The Chartism movement swept Great Britain between the 1830s and the 1840s and united a large number of working class people in support of democracy. It was genuinely a national movement that symbolized social unrest during the Industrial Revolution, despite being stronger in some regions than others. However, historians argue whether the movement was revolutionary in its willingness to employ violence in order to bring about radical government changes, or not. When the Chartism movement first arose it was moderate, but it developed into a revolutionary movement once radicals began to become involved. It reflected the priorities of the literate working class and aimed to increase the influence of the “productive class” in government legislature. Although ideas such as equal-sized parliamentary constituencies and universal suffrage for all men were perceived as radical during the time period, the leaders of the early Chartism were essentially moderate (Document 1). Many supporters of Chartism believed that the conditions of their lives would improve if universal suffrage were extended to all men (Document 2). William Lovett, Attwood, and other founders of Chartism were committed to nonviolence (Document 3). They sought success through public meetings, discussion, pamphleteering, and petitioning. In 1839, the Chartist movement organized a National Convention to facilitate the presentation of the first petition to Parliament for voting. There was talk amongst members of the National Convention that if the petition were not heard, there would be a general strike. Members of the British Parliament voted by majority to not hear the petitioners. This choice ultimately led to the radicalization of the Chartists and the transition of the moderate movement into a revolutionary However, many leaders of the Chartist movement believed violence should only be used as a last resort (Document 3). Lovett and Attwood, upset by followers questioning of their methods, retired from leading the movement. Joseph Rayner Stephens and Feargus O’Connor emerged as the new leaders of the movement. They warned parliament and the upper class that there would be violence if the six points of the “Peoples Charter” were not met. The Newport Rising truly marked the point in which the Chartism Movement turned to violence. On November 4, 1839, John Frost led thousands of marching protestors through South Wales to Westgate Hotel, Newport where a confrontation ensued (Document 5). Frost had intended to seize the town in order to provoke a national uprising. Armed soldiers defeated the Chartists, killing 20. Frost, along with other leaders of the Chartism movement, was prosecuted. There were a number of other plans made for a general uprising of the working class and the beginning of a Chartist revolution. The depression of 1842 likely contributed to the further violent radicalization of the movement. The ranks of the Chartism movement grew as a result of wages being cut by employers. Strikes broke out across Britain. Property destruction and the ambushing of police officers were rampant. The state feared radical Chartism more than it had the earlier form of
Gary B. Nash argues that the American Revolution portrayed “radicalism” in the sense on how the American colonies and its protesters wanted to accommodate their own government. Generally what Gary B. Nash is trying to inform the reader is to discuss the different conditions made by the real people who were actually fighting for their freedom. In his argument he makes it clear that throughout the revolution people showed “radicalism” in the result of extreme riots against the Stamp Act merchants, but as well against the British policies that were implemented. He discusses the urgency of the Americans when it came to declaring their issues against the British on how many slaves became militants and went up against their masters in the fight
Before the American Revolution, there were social and economic changes which upset frontiersmen. They became agitated due to their social situation with Indians and their failing local government. In response to these annoyances, frontiersmen chose to use violence to achieve their demands. During this period of civil unrest, two attempted revolutions in particular made national headlines: The March of the Paxton Boys and The Regulator Movement. The movements differed because the Paxton Boys demanded social change while the Regulator Movement called for economic change. Both revolutions were similar because they used violence as a way to achieve their demands. The Paxton Boys rallied around the concept of retaliation against Indians; The
In order to ratify the 19th Amendment, granting women the right to vote, legislators needed to know both sides of the suffrage argument. With anti-suffragists primarily communicating their message through subtle means such as plays, magazines, and dressing in specific colors, it’s no surprise that the radical, public demonstrations of suffragettes was more successful in raising awareness and bringing light to their cause.
In the years after 1870, there were many reasons for the development of the women’s suffrage movement. The main reasons were changes in the law. Some directly affect women, and some not, but they all add to the momentum of the Women’s campaign for the vote. Before 1870 there were few bills passed to achieve much for the movement. One bill that was passed, which did not directly affect women in too many ways, was one of the starting points of the campaign for the vote.
In the essay written by Gary Nash, he argues that the reason for the American Revolution was not caused by the defense of constitutional rights and liberties, but that of “material conditions of life in America” were not very favorable and that social and economic factors should be considered as the driving factor that pushed many colonists to revolt. The popular ideology which can be defined as resonating “most strongly within the middle and lower strata of society and went far beyond constitutional rights to a discussion of the proper distribution of wealth and power in the social system” had a dynamic role in the decisions of many people to revolt. The masses ideas were not of constitutional rights, but the equal distribution of wealth in the colonies that many felt that the wealth was concentrated in a small percentage of the population in the colonies. The Whig ideology that was long established in English society had a main appeal towards the upper class citizens and “had little to say about changing social and economic conditions in America or the need for change in the future.” The popular ideologies consisted of new ways of changing the distribution of wealth. Nash in his essay continued to give good evidence to prove his point that the American Revolution was not caused by the defense of constitutional rights and liberties, but by improper distribution of wealth. During the pre-American Revolutionary times, the “top five percent of Boston’s taxpayers controlled 49 ...
The frequency of popular protest and rebellion in Early Modern England offers an insight into the nature of the social relations people maintained. P. Clark refers to the repetition of rebellion and popular protest as being ‘a recurrent phenomenon’ which spread throughout Europe in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth century. This implies that people thought there was a necessary cause to act in such a way, believing that change was possible to address their grievances. Additionally, Andy Wood further emphasises the ideology of the repetitive nature of popular protest and rebellion through the existence of a ‘shared tradition of popular protest’. This implies that there was a continuation in the motivations of those who chose to rebel. Many of the
The working class has served as an integral part of our capitalist society; as the building blocks, and producers of the goods that supply and support our country, the working class and working poor have faced many struggles to gain working rights. The histories of labor movements in the United States are often silenced from the mainstream culture; while we take our current union laws for granted, long forgotten are the bloody battles that took place to secure these rights. The ideological issues facing our modern day working class have shown to stem from the same socially constructed ideals that existed during past labor wars, such as the Colorado Coal Strike. The Coal Strike of 1913-1914 culminated in the Ludlow Massacre; this event showed how media coverage played off of cultural stereotypes of the working class and resulted in the raised consciousness among the strikers. The way the strike was presented to the public was shrouded in cultural symbology of poverty, and through these very symbols the strikers formed an identity of solidarity.
When Richard Hofstadter published his book, The Age of Reform, his assumption of their being a Progressive movement was widely accept in the historical world. His controversial claim that a status revolution coupled with nativist fears caused the populist and progressive movements caused a boom in research and scholarship on the Populist and Progressive Movements. In 1977, Peter Filene published his “An Obituary for “The Progressive Movement.”” In it, he explains persuasively that there was no Progressive ‘movement’ because there was not a movement.
...ts of a mixture of people, eventually led Stanton and Mott to coordinate the Seneca Falls Convention in 1848. The convention attracted over three-thousand audience members, which were mostly women in attendance, but did consist of a considerable amount of men. Numerous speakers interacted with the hopeful crowd, counting Stanton, Mott, and Frederick Douglass, the prominent abolitionists. At the convention, Stanton announced the “Declaration of Sentiments” and the spectators of the convention decided on the components of the “Declaration,” the most noteworthy of being women’s right to vote. Regrettably, Stanton’s demand for the right to vote was not victorious at the Seneca Falls Convention. All other components of the “Declaration” passed relatively easily. But only a handful voted in support of women’s right to vote, after an powerful speech by Fredrick Douglass.”
The Market Revolution (1815-1848) was a time of rapid political change throughout the United States, with democracy coming to the forefront. The fight for democracy reached a boiling point after the War of 1812. This was due to more diverse groups getting involved in politics, and demanding that the United States follow through on its promise of “liberty and justice for all.” This led to the rise of many different political movements including passive resistance by Native Americans and the abolitionist movement. Many groups were finding the best way to use a political platform to further their agenda toward liberty. Despite greater liberty for previously marginalized whites, liberty continued to contract during the Market Revolution for people
Women have always been fighting for their rights for voting, the right to have an abortion, equal pay as men, being able to joined the armed forces just to name a few. The most notable women’s rights movement was headed in Seneca Falls, New York. The movement came to be known as the Seneca Falls convention and it was lead by women’s rights activist Elizabeth Cady Stanton during July 19th and 20th in 1848. Stanton created this convention in New York because of a visit from Lucretia Mott from Boston. Mott was a Quaker who was an excellent public speaker, abolitionist and social reformer. She was a proponent of women’s rights. The meeting lasted for only two days and was compiled of six sessions, which included lectures on law, humorous presentations and discussions concerning women’s role in society. The convention was organized by a mostly radical group of Quakers while ironically their leader Elizabeth Cady Stanton was a non-Quaker skeptic. Stanton and her Quaker followers presented a document entitled the Declaration of Sentiments to the convention, which was accompanied by a list of resolutions that were to be debated by the members of the convention before it was signed. One hundred of the three hundred attendees of the Seneca Falls Convention signed the Declaration of Sentiments. The Seneca Falls Convention was merely a single step in the right direction for the women’s rights movement; it was seen as a revolution in which women were fighting desperately for equality to their male counterparts. The Declaration of Sentiments became a staple document in the women’s suffrage, as it was the first time that men and women came together to demand women’s right to vote. Women’s suffrage gained national attention due to the conventio...
Bloody Sunday was a big impact of Nationalism, what started out as a peaceful march of Petersburg workers marching to the Winter Palace led by Father Gapon turned out to be a nightmare. The marchers wanted to establish an eight hour work day, establish minimum wage, and assemble a constitution, while the marchers marched they was fired upon by Russian troops and several hundred marchers was killed. People believed that Bloody Sunday happened under Nicholas II because he could not be found when the marchers were marching to the Winter Palace causing Russian troops to panic. The result of Bloody Sunday caused riots to break out; forming the councils of workers in St. Petersburg and Moscow and the bond between Nicholas II and the people was broken causing October Manifesto. A result of a short term solution October Manifesto was granted, which was a constitution to stop the riots. The primary intentions of the October Manifesto were to divide the revolutionaries.
Mob violence was a persuasive feature of the Revolutionary War in every port city, particularly Boston. These mobs, which were often described as motley crews, were central to protests and ultimately played a dominant role in significant events leading up to the American Revolution. Throughout the years, leading up to the American Revolution, many Americans were growing tired of British rule and thus begun to want to break free from Britain and earn their own independence. Some of these Americans, out of anger, madness, and in defense of their rights, began terrorizing towns, sometimes even to the point of paralysis highlighting grievances and concerns that the common man couldn’t say with mere words. These groups would then be absorbed into a greater organization called the Sons of Liberty. With the use of violence and political strategy , these radicals defending their rights, struck terror into anyone opposing them but also carried out communal objectives ultimately pushing for change which was a central theme for the American Revolution. It will be proved that these men through their actions not only were the driving force behind resistance but also proved to be the men who steered America toward revolution.
During the late 19th and early 20th century both the Populist Party and Progressive movement wanted to preserve some things, while also addressing the need for reform. Although many of the ideas and goals of these “Third parties” were initially not legislated and considered far-fetched, many of these ideas later became fundamental laws throughout American history. The Populists and Progressives were both grass roots movements, and addressed the needs of the poor and powerless, for the Populists it was farmers and for the Progressives it was urban lower and middle class workers. These two movements attempted to bring the powerless peoples issues to national politics. The Populists and Progressives wanted to preserve some American ideals of the past, such as a sense of community and the ability for farmers and workers to live happily without economic strains. Populists were more oriented to the plight of the farmer while the Progressives included women's rights, and protection of the consumer and labor.
Although they were fighting for a worthy cause, many did not agree with these women’s radical views. These conservative thinkers caused a great road-block on the way to enfranchisement. Most of them were men, who were set in their thoughts about women’s roles, who couldn’t understand why a woman would deserve to vote, let alone want to vote. But there were also many women who were not concerned with their fundamental right to vote. Because some women were indifferent in regards to suffrage, they set back those who were working towards the greater good of the nation. However, the suffragettes were able to overcome these obstacles by altering their tactics, while still maintaining their objective.