ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on an upturn in trade in 1833, which was a significant factor behind the increased interest in trade unionism. Agrarianism, co-operative production and exchange and the concept of general strike relate primarily to the intellectual milieu of contemporary radicalism; but another cluster of issues, centring on women, the idea of skill and the ritual of trade societies, were closely linked to the 'inner life' of trade unionism. The chapter is devoted to these two clusters of issues. The Tolpuddle Society's role within the Grand National Consolidated Trades' Union (GNCTU) was as the projected local hub for the unionization of south Dorset farmworkers. The National Association for the Protection of Labour (NAPL) had roots in moves to formalize support for fine spinners in Manchester, while the GNCTU coalesced round the cause of the Derby spinners' turn-out. The chapter then concludes by examining in some depth the episode for which trade unionism is most often remembered, the Tolpuddle Martyrs.
