Radical Reformers 1790-1819
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- Created by: tenerife101
- Created on: 11-06-19 11:02
Aims and Tactics of extra-parliamentary protest
THE LONDON CORRESPONDING SOCIETY, 1792-93
- Founded by Thomas Hardy and modelled on french revolution political clubs
- they campaigned for democratic reform (annual elections and universal male suffrage)
- at its peak it has 3,000 members who distrbuted printed handbills to the public
- 1793 - 6,000 citizens signed a petion saying they supported the society
- there were many of these societies across the country
- began to decline from 1797 but the tactic continued with the Hampden clubs
THE SPA FIELDS MEETING, 1816
- Henry Hunt was invited to speak to show support for a petition about parliamentary reform
- around 10,000 people attended
- Hunt asked them to sign a petition which stood for universal male suffrage. annual elections and secret ballots - this was not accepted
- a 2nd meeting was held at spa fields - turned into a march to the Tower of London
- military troops were sent to break the meeting up
- Spy, John Castle, 4 leaders were tried with treason although later acquited = convinced the government a revolution was possible
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Aims and Tactics of extra-parliamentary protest
THE PENTRIDGE RISING, 1817
- An armed march began in Pentridge and headed towards Nottingham with the intention to then march to London
- 300 workers (iron and quarry workers) armed with pikes and a few guns
- aim was to demand reforms
- A spy, William Oliver, informed the government and so it was crushed by soldiers
- the government made an example of them with 45 tried for treason and 30 were transported
PETERLOO MASSACRE, 1819
- Protest movement declined until 1819 where it resurged
- 50-60,000 people attended at st peter's field and henry hunt was a speaker
- local magistrates panicked and the local yeomany was sent in with over 1,500 soldiers
- they then panicked and attacked peaceful protestors and so interpreted it as a riot
- 18 were killed and 700 injured
- people protested loadly against the actions of the magistraites
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Government's response
SUSPENSION OF HABEAS CORPUS, 1794-95
- Prevented arrests without trial - allowed the government to round up potential threats about the popular protests
TREASON ACT AND SEDITIOUS MEETINGS ACT, 1795
- Treason Act = assaults against the king were high treason (response to king george having rubbish thrown at him) - used to outlaw the works of thomas paine and publication of protest pamphlets - contempt of crown, court or parliament to be transported for 7 years
- Seditious Meetings = banned public meetings over 50 people and made it illegal to rent a hall for debating policy - justices of peace to disperse any crowd
TRIAL OF THE LEADERS OF THE LONDON CORRESSPONDING SOCIETY, 1794
- Trial of 30 radical reformers and 13 were tried for treason YET all were acquited
- booksellers were fined or imprisoned and so by 1797 they had lost a lot of influence and it was made illegal by the 1799 Combination Act - banned the existance of trade unions or politcal society
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Government's response
CONTROL OF THE MEDIA
- 1797 - stamp tax meant that making newspapers was more expensive and harder - limiting expansion of critical articles
THE GAGGING ACTS, 1817
- The 1795 acts were made into permanent law with even more restrictions - meetings held within 1 mile of parliament square and banned during parliamentary session and the re-suspension of habeas corpus
THE SIX ACTS, 1819
- The training prevention act - stop them learning how to use weapons; seizure of arms act - magistrates to seize weapons; seditious meetings act - extended the 1817 act to give notice; blasphemous and seditious libels act - penalties for libel at 17 years; misdemeanours act - sped up the process of charging people; newspaper and stamp duties act - rasied stamp duty
USE OF AGENT PROVOCATEURS - spies to infiltrate protestors and report to the government
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Extent of success by 1819
EVIDENCE OF FAILURE
- Lack of progress with objectives = they had not meet any objectives, no greater representation or parliamentary reforms
- Inability to overcome opposition = all acts passed severly weakened the strength and ability of them with the governments willingness to use soldiers and trials
- Lack of co-ordination within the movement = there was no unified leadership despite key thinkers like cobbett, hunt and cartwright - often disagreements between philosphies - no real opposition making the government's job easier
EVIDENCE OF SUCCESS
- Creating awareness = created awareness among the general public ans showed the level of disatisfaction and made it impossible for government ignorance
- setting the scene for future progression = laid the groundwork for the reform crisis of 1830-32 due to the poor harvest of 1929
OVERALL SUCCESS = created politcal debate and acted as the root for potential later reform
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Influences on the extra-parliamentary protests
INTERNATIONAL EVENTS =
- American war for independance (1775-83) = government could be challenged raised the ideas of independance and revolution
- French Revolution (1789-99) = disputed why aristocracy had to keep their pwer and promoted the idea of fundamental rights and equality
- End of the Napoleonic War in 1815 = 300,000 men trying to find work which drove down wages, combined with bad harvests and the bread rise which created popular discontent
GOVERNMENT POLICIES
- The Corn Laws (1815) = kept corn prices high to protect farmers but it drove bread prices up for the poor
- The Poor Employment Act (1817) = inadequate for the scale of problems because it ignored requests for financial relief
- Wartime income tax = was abolished for the middle class but as the government lacked money it remained for the poor
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Influences on the extra-parliamentary protests
THOMAS PAINE AND THE RIGHTS OF MAN
- He emigrated to the US there during and after the War for Independence
- 1791 - Rights of Man
- became a criticism of governments which failed to protect basic human freedoms such as freedom speech and liberty to have political ideas
- the government took action against him and so he fled to France in 1972
JOHN CARTWRIGHT AND THE HAMPDEN CLUBS
- Major John Cartwright was an advocate of universal suffrage and political reform
- He formed the hampden clubs - unite middle class and working class radicals
- He was arrested in 1813 because of his radical views
- his club in machester organised the st peter's field protest
- YET, divisions remained mainly over the expansion of suffrage
WILLIAM COBBET AND THE POLITICAL REGISTER
- He was a journalist that wanted reform but was not a radical - he wanted harmony
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Influences on the extra-parliamentary protests
- He saw the politcal system as repressive and state's instiitutions full of corruption
- He fled to America in 1800
- he began publishing in a protest newspaper - the politcal register
- due to the raising of stamp taxes Cobbet made it a pamphlet instead of a 2d
- with a circulation of 40,000 working class readers
HENRY HUNT AS A RADICAL ORATOR
- He was a renowned public speaker - campaigned for universal suffrage and annual elections
- He was the speaker at St Peter's field
- Important in spreading public awareness of the movement
- 1820 - imprisoned for 2 and half years
- inspired the working class people to seek universal suffrage
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