Radical Protest and Chartism on Tyneside, 1819-1839
Neil Harrison, Senior Lecturer in Law (Northumbria University)
Tuesday 23 March 2021, 4-6pm
When scholars consider the impact of the Chartist movement, they tend to focus upon the movements in Lancashire and West Yorkshire. Yet in its early years Chartism in Northumberland and Durham attained a vehemence which was rarely matched elsewhere. Activity in the North East took on a striking militancy in the years following the Peterloo Massacre. On 11 October 1819, a crowd of protesters gathered on the Town Moor calling themselves the Great Reform Meeting, and this inspired a group of leaders who rose to prominence in the following decades. One of the most influential Chartist newspapers originated in Newcastle, which promoted the Charter’s Six Points of Parliamentary reform. As time went on, the movement assumed a greater ascendancy, and its language took on a more pronounced tone of violence. By February 1839 Newcastle was one of three areas in the country attracting attention from the Home Office because of suspicion that arms were being assembled. In the Spring, outdoor meetings drew increasingly large numbers to hear speeches by local and national leaders.
During Summer 1839, the movement was inflamed by Parliament’s refusal to consider the National Petition. The magistrates of the North East were ill prepared to deal with disorderly action, and remained passive while the Chartists grew steadily in strength and more reckless in language. However, in July two incidents in Newcastle alarmed the law enforcers. In conjunction with the military, they hastened to take steps which deterred most workers from answering the call for a general strike in August, and thus enabled them to cope with the few who did. These events in the North East present a striking illustration of how masses of people were swept up in the turbulence of early Chartism, and how rapidly Chartist strength dissipated when it encountered robust police resistance.
In our reading group meeting, we are going to examine a range of texts that
provide an historical record of radical protest and Chartist activity in
Newcastle upon Tyne. These include banners, extracts from newspapers such as
the Morning Post, Newcastle Courant and Northern Liberator, and examples of Chartist
poetry. In particular, we are going to focus upon the intersections between
radical politics and print culture, and consider how Chartist activity in
Newcastle became transformed into a rhetorical weapon by its supporters and
critics alike.
Please email northeastcommerce2019@gmail.com for the reading materials and Zoom link.
