The London Working Men's Association was an organisation established in
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
in 1836.
Minute Book of the London Working Men’s Association.
British Library
The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the British ...
2011. Retrieved 19 July 2011. It was one of the foundations of Chartism, advocating for universal male suffrage
Universal manhood suffrage is a form of voting rights in which all adult male citizens within a political system are allowed to vote, regardless of income, property, religion, race, or any other qualification. It is sometimes summarized by the slo ...
, equally-populated electoral districts, the abolition of property qualifications for MPs, annual Parliaments, the payment of MPs, and the establishment of secret ballot voting. The founders were William Lovett
William Lovett (8 May 1800 – 8 August 1877) was a British activist and leader of the Chartist political movement. He was one of the leading London-based artisan radicals of his generation.
A proponent of the idea that political rights could ...
, Francis Place
Francis Place (3 November 1771 in London – 1 January 1854 in London) was an English social reformer.
Early life
He was an illegitimate son of Simon Place and Mary Gray. His father was originally a journeyman baker. He then became a Marshalse ...
and Henry Hetherington
Henry Hetherington (June 1792 – 24 August 1849) was an English printer, bookseller, publisher and newspaper proprietor who campaigned for social justice, a free press, universal suffrage and religious freethought. Together with his close asso ...
. They appealed to skilled workers rather than the mass of unskilled factory labourers. They were associated with Owenite
Owenism is the utopian socialist philosophy of 19th-century social reformer Robert Owen and his followers and successors, who are known as Owenites. Owenism aimed for radical reform of society and is considered a forerunner of the cooperative ...
socialism and the movement for general education
Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty ...
.
References
External links
Image of the Minute Book of the LWMA for 18 October 1836 at the British Library.
''The Address of the London Working Men's Association to the People of Canada''
1837
*
The Six Points and the London Working Men's Association
', o
Chartist Ancestors
Feargus O'Connor & The Chartists – UK Parliament Living Heritage
Chartism
Labour in the United Kingdom
Labor history
19th century in London
Political organisations based in London
History of socialism
Socialist parties in England
1836 establishments in England
Working class in England
1836 in London
Owenism
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