How did Britain's working class fight to overthrow early capitalism?

In the early 19th century, the industrial revolution was rapidly creating a big new social class in Britain: the working class. Workers produced huge amounts of new wealth for the ruling capitalists, but had appalling conditions and no say in politics. Sound familiar?

Trade unions appeared for the first time, formed by workers to fight in the workplace. But they quickly realised that this alone was not enough. The bosses used political power to restrain or reverse what the workers could win by industrial struggle alone.

The Chartist movement was the world’s first working-class party. Its ‘People’s Charter’ demanded a massive extension of democratic rights for workers – with the goal of using that to improve their material conditions. 

But increasingly, experience taught Chartist workers that petitioning alone was not enough either. Ultimately, revolutionary struggle was the only way for workers to gain power – or even win more rights within the capitalist system.

How did the Chartists develop their ideas and methods of struggle? What was the outcome of the movement? And what can we learn from it today?

This episode of Socialism looks at Britain’s revolutionary working class: Chartism.

Further reading

• Newport Rising 1839: https://www.socialistparty.org.uk/articles/8303
• Class struggle and the early Chartist movement: http://socialismtoday.org/archive/129/chartism.html
• Debate: The class character of Chartism: http://socialismtoday.org/archive/130/chartism.html
• Debate: Class, leadership and the Chartist movement: http://socialismtoday.org/archive/131/chartism.html
• Newport council destroys workers' mural: https://www.socialistparty.org.uk/articles/17541
• The Pentrich uprising: revolution and counter-revolution in 19th century Britain: https://www.socialistparty.org.uk/articles/25680