The Chartist Movement During The Industrial Revolution

This was a time of working class discontent when workers and the movement as a whole were seeking answers to the social injustices they suffered. The speech was made at a time when Parliament and government were dominated by the aristocracy (O’Day et al., 2011, p96). Democracy was seen as a way of resolving the economic circumstances of the worker and political action was thought to be the mechanism to bring this about. Paragraphs 3 and 5 contain almost exclusively political rhetoric with the speaker seeking the audiences support. There are many references to support this,” the rich unnaturally elevated above the proper spheres of the mortal man” (Para2 Line 3) and “mustering your thousands to aid

The chief political issue of the late 1800s was working conditions for laborers. Big businesses, having sought to cut costs however possible, created horrible working conditions for laborers. In an effort to improve these conditions, workers waged strikes and formed labor unions, so that they might gain some semblance of bargaining power. However the fight to improve conditions for workers was largely ineffective thanks to public support of big business, disorganization amongst labor unions, and the negative connotation that came to be associated with labor unions.

Workers wanted to protest because they felt that they needed more money to support their families. People wanted economic changes like minimum wages, social and unemployment insurance. Everyone had enough and they started stood up for what they believed in and fought as hard as they could, they even risked their lives to do it which resulted in social and economic changes.

“The Pittsburgh Manifesto” (1883) was written by a group of working people who wanted to see big changes in the government. The writers of “The Pittsburgh Manifesto” believed that the working class was being exploited while the upper-class was thriving. It is stated that it is almost impossible for someone of the working class to gain wealth while the rich are getting richer and richer. The upper class was so wealthy that they owned more than five eighths of all products when they only made up one tenth of the population. This left the working class with less opportunity to succeed overall. This forced many middle-class citizens to turn to crime in order to be able to earn enough money to sustain their needs. The only way to save society was for the government to completely change its capitalistic ways. This way, everyone would be equal and there would be more order and less crime. Everyone would be driven to work if they wanted to live, and everyone as a whole would be working together, so people would not have to work more than a few hours everyday day. All products would be exchanged (traded) so there would be no need for any type of currency. This new and improved government would provide everyone with equality and that is not just in wealth. There would be “Equal rights for all without distinction to sex or race” (505). The main goal of this anarchy is unity, organization, and peace. This goal can only be obtained by making sure everyone is equal.

The economic conditions was a major part in gaining support in chartism. Chartist reached out to the working class people who were struggling within society. The poor law and tax increases was making it harder for the working class people to survive, this lead to poverty and people entering the workhouse. Another factor was the poor working conditions and low wages that were causing ill heath. Evidence within the article to support how chartist gained support is “with this nation suffering its liberty and rights to be remorselessly trampled upon by murderous factions, jobbers and commercial blood sucking vampires” This is a sticking statement of how the middle class employers were seen as a higher class of people, who were exploiting the working class. Another point to make it that chartist struggled to gain support in agricultural places and that most of the support came form industrial cities were the population was higher. A reference to this is seen in a

-An influential turning point during this event was when factory workers began voicing their opinions and fighting for the rights they deserved. They created unions, strikes, riots, but mostly lost these battles. They protested for safer working conditions, better wages, and balanced working hours. Through these protests they accomplished the end of child labor, and gained health benefits as well as support for workers who got injured or retired. Evidence info: ( The earliest recorded strike occurred in 1768 when New York journeymen tailors protested a wage reduction The earliest recorded strike occurred in 1768 when New York journeymen tailors protested a wage

As a first example, consider the case of the working class citizens as a whole. With an economy that was starting to become consumer based, the working class citizens made up a large sector that had an impact. In order for the working class to have their voice heard, the labor union movement gained traction and political initiatives such as minimum wages, new jobs, social security, and reform acts such as the National Labor Relations Act were formed by the mid 1900s. The Progressive Era introduced solutions for the working class, seeing that the ideology of Progressive advocates was that there should be governmental assistance in any socioeconomic issues that the country is afflicted with.

These movements frightened many upper class citizens, as they saw the anger of the middle and lower classes. Therefore, some businesses began to meet with their disgruntled employees through the collective bargaining system. This system saw the negotiation between the owners of corporations and workers for various issues regarding hours and pay. Although the workers did not always get want they wanted, it was a good start as they were finally being heard and treated

Karl Marx's Communist Manifesto was most appealing to and revolutionary for the industrial workers of 1848 (and those to come after that time). The call for unification of the proletariat and abolishment of the Bourgeoisie was an urgent one during a time of rapid progress in all aspects of industrial life. This urgency of The Communist Manifesto and the desire for change of political ideologies (to match the exponential rate of progress of wealth and industry) created not only a spate of revolutions, but a long lasting change in political ideas for industrialized European nations. The Communist Manifesto created a sense of unity and class awareness throughout the

In the first half of the 19th Century the working class in the newly industrializing American society suffered many forms of exploitation. The working class of the mid-nineteenth century, with constant oppression by the capitalist and by the division between class, race, and ethnicity, made it difficult to form solidarity. After years of oppression and exploitation by the ruling class, the working class struck back and briefly paralyzed American commerce. The strike, which only lasted a few weeks, was the spark needed to ignite a national revolt by the working class with the most violent labor upheavals of the century.

The Working class that made up around 80% of society had little or no bargaining power with their employers resulting in the continuation of unfair working hours, bad wages, and unsanitary and hazardous working conditions. The workers could not even fight for their rights in the political system as only the rich were eligible to vote.

I’m sure you all are familiar with the concept of communism, and perhaps how it is the staple of Russia and the society that was the Soviet Union (which failed). However, the Communist Manifesto was composed by two German philosophers Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels published in London in the year of 1848. It essentially says that our lives should be governed by us, and that all property shall be publicly owned. All citizens of the nation must work and are paid according to their abilities and needs. It sounds enticing, sounds like it’ll work. That was the basis of their philosophy. But, a society in which there is an absolute power, in this case the working class, is the fault. It simply won’t work. It breeds absolute corruption. We’ve all probably heard that

 This was the first independent working-class movement in the world, that is, not simply sporadic uprisings or agitation, and arose after the Reform Bill of

Buechler, Steven M.. Social movements in advanced capitalism: the political economy and cultural construction of social activism. New York: Oxford University Press, 2000. Print.

One of the most inspiring and greatest events for the working class in history is The Paris Commune of 1871. In March of 1871, the citizens of Paris declined the authority of the French government. The working class people were able to replace the state government with their own branch of government and held power until their decline. Causes of the Communes origins lie in the Franco-Prussian War as well as the siege of Paris. During this time, people were experiencing intense isolation from France and uproar of patriotism which caused socialist aspects to come about among the lower class Parisians. With the defeat of France and the end of the siege, people