Introduction

The Chartist movement, which dominated the political scene in the late 1830s and throughout the 1840s, was the first mass working-class political movement. Unlike preceding radical agitations, Chartism drew support from practically every area of the country and had some semblance of national organisation. The Chartists' primary objective was to achieve 'universal manhood suffrage' (a vote for every man) but they strongly believed that once the working class had the vote they would be able to introduce further legislation to improve their working and living conditions. This belief undoubtedly broadened their appeal. Perhaps not surprisingly, the government and local authorities were very concerned about the rise of Chartism and the Home Office was flooded with reports from the regions allowing the researcher to build up a very accurate picture of Chartist activity in their own locality.

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For the record:

The popularity of the Chartist movement saw thousands of people become actively involved at a local level. Worried by the popularity of the movement, local authorities kept the Home Office very well informed of activity in their area, often accompanying their missives with examples of Chartist propaganda, posters, handbills and publications. This material has survived amongst the records of the Home Office, particularly in record series HO 40, HO 44, HO 45 and HO 52. All these record series are relatively easy for the local historian to access since they are arranged with partial reference to the county or place name. Amongst the information contained in these series local historians could expect to find:

The government was understandably concerned by the activities of the Chartist movement and attempts to crack down on the movement and bring rioters to trial were made whenever appropriate. This has left the local historian with a wealth of information, which could be used to further their study. Of some interest could be the records relating to the interview of over 70 Chartist prisoners in 1840 in HO 20/10. For each of the prisoners interviewed, there is a form listing personal details of the prisoner, details regarding their offence and subsequent punishment, their diet, treatment and health and an account of their conduct in prison.

Local historians interested in areas where there were riots connected to the Chartist movement may also wish to consult material in TS 11. This series contains information relating to a number of trials of Chartists, amongst which can be found:

The General Strike