ABSTRACT

Some historians have seen the 1820s and 1830s as a time of constitutional revolution. However, certain of the developments only appear revolutionary in hindsight, and the ‘flagship’ change, the Reform Act itself, was much too limited in its scope to satisfy the aspirations of more than a narrow range of opinion. From disappointment with the scope of the reform which had been achieved, combined with resentment over economic distress, came Chartism.