Chartists, Who are They?
The Chartists were a group of working-class men who wanted democratic change. The National Archive definition states that ‘Chartism was a working-class movement which emerged in 1836 in London’. It saw expansion during 1838 and 1848 with activity in Wales also and their aim was to gain political rights for those of similar backgrounds, they had meetings and published pamphlets. (read more here ) (Image taken from Spartacus Educational though it is titled ' The Chartist Petition (1843)' I believe the date is wrong as a petition was presented in 1842 and I have found no reference to one in 1843) So to start off this post, there are a few definitions to make things clearer. Charter - a written statement of the rights of a specified group of people. Rotten/Pocket Borough - a parliamentary borough or constituency before the Great Reform Act of 1832, which had a small electorate and could be used by a patron to gain unrepresentative influence within the unreformed ...