Communism and Society in Europe Before 1848 - Essay Example

Download file to see previous pages This agitations and grievances led to the establishment of the People’s Charter in 1938, which presented a list of reforms that the chartists demanded that the political organization and the government of the time had to implement (Hovell and Tout, 22). It is in the consideration of the nature of the organization that Chartism developed and its ability to mobilize workers from all classes, to work towards a common course, that make me feel that this is the movement that I would have joined if I was living in 1848. The nature of the grievances that the Chartists were presenting to the political class and the government also prompts me to identify with their grievances, since they were merely basic rights requests. In support of embracing Chartism at the time, these are the reasons: First, the most vital grievance that was being presented by the chartists was the involvement of the people in deciding the political destiny of the country. In the light of this, the chartists were demanding that every man of age 21 and above should be allowed to vote, so as to decide the leaders that would lead them (Hovell and Tout, 112). Additionally, the demand stated that a man of sound mind, and who was not facing any crime charges should be allowed to vote and decide the political destiny of the country. The presentation of such a grievance by the workers during this century was a mark towards advancing democracy, since they were calling upon the government and the existing political class to pave way for the general public to be involved in running the political affairs of the country. Considering that political space at the time was dominated by the monarch, where the general public had little to do with determining the fate of the leadership of their country, the Chartism movement could not have come at a better time. This forms a basis for considering to have been absorbed into Chartism, in 1848. The second grievance that the Chartists were presenting is the conduct of elections through universal suffrage, where the participating individuals would be allowed to vote through a secret ballot (Hovell and Tout, 154). This demand was meant to ensure that the voter was protected in the exercise of his political right, since there is no voter intimidation that would arise through participating in a secret ballot to elect a leader, as opposed to the application of other open methods that would expose the voter to intimidation and threats from the rival camps (Hovell and Tout, 175). The presentation of such a grievance by the chartist movement is also justifiable, since it was a mere attempt to fight for the basic rights of the people; the right to express their political right, free of intimidation and threats. The third grievance that the Chartism movement was fighting for is the freedom to elect whichever candidate they deemed appropriate for the position of a member of parliament. Consequently, the chartists sought to have the property restriction removed, so that the constituents could elect any individual whether they were rich or poor (Hovell and ...Download file to see next pagesRead More