Aspects of Chartism: Further thoughts on Women Chartists

The part women played in the Chartist movement involved, in the main, indirect supportive activities, but also some very direct and organised activities. The ways in which women participated appear to have been constrained to some extent by the domestic ideals of the time[1]. In the north, the principal Chartist leader was Feargus O’Connor who instigated and became proprietor of The Northern Star based in Leeds[2]. O’Connor attended mass meetings organised by Halifax Chartist leaders such as Ben Rushton. Many of the smaller meetings possibly excluded many women as the meetings tended to occur in alehouses where primarily working class men met. Queenshead was renowned for its beer shops which, though seen by local magistrates in 1836 as ‘strongholds of the devil’, did in fact provide meeting places for one the earliest radical groups[3].  However, women did attend mass meetings either with fellow male Chartists, or by themselves. One such meeting reported on by The Northern Star in 1847 records a meeting of 2,000 women Chartists at Oddfellows’ Hall, Halifax on August 9th.

In the late 1830s, women appeared to be primarily concerned with opposition to the New Poor Law legislation. In 1839, the Female Political Union in Nottingham, headed by Mary Savage, represented an elderly woman who had been sent to stone-breaking by the Poor Law authorities. They held protest meetings and provided financial help for her[4].  In February 1838, some members of the Elland female association took it upon themselves to roll in the snow a commissioner whose intention was to set up new procedures in Yorkshire for implementing the new Poor Law[5].  This association, led by Elizabeth Hanson preceded the Charter, but subsequently supported Chartism by donating funds to the first Chartist Convention. The Bradford Female Radical Association was formed in 1839 and comprised factory workers, woolcombers and weavers who were probably the wives and daughters of male Chartists. In fact, over 100 female radical associations were recorded in the first few years of the Chartist movement which suggests independent activities on the part of women at the beginning of the movement.

However, enfranchisement for women was not part of the Chartist agenda, even though the movement relied to a large extent on the activities of women, for example in exclusive dealing. Exclusive dealing was in effect the boycotting of tradesmen and shopkeepers who did not support the Charter. Women, who tended to do most of the shopping, were instrumental in maintaining pressure on these non-supporters. In August 1839, the Northern Star newspaper reported: ‘The female radicals of the Bradford district, amounting to upward of 600, walked in procession through the principal streets…at the head of the procession there was carried by a woman a large printed board with the words “exclusive dealing”.[6]

Some women did speak out about enfranchisement and in 1839, Elizabeth Neeson of the London Democratic Association, argued for women’s suffrage by pointing out that if a woman can be given the task of ruling a nation then why shouldn’t women be free to rule themselves?[7]  Though some Chartists advocated enfranchisement for all adults, the arguments put forward by men usually alluded to domestic ideals to which women were expected to aspire. Industrialisation was possibly seen as not only a threat to family life which had started to fragment as a result of labour moving from the home into the factories, but also a threat to male employment. J. R. Richardson’s paper, The Rights of Women, on the one hand, argues that women’s increasing contribution to the nation’s wealth through industry was a good enough reason for their having a right to parliamentary representation, yet on the other hand, refers to factories as ‘hideous dens’ and both female and child labour as ‘slavery’ from which they should be freed[8]. As if to underline the importance of women in domestic life Richardson argued that only widows and spinsters should be allowed enfranchisement implying that married women were be expected to agree with their husband’s political preferences.

The emphasis on the family by the Chartist movement is not surprising considering the economic climate of the late 18^th century when, for the family to survive, most members had to work. Traditionally women’s work had always been low status and low paid[9].  However, the Chartist movement did not seek to improve women’s low wages even in the factories. In fact they sought to resolve this issue, in part, by supporting Richard’s Oastler’s movement for the Ten Hours Bill. This, it was thought, would not only reduce the misery of women and children who currently worked twelve or more hours a day, but would hopefully mean more men would be needed to take their places in the factories and mills.

In 1842, parliament rejected the second Chartist petition. In the same year, in a provocative article in The Halifax Guardian, Edward Akroyd, now one of the leading industrialists in Halifax, was quoted as saying that ‘machinery was a blessing’. These events galvanised local Chartists into supporting the strikes and plug riots that were spreading from Lancashire across the region. On August 15^th a procession of several thousand strikers entered Halifax singing Chartist hymns. Women headed the procession, four abreast, and the strikers dispersed after being directed to local mills by a man on horseback. On the same day a larger procession arrived from Bradford[10].  Again the procession comprised a large proportion of women many of which were ‘poorly clad and walking barefoot’ who stood in front of the military and dared them to kill them if they liked. In fact women appear to have been subjected to the same violence as men in these demonstrations. Undisciplined Specials were reported to have ‘broken the heads’ of some women that day. That women who were prepared to fight and even go to prison is illustrated by the actions of Elizabeth Cresswell, a 43 year old framework knitter who was arrested in Mansfield during a demonstration in support of the National Holiday. She was found to be carrying a loaded revolver and spare ammunition. In 1839, a delegate reported to a meeting in Lancashire that the women he represented were ‘in a state of progress, and were purchasing pikes in large numbers’. 

Women also involved themselves through other more practical activities such as banner making, providing presents for visiting speakers at meetings, holding tea parties, teaching in local Chartist schools etc.[11]  For example a description of a soiree held in honour of Ernest Jones (the first Chartist candidate for the Halifax Borough) included the fact that the hall was decorated with banners that displayed slogans and portraits of radical leaders. The women who attended the soiree wore green ribbons and even green dresses[12]. Some male Chartists appear to have felt more comfortable with the domestic involvement of women within the movement rather than with those who directly took part in processions and demonstrations. Another example of this ambivalent attitude is an article in 1839 in the radical Scottish Patriot newspaper. On the one hand, the writer praised the formation of a new radical female group in Scotland, but on the other wished the Chartist movement did not have to rely on the political activity of women. These women could best serve the Chartist cause by remaining at home with their families. The writer further argued that Chartists should not drag women away from the family home like the aristocracy had done by forcing them into factory labour.  The idea that men should be allowed the dignity of being the family breadwinner prevailed, even though women had always contributed to the family income, either informally, e.g. through casual work such as back-street brewing, child-minding etc. or through home-based proto-industrial employment which usually required input from the whole family.

Women also appear to have been instrumental in facilitating the emergence of temperance within the Chartist movement. For example the Nottingham women’s friendly societies were very keen to move from their alehouse meeting place to other meeting rooms in the area unconnected with drinking alcohol[13].   Temperance meetings may possibly have been encouraged by the Chartist leaders as a means of adding respectability to Chartist meetings and also as a way of encouraging more family involvement. The growing emphasis on temperance may also have been a deliberate attempt to rally more middle class support by emphasising the domestic family unit as a Chartist’s ideal. One of the first temperance groups was formed at Queenshead, having also been the location of one of the first radical groups[14].

Women did not appear to thrive as leaders within the Chartist movement. This was possibly a result of domestic constraints in that they were unable to travel far and stay away from the family home overnight and their lack of skills in public speaking. Their lack of political ambition may also have resulted from the perceived notion that such ‘political’ women, especially single women, were considered too ‘bold and forward’. They therefore wanted to protect their jobs and their reputations as much as possible. In Bradford, in 1845, a Miss Ruthwell who was treasurer to the Power Loom Weavers Society gave a remarkable speech describing the victimisation of herself, her sister and father who were all sacked from their jobs for being active members of the Society. Some women were able to move beyond these constraints such as Anna Pepper, secretary to an association of women in Leeds, who spoke at various meetings in the West Riding and even in London[15].

Women clearly did not shy away from active participation in the Chartist movement, though the extent to which they took a lead in it was much less marked. At the beginning of the movement many working-class women were more focused on opposition to the New Poor Law and matters closer to the family and home. They appeared to organise more independently of men. This may have been because their initial concerns differed or it may have been that women were discouraged from meeting with their male peers because in the early years these revolved around beer shops. It appears to have been a natural step to take for early female radical associations to support the mainstream Chartist movement either financially or by giving support at mass demonstrations. Significantly the issues that affected women, such a low factory wages or even female enfranchisement were not of any serious concern to the mainstream Chartists. Even J.R. Richardson in his The Rights of Women seems to have failed to realise that if every working woman, married or not, was able to vote as well as every working man the political strength of the working class would be even greater. It seems that many of the women who were involved in the movement saw themselves as supporting their husbands, brothers and fathers in their struggle. Women were generally encouraged to believe that they should be spared the indignity of working in the factories and allowed to devote their time to their homes and families. However, many of the women who worked in the factories were single and possibly even pleased to gain some independence from their families. It appears that some women wanted to become more politically involved in the Chartist movement, and were well qualified to do so. However due to their domestic ties they were unable to participate to any great extent in the National Charter Association and this constrained promotion of their own ideas and needs.

---

[1] On the role played by women see the collection of papers edited by Kathryn Gleadle and Sarah Richardson Women in British Politics 1760-1860: The Power of the Petticoat, Macmillan, 2000 that places protest by women in a broader context. Helen Rogers Women and the People: Authority, Authorship and the Radical Tradition in Nineteenth-Century England, Ashgate, 2000 pages 80-123 is an excellent study of the role of women within the Chartist movement and is part of an extremely important study placing women within the radical tradition. Anna Clark The Struggle for the Breeches: Gender and the Making of the British Working Class, University of California Press, 1995 seeks to place the struggle of working class women within the broader struggles of the working class. On women and Chartism, there are two specific studies: David Jones ‘Women and Chartism’, History, volume 68, (1983) is less critical and Jutta Schwarzkopf Women in the Chartist Movement, Macmillan, 1991 is a more detailed, but not entirely satisfactory, study.

[2] G.R. Dalby ‘The Chartist Movement in Halifax and District’ Transactions of the Halifax Antiquarian Society, (1956), page 94.

[3] D. Thompson The Chartists. Popular politics in the Industrial Revolution, Wildwood, 1984, pages 244-245

[4] D. Thompson The Chartists. Popular politics in the Industrial Revolution, Wildwood, 1984, page 137.

[5] D. Thompson The Chartists. Popular politics in the Industrial Revolution, Wildwood, 1984, page 134.

[6] D. Thompson The Chartists. Popular politics in the Industrial Revolution, Wildwood, 1984, page 135.

[7] D. Thompson The Chartists. Popular politics in the Industrial Revolution, Wildwood, 1984, page 120.

[8] D. Thompson The Early Chartists, Macmillan, 1972, pages 115-127.

[9] June Purvis Women’s History: Britain, 1850-1945, UCL Press, 1995, page 29.

[10] D.G. Wright The Chartist Risings in Bradford, Bradford Libraries and Information Service, 1987, page 30.

[11] Eileen Yeo ‘Some Practices and Problems of Chartist Democracy’, in J. Epstein and D. Thompson (eds.), The Chartist Experience: Studies in Working Class Radicalism and Culture 1830-60, Macmillan, 1982 page 350.

[12] D. Thompson The Chartists. Popular politics in the Industrial Revolution, Wildwood, 1984, page 141.

[13] Anna Clark ‘The Rhetoric of Chartist Domesticity: Gender, Language and Class in the 1830s and 1840s’, Journal of British Studies, volume 31, (1992), pages 62-88.

[14] D. Thompson The Chartists. Popular politics in the Industrial Revolution, Wildwood, 1984, pages 122-123.

[15] D. Thompson The Chartists. Popular politics in the Industrial Revolution, Wildwood, 1984, page 245.

Sources for Chartism: Chartist Women 5

Women in Public

For some women Chartists, the movement allowed them to develop from being supporters of the demand for universal male suffrage to the claim for a public political role for themselves. They too might stress their domestic role, but that role carried the potential for what Anna Clark has called ‘militant domesticity’. Their view of domesticity tended not to carry the often sentimental rhetoric of male Chartists. Some working women, like the Glasgow weaver who described herself in 1838 as “a plain working woman”, or the Ashton female Chartists, did demand the vote for themselves. A few outstanding Chartist women - and these tended to come from middle- or lower middle-class backgrounds - did write and lecture on a political role for women. Susannah Inge and Mary Ann Walker of the City of London Female Chartist Association were both accomplished speakers and defended their own right to participate in the movement. Addressing a mixed audience was still a novel undertaking.

Source 9: ‘Miss Mary Ann Walker on the People’s Charter, The Northern Star, 10^th December 1842, page 7

A crowded and most respectably composed meeting, convened by public advertisement, was held last Monday evening, in the spacious and elegant hall of the National or Complete Suffrage Association, High Holborn, for the purpose of hearing Miss Mary Ann Walker deliver a lecture on the social evils which afflict the state and on the People’s Charter as the remedy, and the only remedy, for the removal of those evils, and restoration of the happiness and independence of Great Britain and her dependencies.

The meeting was convened for 8 o’clock, and soon after that hour the hall began to fill rapidly in all parts. The meeting at this time began to manifest impatience to hear Miss Walker, by loudly stamping on the floor, as a signal to have the chair taken. Among the mass of persons present, was a large proportion of very elegantly dressed ladies, many of whom were of the superior classes of society.

At about ten minutes past 8 o’clock, a simultaneous burst of applause from all parts of the meeting, announced the presence of Miss Walker. She was attended by numerous friends, amongst whom we were glad to see the encouraging and supporting presence of many ladies; and as she advanced up the body towards the platform, the applause consisting of cheering, clapping of hands, waving of handkerchiefs, mingled with the loud huzza, and other demonstrations of welcome, became marked and enthusiastic, almost beyond description. There were a few bad spirits in that part of the gallery to the right of the platform, but their dissentient voices, or rather, and the more to their disgrace, - hisses! - were overwhelmed in the reverberating din of acclamation. On reaching the platform, Miss Walker was again and again loudly cheered, a compliment which she acknowledged by inclining repeatedly to the audience. She was dressed in mourning, a habit which it is her calamity to wear for the death of her father, of whom she has not been very many months bereaved. The body of her dress was partially and becomingly low, displaying a very graceful bust, and tending to set off to greater interest a figure and form of interesting proportions. She appeared more than usually wan in countenance, the effect, doubtless, of her anxiety to do justice to her subject, and convey instruction and satisfaction to her audience. She wore a light sort of crepe scarf, or negligee, attached gracefully to, and hanging from her arms, the effect tending to set off her costume, enlivening and contrasting with the black material. A jet necklace, suspending a cross:

‘Which Jews might kiss and Infidels adore’ adorned her bosom, giving a finish to her contour.

The anxiety and excitement of the audience was now wound up to the highest pitch to have the proceedings commence; and, on the motion of Mr. Overton, seconded by Mr. Cuffay, Mr. Balls was unanimously called to the chair...

…It was her first time - he might almost say her first - of addressing a great public assembly, and he therefore hoped they would hear her without interruption. At the conclusion of the address, Miss Walker would answer any questions which might be put to her. He would not longer detain them than to express the very great pleasure he felt in introducing to their notice Miss Mary Ann Walker (loud and continued cheers), amidst which Miss Walker rose and said, she deeply felt the difficulty of her situation on that evening, but feeling, at the same time, most deeply on the subject of her great and lovely country's wrongs, and of her fellow countrymen and women’s sufferings, she had no apology to make for presenting herself before the meeting that evening. It was a bold thing, she admitted, for woman to step out of her retirement; and of course there would be always found persons who would put foul constructions on her motives in order to detain and throw her back (hear hear). And if there were any in that assembly who asked why she came out, to him she would answer, ‘she came there at her country’s call’. If the human misery which afflicted the people of this great country was beyond the power of man to control if it was the ordination of Providence, then would it be man’s duty to submit; but when such was not the case, it was time, she would say, that man aroused himself, and ought to resist its cause. (Hear hear and loud cheers). There never was a time when England possessed so much abundance as at present. (Hear). How was it then, she would ask, that two-thirds of the population were in the face of such a fact, without food? (Hear, hear, hear). How was it that they could not take up a paper, but they were shocked and startled to read some frightful and affecting suicide! (Hear hear). How was it that but a few days ago, a young girl of about fourteen years of age committed suicide! And, be it remembered, she was of a respectable family, but had disobliged her father. How? But because she could not get employment. How was it that the women of England were reduced to make shirts for one penny each and had to find thread out of that! (Indignant cries of 'shame' from all parts of the hall.) How was it that Mr. Comyn, a surgeon, for whose character she entertained the highest respect, had recently called a meeting on behalf of these poor shirt makers? How came he to know of their circumstances and most deplorable condition? Alas! through having been called in to one of them, who, to put an end to her miseries, had taken vitriol. (Deep sensation). That poor creature had worked for sixteen hours a day for sixpence. (Horror, accompanied by cries of ‘shame, shame!’ pervaded and ran through the meeting)....

.... She concluded by assuring the meeting that if she were satisfied that her coming out had the effect of alleviating the trouble of even one poor fellow creature, she would feel herself for life repaid, and would go on in that virtuous course, let the obloquy and the consequences that would attach to her be what they might. (Loud and enthusiastic cheers, amidst which Miss Walker resumed her seat.)

Source 10: Susanna Inge, ‘Address to the Women of England’, Northern Star, 2^nd July 1842

Friends and Fellow Countrywomen - That point has now arrived, when man, aroused to a full sense of his misery and degradation, and having succeeded in groping his way from darkness to light, emerges from that ignorance in which superstition and fanaticism have hitherto fast bound his mind, and in exerting his powers of reason in order to obtain for himself those political rights which are now most unjustly denied him.

And that period has also arrived, when woman, awakening to a sense of the social miseries by which she is surrounded, and by which she is degraded and enslaved, by her desolate home and fireless hearth, by her starving children, and by her own hard toil and scanty fare, has taken her stand in the arena of politics, has raised her feeble voice in defence of her rights, and those of her injured country, and has embarked with her light bark upon the ocean of agitation, to assist in steering the shattered bark of liberty to a smooth and sheltered haven.

In consequence of physical superiority, man, while in a state of ignorance, always treats woman as an inferior creature, as one who was formed to be a slave to his pleasures and his well-being; and not as an equal and companion; for while in a state of ignorance, man being insensible to his own mental and intellectual qualities, it very naturally follows that he cannot appreciate those of women, and he therefore regards the kind offers, the fond attentions, and the tender endearments of women, not as things which it is his duty to repay with kindness and protection, but as things which she has a right to give, and he only sought to expect and demand.

As civilisation advances, man gradually becomes more inclined to place woman upon an equality with himself, and though excluded in every thing connected with public life, her condition is considerably improved; still she is regarded in an inferior light, her province being only to make a pudding, prepare a dinner, clean the house, tend to her children, if she have any, and such like. Now these are all necessary things, nay, essential, our comfort and wellbeing in society demand that they should be done.

But are we, because we are women, excluded from the more rational enjoyments of life? If so, why then was woman gifted with a mind to which in point of delicacy of taste, delicacy of feeling, and devoted affection, even proud man himself must bow. Why then, if we are thus gifted, are we to be thus treated? Shall we sit still and tamely submit to a slavery against which our cheeks glow with shame and our hearts burn with indignation? No! perish the thought in the bosom of its ignoble birth. Rouse yourself to a sense of your merits. Assist those who will, nay, who do, place women on an equality with themselves in gaining their rights, and yours will be gained also.

God is our guide in the great and glorious struggle in which we are engaged, and liberty is our birthright, which the Charter alone will give us. Join with us, then, for the Charter of our freedom. Come forward and unite with us in the great struggle for independence and for those rights which are ours by nature, but which a cruel, despotic and tyrannical government have deprived us of.

Do not say you have no business with politics, and that you leave such things for your husbands, fathers and brothers. You have an interest in politics, a deeper interest than you are aware of. If the country is misgoverned, and bad laws instituted, and good laws perverted, it is on you those laws fall heaviest; witness those which regulate the price of food and the monopolies. If the country is well governed, and good laws acted upon, does it not naturally follow that we shall also feel the benefit of them? Besides, if you have husbands, fathers, or brothers who are Chartists, your participating in that which interests them most will please and urge them to further exertions. If you have husbands, fathers, or brothers who are not Chartists, your example will influence them, and induce them to become such.

The principles of the Charter, if carried out, are such as will give man not only his political rights, but will enable him to get a more equitable remuneration for his labour, and that will enable you to live in more comfortable homes - to give your children as much food as they require, and to prevent your leading such wretched lives of poverty and unrequited toil.

Unite with us, therefore, for in union only is strength. Let the Charter be the foundation stone on which to rest all your hopes; and remember, however much the name of Chartist may be now despised, and made the butt for every witless fool to fling his jests at - however much it may now be held up in ignominy and scorn, the time will come (and will come sooner, too, if you will come forward and assist us) when the poor, despised, and persecuted Chartist shall be honoured at the expense of his country.

Susanna Inge.

Member of the Female Charter Association of the City of London,

55 Old Bailey, June 27^th.

Woman’s Rights and Chartism: a verdict in 1851

The number of women involved in Chartism after 1848 declined rapidly. Exceptionally, however, the Sheffield Female Radical Association, founded in 1839, remained in existence until 1851. Its members were approached in that year by Anne Knight, a Quaker activist in the antislavery movement who had, after watching events at the London World Convention of 1840, become committed to women’s suffrage. Anne Knight and the Sheffield women adopted a petition to be submitted to both houses of parliament for the enfranchisement of women, and published an address to the women of England which appeared in the Chartist periodical, the Northern Star. It was seen and welcomed by French women active in the revolution of 1848 in France. In 1852 they founded a National Woman’s Rights Association and attempted to build links with surviving associations elsewhere.

Source 11: Ernest Jones, Notes to the People, London: J. Pavey, 1852, reprinted London, Merlin Press, 1967, Volume II, page 709

WOMAN'S RIGHTS;

[Though we abstain from inserting anything eulogistic of our own writings, we think ourselves authorised to break through the rule in the case of our fair friends; but especially because the voice of woman is not sufficiently heard, and not sufficiently respected, in this country. The greatest test of enlightenment and civilisation among a people is the estimation in which women is held, and her influence in society. Woman has an important mission in this country and our fair friends in Sheffield shew themselves worthy of the task.]

Women’s Right’s Association,

84, Pond Street, Sheffield, Dec. 17, 1851.

Respected Sir, - A recent number of your Notes to the People was brought to our last meeting by one of our members. To consider that ably-written letter on “Raising the Charter from the Pot-House”, and it was unanimously carried that a vote of thanks be given to you, and reply sent to that effect, for your advocacy of woman’s influence; also to solicit your continued support; and in doing so, sir, we beg to state, or rather confirm your statements, that did our brothers but admit our rights to the enjoyment of those political privileges they are striving for, they would find an accession of advocates in the female sex, who would not only raise the Charter from those dens of infamy and vice from which so many of us have to suffer, but would with womanly pride strive to erase that stigma, which by the folly of our brothers has been cast on Chartism, not only by exercising their influence out of doors, but by teaching their children a good sound political education. This, sir, will never be done while men continue to advocate or meet in pot-houses, spending their money, and debarring us from a share in their political freedom.

Signed on behalf of the meeting,

ABIAH HIGGINBOTHAM, Cor. Sec.

Chartism mobilised men and women together as they sought to create a working-class consciousness. Yet although their political objective was universal male suffrage, their struggle has also to be related to the shifts in the world of work. The Chartist stress on the languages of family and domesticity reflected its appeal to artisans and to skilled working men. Such a message was difficult to combine with any recognition of equal political rights for women. Nevertheless for many of the women who took part in Chartism did appear to offer a way forward to a different prospect of society. But only for a few, and those few mainly the better educated, did it provide a base from which the different needs of women in an industrialising society could be explored. Radical movements of the 1850s and 1860s and campaigns for extension of the franchise in those years paid little attention to the possibility of the franchise for women. Nor did they encourage the active formation of women's associations as Chartism had done. The focus had shifted to patterns of organisation rooted in the workplace rather than the community. In spite of the strength and the radicalism of some women within the Owenite and Chartist movements, the first organised feminist activity came from other patterns of dissent.