Reading: Chartism

​Chartism was a working class movement, which emerged in 1836 and was most active between 1838 and 1848. The aim of the Chartists was to gain political rights and influence for the working classes. Chartism got its name from the People's Charter, that listed the six main aims of the movement.

​The Chartist movement was the first mass movement driven by the working classes. It grew following the failure of the 1832 Reform Act to extend the vote beyond those owning property.

​a document signed by a large number of people demanding or asking for some action from the government or another authority

​a feeling of not being satisfied with your situation or with the way you are being treated

​disagreements or fighting between different groups of people

​reduce, decrease, fall

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​very bad

​a formal statement, esp. by a government or ruler, of the rights of a group organized for some purpose

​in some countries, the group of (usually) elected politicians or other people who make the laws for their country

​the act of trying to do something, especially something difficult

to make an improvement, especially by changing a person's behaviour or the structure of something​

​fall down

​to support, defend, or fight for a person, belief, right, or principle enthusiastically

​a group of soldiers, especially ones who fight in strong military vehicles or on horses

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​to come together in a single place or bring parts together in a single group

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​to refuse to continue working because of an argument with an employer about working conditions, pay levels, or job losses

​violence or trouble

​to defeat someone completely

​decline

​an occasion when a large number of people behave in a noisy, violent, and uncontrolled way in public, often as a protest