and smashed up machines. To protect themselves, they made up the name of a leader – Ned Ludd. This person did not exist. (Today if a person is described as a Luddite, it means they refuse to accept change.) To become a Luddite, it was important that you could be trusted. You were made to swear an oath, with the threat that if you broke your oath you would be punished.

The movement spread to Yorkshire where other machines were attacked and to Lancashire, where looms powered by water were destroyed. Action tended to occur where wages were low, when food prices were high. These were also times of action when immigrants came into an area and were prepared to work for low wages, thus putting others out of work.

The Luddites: Source Work

Source A

Sir,

I have received information that you use the detestable shearing machines. If they are not taken down next week, I shall send my army to destroy them. If you attack them, they have orders to murder you and burn all your housing.

Ned Ludd

A letter sent to Mr. Smith in Huddersfield

Source B

The attack on Daniel Burton's power loom mill in Middleton was made by a crowd of several thousands. At the head of these armed bandits was carried a dummy, who was supposed to be the infamous General Ludd.

A report in the Leeds Mercury newspaper

Source C

Luddites have a view that the Government should be overturned and revolution should follow.

A Government Informer, Barnsley, 1812

Source D

Let us remember that this mob we are talking about have for many years been the men and women who work hard in the fields, that man our navy and army; these are the 'mob' who have spilled blood in the defence of our country. Surely we need to understand that people are breaking machines so as they may be fed.

Lord Byron, explaining why he didn't support machine breakages being punished by death

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Unit 2: The Peterloo Massacre, 1819

Manchester witnessed the Peterloo Massacre. Working people wanted change. Many realised the only way to get it was by having the vote. In 1819, only 6% of the male population could vote (no women). Those who could vote were rich or members of the middle class. Demonstrations in favour of allowing more people the vote were arranged. One was close to Deansgate in Manchester. 60,000 people (men, women and children) turned up from all over Manchester and its outskirts.

The people responsible for law and order found that fact that 60,000 were going to turn up to demonstrate frightening. They believed working people should accept their position and never complain. The magistrates – people who were responsible for ensuring law and order – called out the Yeomanry to police the demonstration. The Yeomanry – soldiers on horseback – were generally opposed to demonstrators and you may imagine what happened when they rode into crowds of thousands of people. Whatever happened, 13 people were killed and many hundreds were wounded.

Consequences of the demonstration included 13 dead and many injuries. Also, many people were frightened to demonstrate afterwards. Others became more determined to protest. Peterloo proved to them that the political system – how the country was run – was unfair and needed to be changed.

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Unit 3: Reform of Parliament, 1832

By 1830 more and more pressure was put on the Government to change who was allowed to vote.

At this time only a few people could vote: tiny villages had MPs to speak up for their interests, but large industrial towns like Manchester had none – there was no-one in Parliament to speak up for working people. MPs were rich landowners: those few who had the vote could easily be bribed or threatened.

By 1830 there were some in Parliament who thought there might well be a revolution. (There had been one in France, in which the king and many rich people had been executed by the 'mob').

The Election (A Description of a Public Election in December 1832):

An election was held in Finsbury. All those who didn't have the vote were told to leave, but they didn't. The name of each candidate was read out. To vote for a candidate, you had to raise your hands. Many voters did this, but so did those not allowed to vote, including boys. Mr. Wakeley and Mr. Grant won the vote, but the other candidates did not agree and asked for the voters to be checked. Five days later, Mr. Grant and Mr. Spankie were declared the winners.

The Great Reform Act 1832

This new law tried to share out the number of MPs more fairly. Places where the population was small lost their MPs and large industrial towns like Manchester now had up to two MPs.

The vote was extended to more men. Now 8% of the male population had the vote. The new voters were mainly the middle classes – men who owned businesses, doctors, and other 'educated' people.

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Unit 4: The Chartists

You will remember from the last unit that the Great Reform Acts of 1832 gave the vote to a greater number of the male population. However, these were mainly wealth people. The Act did not give the vote to working men.

In 1838 a group of men decided to press for further reform. They prepared a People's Charter, from which the name 'Chartists' was taken.

The Six points of the People's Charter

• A vote for every male adult over 21
• A secret ballot
• Annual Parliaments
• No property qualifications for MPs – poor men could then stand for parliament, too
• Salaries for MPs
• Constituencies with equal numbers of voters

It was to take many years for the Government to give in on any of the above demands.

The Chartists: Success or Failure?

1. The 1850s and 1860s: gradually the Chartists Movement died out (mainly because the leadership could not decide whether a violent or peaceful approach was needed). However, there were also other reasons for the failure of Chartism.

2. Although they 'died out' before achieving anything, many of their demands later became law.

3. The Reform Act of 1867: by 1865 the demands of the Chartists had been revived, by a group known as the Reform League. This time Parliament were more prepared to listen, although they may have been influenced by the riots and demonstrations which took place.

The 1867 Act gave the vote to all men over 21 years who lived in towns. They had either to own their own house, or to pay at least £10 per year in rent. This Act gave about two million men the vote. This was about double the number who were given the vote in 1832.

It was 1872 before the Secret Ballot Act was passed, and men who lived in the countryside had to wait until 1884 for the vote. Women did not receive the vote until 1918 and then it was only for those aged over 30.

Why did the Government not give in to any of the demands of the Chartists at the time they were active? Why did they wait for many years after they had given up their demands?

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Unit 5: Trade Unions up to 1850

A Trade Union is a phrase used to describe how a group of craftsmen join up together and by doing so can act as one against an unjust boss. Such people would pay a small subscription each week. If they were off sick, the union would pay them a small amount to cover their loss of wage. They could ask for money if they were sacked from their job. Funerals were costs (they still are!) and many families could not afford a decent burial. A union would help to pay.

Unions therefore became popular with workers. This was a danger signal to the Government. Unions wanted bosses to give better conditions of pay and work. Because they acted together, union members would go on strike until their boss gave them a wage rise or shorter hours. (Going on strike means refusing to work – workers would not be paid and the owner of the business would not make money.)

1800-35: Trade Unions suppressed by Government and Employers

1799: Combination Act passed. This stopped workers joining unions.

1825: Unions were allowed by law, but they were not allowed to strike or threaten violence.

The Grand National Consolidated Trade Union (1834)

Robert Owen believed that if workers were treated well they would work well and business would prosper. Owen believed that industry could help the poor improve the quality of their lives.

Owen set up the GNCTU. Anyone could join and soon there were 800,000 members paying 1.4p per week. Owen, unusually for the time, believed men and women should be treated equally. He believed if you worked hard, you should get a fair reward. He believed that co-operation would benefit everyone – you work hard, you receive fair pay; you receive fair pay, you work hard.

The Tolpuddle Martyrs

As hinted above, employers (owners) were worried by this new union. As we have mentioned, the Government did not like unions, and they decided to make an example of some union members to discourage others. Six farm workers from Tolpuddle in Dorset had set up a branch of the GNCTU and were later arrested. They were accused of swearing a secret oath – a crime under an Act passed in 1797. The leader of the Tolpuddle GNCTU, Loveless, said at his trial:

"My Lord, if we have broken the law it was not done intentionally. We have injured no man's character, reputation or property. We were united together to stop ourselves, our wives and our children from starvation and poverty. We challenge any person to prove differently."

At their trial, Loveless and his friends were found guilty of swearing an illegal oath. The law they had broken was actually passed during a war with France, and was intended to stop people helping the French. Nevertheless, Loveless and co. were sent to Australia as part of their sentence.

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Unit 6: Trade Unions 1850-1900

As mentioned earlier, employers and the Government did their best to discourage people from joining unions. After Tolpuddle, membership initially fell, but eventually people joined again as they believed it was their best hope of escaping poverty (the state of being poor – when you can barely afford the necessities in life, never mind the luxuries). Workers on low wages, by acting together and going on strike, tried to force their employers to pay them a higher wage.

Employers found ways to break strikes:

"In 1844 the men left their work in April and immediate steps were taken to fill the places left vacant. Men were brought from Wales under much better terms than those refused by the previous workers. Then came the evictions: the mine owners own the cottages in which the pit men live and eviction means the throwing out of people into the village street. Harry Barrass, 80, and his wife, 70, were turned out into the rain and night."

The Life of Thomas Burt – a miner

New Model Unions

Many unions lost members due to the actions detailed above, but some did prosper. These were called New Model Unions. They were for skilled men, such as engineers, carpenters and bricklayers. Their work was in demand as they could not be easily replaced. Their wages were higher than those doing simple manual work. They liked to think they were responsible people. The Government, knowing these workers were vital to the success of business, encouraged them to flourish.

New Unionism (1880-1900)

Skilled workers could and did demand high wages and decent working conditions. Manual or unskilled workers could only achieve reasonable working conditions by going on strikes that succeeded. These people did many important jobs and decided to try to stamp out poverty.

The Match Girls' Strike 1888

This new attitude was seen first of all in the Match Girls' Strike of 1888. Women at this time were paid very badly in all the jobs they did. The girls working at Bryant and May's match factory in East London were typical. They were paid 1p for every 144 match boxes they made and each box was checked for quality!

For makjing matches, they received the equivalent of less than 1p per hour. On top of this, they were regularly fined if their work/attitude was not considered to be good enough. Remember, these women worked long hours, were double-timers (they worked at home, too) and faced illness from working with chemicals such as phosphorous, which gave them a cancer called 'phossy jaw'. Their leader was Annie Besant, who wrote articles about their conditions:

"Born in slums, driven to work while still children, undersized because underfed, oppressed because helpless, flung aside as soon as worked out, who cares if they die or go on the streets, provided only that Bryant and May's shareholders get their 25%? The starting time is 6.30 a.m. in summer and 8.00 a.m. in winter. Work finished at 6.00 p.m. The girls have to stand the whole time. A typical girl earns 20p a week." (At this time, £1.00 was the minimum weekly wage needed to stay out of poverty.)

Annie Besant

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Unit 7: The Labour Party

People like Annie Besant realised they were fighting a battle they could not win unless the attitude of Government changed. They wanted to see a Government that helped workers. This is called Socialism. Government that supports business is called Capitalism.

After 1884, working people had the vote, but no candidates for whom they would like to vote. Candidates supported capitalism, which believed that trade and industry are controlled by private owners and supported by Government. What working people needed was a candidate to vote for who supported all people and their needs.

In 1892, James Keir Hardie was elected MP for West Ham. The following year he set up the Independent Labour Party, based on supporting working people. For any political party to enjoy success, it needs finance – that is, money to pay for publicity, posters and other expenses. Unions were seen as groups who would help fund this new organisation. By 1906, 29 Labour MPs had been elected and working people at least now had someone for whom they could vote.

The early Labour Party campaigned for:

• Home Rule
• Democratic Government
• Justice to Labour
• No Monopoly
• No Landlordism
• Temperance Reform
• Healthy Homes
• Fair Rents
• Eight-Hour Day
• Work for the Unemployed