How successful were the chartist
leaders?
Who were the chartist leaders and
what did they stand for?
William Cuffay (1788 - 1870)
• During 1848 Cuffay was one of three London delegates at the
National Chartists Convention and was considered one of its
most militant leaders. The main task of the convention was to
organise a march to London to present a chartists' petition to
the House of Commons.
• He is entirely representative of the working class movements,
Cuffay’s significance is illustrated by a contemporary report in
The Times which referred to "the black man and his party".
• He had been treated and convinced that workers needed to
be represented in parliament, he became involved in the
struggle for universal suffrage
Feargus O'Connor (c.1796 - 1855)
• Feargus, during agitation for reform in the early 1830s,
emerged as an advocate of Irish rights and democratic
political reform.
• He also brought about the creation of the northern star, which
he established in 1837, provided the most effective link
between the different strands of working class labourers.
• He developed an idea to buy up agricultural estates, divide
them into smallholdings and let these to individuals. This
developed into the 'National Land Company' (1845 - 1851).
The scheme
• O'Connor's behaviour became increasingly irrational, possibly
as a result of syphilis. was a disaster and soon went bankrupt.
What was their impact on the
movement?
• In 1839 he helped to form the Metropolitan Tailors' Charter
Association and soon became an important figure in the
Chartist movement in London.
• He was elected to the national executive of the National
Charter Association in 1842 and later that year voted
president of the London Chartists.
• In the summer of 1848 Cuffay became involved in a
conspiracy to lead an armed uprising against the government.
• Cuffay’s actions where fundamental to creating the structure
of the chartists, after he was deported to Tasmania the
chartists lost structure and it eventually resided with the
Kensington common debacle which fundamentally scarred
Chartism.
We’ll crown him with laurel, our champion to
be: O’Connor the patriot: for sweet Liberty!
• He was well-known for his charismatic and incendiary
speeches and his efforts laid the groundwork for Chartism.
This was essentially an umbrella movement (named after a six
point charter of demands) of the 1830s and 1840s which drew
together many strands of radical grievance. O'Connor's
newspaper 'The Northern Star', which he established in 1837,
provided the most effective link between these different
strands.
• O’Connor was responsible for part side of the administration
of the chartist layout, he was responsible for the movement
of the charter from kensington to the house of commons.
• Under his creation of the northern star, the chartists were
able to produce effective information for the working classes.