ABSTRACT
The Charter, published in May 1838, was a six-pronged demand upon Parliament for political reform: universal suffrage, payment to M.P.s, equal electoral districts, abolition of the property qualification, annual parliaments, and secret balloting. The Chartists were also sympathetic to the repeal of the poor laws, elimination of child labour, and the ten-hour working day. The Charter was advanced by meetings, torchlight processions, study groups, Chartist churches, and Chartist poetry. The main body of Chartists split between the notion of a peaceful, legal path to the Charter, and that of physical force and violence. In 1839, 1842, and 1848, the Charter, signed by large numbers, was presented as a petition to Parliament, but always failed to gain a hearing. The Home Office orchestrated police activities, spying and informing against the Chartists, leading to imprisonments and capital sentences. Chartist prisoners showed little interest in their fellow prisoners, either during or following imprisonment.
