ABSTRACT
After Robert Owen tightened his hold upon the Rational Society in 1842, the gap widened between the Central Board and local branches across the country. Financial strains on the movement as a whole became a major bone of contention. Mounting expenses at Queenwood forced the residents to fire their hired help and to take on farming activities they knew little or nothing about. By 1843, half of the Rational Society’s fifty branches had closed down. In 1844, the level of desperation and frustration had reached an all-time high. The “inevitable revolt” occurred during the annual Congress held in May of that same year, when the socialist delegates forced Owen to step down as President of Rational Society and Governor of Queenwood. On 25 May, they first appointed David Vines, member of Central Board and one of Owen’s closest associates, but he refused the position. The “Social Father” was eventually replaced on 28 May by John Buxton, a Manchester calico-printer.
