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Chartism

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Do you agree with the view that the Chartist movement was a failure?

It can be said that the Chartist movement was primarily a failure, as it did not achieve any of the 6 aims set out in the People’s Charter. In sources 4 and 5, reasons are cited for its failure however, the issue of the legacy that it left behind, in terms of uniting the working class and providing them with hope is also raised in Source 6, showing that this could provide fruitful for future quests for reform in Britain for the working class. Using all the sources, I aim to come to a conclusion on the nature of the Chartist movement- a failure or a success?

Source 4 presents the view that although the physical aims of Chartism may not have been achieved, the effect that it had on the population is of great importance. The Chartist movement forced “thinking men to consider this vital matter”, an important step in engaging the working class in the politics of Britain, as the Chartist movement brought about the new, seemingly unexplored idea that the politically alienated working class possessed a voice that should, and could, be listened to. The violence used in the movement was simply a “symptom of ..discontent,” at the way in which the lower class were treated by the upper and middle classes.

Chartism served to unify the otherwise disengaged working class population, allowing them to work together to produce and read newspapers like The Northern Star, which sold upwards of 36,000 copies at the height of the movement. Written by Thomas Carlyle, a known supporter of Chartism, at the height of the movement’s success, the value of this source is somewhat questionable, as possesses the bias of the writer, especially considering it was taken from a pamphlet designed to highlight the terrible conditions of the working class, where the Chartist movement served to justify and support.

Source 4

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