Workers Movements. Chartism The "People's Charter," drafted in 1838 by William Lovett, was at the heart of a radical campaign for parliamentary reform.

Workers Movements

Chartism

• The "People's Charter," drafted in 1838 by William Lovett, was at the heart of a radical campaign for parliamentary reform of the inequities remaining after the Reform Act of 1832. The Chartists' six main demands were:

• votes for all men; • equal electoral districts; • abolition of the requirement that Members of Parliament

be property owners; • payment for M.P.s; • annual general elections; and • the secret ballot.

• 1839 18421848

Diverse Motivation Drove Chartism

• Poverty• Anger• Inadequacy of

Trade Unions• Class

Consciousness Chartist Demonstration in London, 1848

Chartist Rank-and-File• Recruitment Came From

Two Different Economic Settings1. Towns Undergoing

Decline or Contracting2. New, Growing Towns

Dominated by One Industry: Stockport

3. Minimal Support from Agricultural Laborers

• William Lovett and other founders committed to nonviolence

• Parliamentary supporters also supported moral force

• ‘Informing the mind’ & ‘Captivating the senses’

• Success through discussion, public meetings, pamphleteering and petitioning

• 1840s- Apparent failure, powers questioned

‘Moral Force’

• Joseph Rayner Stephens and Feargus O’Connor• Upset at the questioning of their methods, Lovett

and Attwood retired from public life• O’Connor: “willing to die for the cause” and to

“lead people to death or glory”• Warned of violence if the six points were not met

quickly• Founded the Northern Star and East London

Democratic Association

‘Physical Force’

Evolution of Chartism• Stage 1 (1838-42): Charter Chief Unifying Goal of the

Movement until Parliament Rejected the 2nd Petition• Stage 2 (1843-48): O’Connor Espoused New Idea,

Land Reform, Which Would Give Workers Economic Power. Collapsed When Parliament Rejected 3rd Petition O’Connor Discredited as Leader

1. 3 Purposes• Stage 3 (1848-50)1. Militant Left-Wing Leaders Gained Control and

Transformed It Into Socialist Organization2. Political Reform Social Democracy

Chartism’s Long-Term Impact• 1st Mass Working-Class Movement in British

History• Fostered Peaceful and Democratic Evolution of

British Constitution• Promoted More Enlightened Government Policy• Important Role as a Safety Valve• Assisted Growth of Independent Working Class• Fostered Growth of Class Consciousness

Karl Marx (1818-1883)• Born to a wealthy Jewish family• Studied at Universities of Bonn

and Berlin• Wrote many works including:

Capital, The German Ideology, The Communist Manifesto, etc.

• Influenced many world leaders including Mao Zedong, Leon Trotsky and Vladimir Lenin.

Friedrich Engels (1820-1895)

• Relatively Wealthy• Studied condition of English

working class• Wrote well• Combined his empirical view

with Marx’s philosophical view

The Communist Manifesto

• Written 1848• Only 46 pages• Written to inspire and

motivate assembly line factory workers

Overall Theory

• History evolves in ways we can understand• Wanted to isolate the determinate motor forces of

history (like Darwin)• Spent years studying and developed a sophisticated

theory of historical development• Not a revolutionary, but a scholar• Historical Evolution is Inevitable

Economic Determinism

• Economics drives History• Forms the base STRUCTURE of society• SUPERSTRUCTURE - politics, religion,

social customs, intellectual work - is built on the economic structure

• Tribal - Feudal - Capitalism - Communism• History is one of class struggles

The Dialectic

• Theory of How History Evolves• Exploitation - Contradictions - Change• No system is without Contradictions• Contradictions will point out change• Only a non-exploitive system can ultimately

survive• a.k.a. Historical Materialism• Where’s the contradiction in capitalism?

Worker Alienation

• How are workers alienated in capitalism?• Work is dehumanizing and repetitive• Producing value for someone else• alienated from means of production• religion teaches them to be obedient• Cannot develop their own humanity• Will develop Class Consciousness

Labor vs. Management

Part II Unions and Strikes Through Poetry- Songs- and

Posters

The Hand That Will Rule the World One

Big Union

• Billy Bragg “Power in a Union”• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4CkFPyH8v1c• Billy Bragg “Never Cross the Picket Line”• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojPTz4VAOMA• Dropkick Murphys “Workers Song” • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTafZRecy2k• Street Dogs “Unions and the Law”• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpkhpuDIMiU• Pete Seeger “Which Side are you on?”• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5iAIM02kv0g&l

ist=PL610DAC9FDC6FCEDE