Chartism

by Asa Briggs

The Chartists were a major influence on the development of parliamentary democracy in the UK. Their name derives from the People's Charter presented twice to parliament (1839 and 1842), which called for universal manhood suffrage, voting by secret ballot and other major electoral reforms. Eventually, most of these demands were met, but this largely working class movement alarmed authorities, who arrested and imprisoned its leaders. Lord Briggs writes vividly of the personalities involved, and places the movement in the context of the development of working-class rights.

Genres: History

128 pages, Paperback

First published September 25, 1998

About the author

Asa Briggs, Baron Briggs was an English historian, best known for his studies on the Victorian era. In particular, his trilogy, Victorian People, Victorian Cities, and Victorian Things made a lasting mark on how historians view the nineteenth century. He was made a life peer in 1976.