ERO Presents: The Chartist Revolution:

the world’s first mass movement for democratic reform

Speaker: Professor Peter Gurney, University of Essex

The Chartist movement – the world’s first mass movement for democratic reform – shook British society to its foundations between the late 1830s and the early 1850s. The subject constitutes a vibrant field of historical research, with interest in Chartism going beyond the narrow confines of academia. However, the challenge the movement posed has tended to be underestimated by both professional and lay historians, as it has usually been regarded as merely foreshadowing constitutional change achieved later in the century. In this talk, I will take a different approach to argue that Chartism sought to radically transform the political, economic and social realms in ways that have yet to be realised. The Chartists desired revolution against the existing state of society, not by violence but by educating the people about the power of self-government or real democracy. Focussing mainly on the national picture and the movement’s wider significance, reference will also be made to local developments in Essex and Suffolk.

Peter Gurney is Professor of British History at the University of Essex. He has published widely on a variety of subjects, including Chartism, the co-operative movement, and consumer culture. He has served as editor of Labour History Review for many years.