How Successful Was Chartism

Chartism was a campaign in support of a people’s charter it came about in 1838. Its main demand was a vote for all men and was launched by a radical group known as London Working Men’s Association (LWMA) and some radical MPs. It was supported by working classes and some middle classes. The Chartism movement grew out of its own possible success because it tore itself apart and there were many reasons behind its failure. It never managed to obtain parliamentary support for the Charter. In July, 1839 a petition with over 1.25 million signatures in support of their aims was taken to parliament and it was rejected three times, by a vote of 235 against and 46 in favour. The middle-class people ignored, shunned or condemned Chartism. Even the government handled the movement firmly and calmly. Chartist demands were also very drastic and there was too much diversity in the intellectual and ideological aims of Chartism. Chartism and the Chartists were made to look ridiculous after Kennington Common, and the failure of the Land Plan. Although it was a failure because it wasn’t accepted in parliament the long term affect had been noticed.

" . . . . In an age when the mass of the working classes were without either organisation or
He caused a division between those who favoured "physical force" and those, like William Lovett, who preferred "moral 'force". They did not win the right for all working men to vote during the lifetime of the Chartist movement. All except one of the six points of the Charter is now law – the one exception being the call for annual parliaments. Chartism also helped create a long-term political culture in which later left-wing ideas flourished. In that sense, they did not fail, but success took rather longer than the Chartists might have hoped. Still no women were allowed to vote. It failed mostly due to it being too ambitious and way too early for its