People's Charter

Also found in: Dictionary, Thesaurus, Financial, Wikipedia.

People's Charter:

see ChartismChartism,
workingmen's political reform movement in Great Britain, 1838–48. It derived its name from the People's Charter, a document published in May, 1838, that called for voting by ballot, universal male suffrage, annual Parliaments, equal electoral districts, no
..... Click the link for more information. .

The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

People’s Charter

the basic program document of English Chartism.

The People’s Charter was drawn up by the leaders of the London Working Men’s Association, among whom was W. Lovett, and was published on May 8, 1838. It provided for universal male suffrage at age 21 without property qualification and a parliament annually elected by secret ballot that would have salaried members and constituencies of equal size. Had the British working class possessed a militant political organization, adoption of the People’s Charter would have opened the way to power for the proletariat, given the fact that workers made up the majority of the population. However, the Chartists themselves interpreted the document in different ways. The revolutionary wing looked on it as a means of destroying class rule by the bourgeoisie while socially liberating the working people. The most advanced leaders of Chartism, such as E. Jones, added a number of socialist demands to the charter in 1851. But the reformist element, which came to include Lovett himself, interpreted the People’s Charter in a spirit defined by petit bourgeois democratic ideals.

PUBLICATION

In P. W. Slosson. Chartistskoe dvizhenie iprichiny ego upadka. Moscow, 1923. (Translated from English.)

L. I. GOL’MAN

Mentioned in ?

References in periodicals archive ?

The People's Charter is, of course, a wish-list and in this respect it provides a useful articulation of what CSOs interpret a people-oriented ASEAN to mean.

A people-oriented ASEAN: a door ajar or closed for civil society organizations?

The award was presented by Jenny Caldwell, member of the Young People's Charter Award Panel, to Connexions Tees Valley chief executive, Fiona Blacke, who said: "I'm delighted to receive the award.

Recognition for connecting with young

Sketchy as it is, his People's Charter isn't a bad response to that problem; I'd certainly sign it.

Achieving Our Country: Leftist Thought in Twentieth-Century America

Instead, the book focuses on "historic rights movements in which all participants are engaged in forging a dynamic, evolving people's charter of rights."

A People's Charter: The Pursuit of Rights in America

It took its name from the People's Charter of 1838 and was a national protest movement, with particular strongholds of support in northern England.

New book rethinks the radical movement with roots in town; history society highlights shaping of chartist beliefs

Back in July 2012, a group of 12 met in Harrogate for a weekend conference, the purpose of which was to frame six demands in the manner of "The People's Charter" produced by the Chartists in 1836.

Voter apathy key is separation of political powers; PETER TROY argues that radical change is needed in the UK's electoral system - but compulsory voting is not a solution

In July we launched the Children and Young People's Charter, a commitment signed by the leaders of all four political parties represented in the Assembly, ensuring that young people can have their say and ultimately influence what goes on in the Senedd.

'Why is it that 16-year-olds can pay tax and yet cannot vote?' National Assembly Presiding Officer Dame Rosemary Butler AM is launching a national conversation with 11 to 25-year-olds about lowering the voting age to 16. Here, she outlines why she thinks this conversation needs to take place

NE-Generation, an independent youth work charity based in North East England, proposed a Young People's Charter for Arts and Culture to prevent growing talent being wiped out by Government and council cuts.

Stars come out fighting for Arts

She hints at the excitement of Chartist life by noting that the petition drives used "large public meetings, fiery speeches, and torchlight parades." (4) She explains that Parliament's rejection of the People's Charter led Chartists to continue their agitation during the 1840s and to co-operate with working-class strike movements.

Researching and teaching the chartist movement: three historiographical challenges

The Birmingham TUC and the People's Charter are calling a protest against George Osborne's cuts at 5pm on October 20, in Cathedral Square.

Against the spending cuts; YourSay

But the problem with a people's charter is that the public have a maddening habit of telling bosses what they don't always want to hear.

BBC boss Mark Thompson is [...]

Here he made himself the spokesman for his fellow tailors and in 1839, the year that the People's Charter was first presented to Parliament, he organized a tailors' strike and helped to set up the Metropolitan Tailors' Charter Association.

Chartism's black activist: to celebrate Black History Month, Malcolm Chase recalls the life of the Soho tailor William Cuffay, the son of a freed slave from St Kitts, who overcame poverty and disability to become one of the leaders of the Chartist 'conspiracy' of 1848