Chartism: Workers Demand the Vote

The Reform Act of 1832 gave the vote to more middle-class men but left most working men excluded. In response, the People's Charter of 1838, drafted largely by William Lovett of the London Working Men's Association, set out six demands: a vote for every man aged 21 and over, a secret ballot, no property qualification for MPs, payment of MPs, equal-sized constituencies and annual elections. Chartism became a mass movement, especially in industrial areas hit by economic depression.

Chartists presented huge petitions to Parliament in 1839, 1842 and 1848; all were rejected. Some leaders, such as Feargus O'Connor, accepted the threat of force, while others insisted on 'moral force'; an armed rising at Newport in 1839 was crushed. Chartism faded after 1848, but five of its six points eventually became law, making it a major influence on British democracy.