George Julian Harney (17 February 1817 – 9 December 1897) was a British political activist, journalist, and Chartist leader. He was also associated with

Marxism Marxism is a left-wing to far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand class relations and social conflict and a dialectical ...

socialism Socialism is a left-wing Economic ideology, economic philosophy and Political movement, movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to Private prop ...

, and

universal suffrage Universal suffrage (also called universal franchise, general suffrage, and common suffrage of the common man) gives the right to vote to all adult citizens, regardless of wealth, income, gender, social status, race, ethnicity, or political stan ...

Early life

George Julian Harney, the son of a seaman, was born in

Deptford Deptford is an area on the south bank of the River Thames in southeast London, within the London Borough of Lewisham. It is named after a Ford (crossing), ford of the River Ravensbourne. From the mid 16th century to the late 19th it was home ...

in south-east

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 ...

. When Harney was eleven he entered the Boy's Naval School at

Greenwich Greenwich ( , ,) is a town in south-east London, England, within the ceremonial county of Greater London. It is situated east-southeast of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich ...

. However, instead of pursuing a career in the navy he became a shop-boy for

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 ...

, the editor of the '' Poor Man's Guardian''. Harney was imprisoned three times for selling this unstamped newspaper. This experience radicalised Harney and although he was initially a member of the

London Working Men's Association The London Working Men's Association was an organisation established in London in 1836.

he became impatient with the organization’s failure to make much progress in the efforts to obtain

. Harney was influenced by the more militant ideas of

William Benbow William Benbow (1787 – 1864) was a nonconformist preacher, pamphleteer, pornographer and publisher, and a prominent figure of the Reform Movement in Manchester and London.James Bronterre O'Brien and

Feargus O'Connor Feargus Edward O'Connor (18 July 1796 – 30 August 1855) was an Irish Chartist leader and advocate of the Land Plan, which sought to provide smallholdings for the labouring classes. A highly charismatic figure, O'Connor was admired for his ...

. In January 1837 Harney became one of the founders of the openly republican East London Democratic Association. Soon afterwards Harney became convinced of William Benbow's theory that a Grand National Holiday (a General strike) would result in an uprising and a change in the political system.

Involvement with Chartist movement

At the Chartist Convention held during the summer of 1839, Harney and William Benbow convinced the delegates to call a Grand National Holiday on 12 August. Feargus O'Connor argued against the plan but was defeated. Harney and Benbow toured the country in an attempt to persuade workers to join the strike. When Harney and Benbow were both arrested and charged with making seditious speeches, the General Strike was called off. Harney was kept in

Warwick Warwick ( ) is a market town, civil parish and the county town of Warwickshire in the Warwick District in England, adjacent to the River Avon. It is south of Coventry, and south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined with Leamington Spa and Whi ...

Gaol but when he appeared at

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...

Assizes the grand jury refused to indict him of sedition or any other charge. Disappointed by the failure of the Grand National Holiday, Harney moved to Ayrshire, Scotland, where he married Mary Cameron. Harney's exile did not last long and the following year he became the Chartist organizer in

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire a ...

. During the strikes of 1842 Harney was one of the 58 Chartists arrested and tried at Lancaster in March 1843. After his conviction was reversed on appeal, Harney became a journalist for O'Connor's '' Northern Star''. Two years later he became the editor of the newspaper. Tristram Hunt describes him during this period:

George Julian Harney, Chartism's enfant terrible ... was firmly on the radical side of the movement, advocating the use of physical force and enjoying riling his conservative comrades by flaunting the red cap of liberty at public meetings. In and out of jail, endlessly feuding with fellow Chartists, and ultimately expelled from the party, the Robespierre-admiring Harney remained convinced that insurrection was the surest route to achieve the demands of the charter.

According to Dorothy Thompson, Harney:

is a particularly good figure to take as central to the study of Chartism. For five years (1845–50) he was the editor of the ''Northern Star.'' He was one of the few leading figures who entered the movement in its earliest days–coming in straight from an active part in the dramatic and principled fight against the stamp duties on newspapers which is one of the highlights of 19th century radical action–and remained active throughout the years of its mass influence.

Association with Marx and Engels

Harney became interested in the international struggle for universal suffrage and helped establish the Fraternal Democrats in September 1845. It was through this organisation that Harney met

Karl Marx Karl Heinrich Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, economist, historian, sociologist, political theorist, journalist, critic of political economy, and socialist revolutionary. His best-known titles are the 1848 ...

and

Friedrich Engels Friedrich Engels ( ,"Engels"
'' provisional government A provisional government, also called an interim government, an emergency government, or a transitional government, is an emergency governmental authority set up to manage a political transition generally in the cases of a newly formed state or ...

. According to his friend and fellow radical, John Bedford Leno, Harney was: :''"more conversant with foreign politics than any man I ever knew, and the first inquiries made by foreign refugees on landing on our shores was to forward the discovery of his whereabouts."''

Involvement with Socialism

Harney was now a

Socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the ...

and he used the ''Northern Star'' to promote this philosophy. O'Connor, the newspaper's owner, disagreed with socialism and he pressurized Harney into resigning as editor. Harney now formed his own newspaper, the '' Red Republican''. With the help of his friend,

Ernest Charles Jones Ernest Charles Jones (25 January 181926 January 1869) was an English poet, novelist and Chartist. Dorothy Thompson points out that Jones was born into the landed gentry, became a barrister, and left a large documentary record. "He is the best-r ...

, Harney attempted to use his paper to educate his working class readers about socialism and

proletarian internationalism Proletarian internationalism, sometimes referred to as international socialism, is the perception of all communist revolutions as being part of a single global class struggle rather than separate localized events. It is based on the theory that ...

. In 1847 Harney stood as the Chartist candidate against

Lord Palmerston Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston, (20 October 1784 – 18 October 1865) was a British statesman who was twice Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in the mid-19th century. Palmerston dominated British foreign policy during the period ...

for the seat of Tiverton, an event described by Engels in an article for ''La Reforme'' thus: :''"It will be recalled that at the last elections Mr. Harney, editor-in-chief of the ''Northern Star'', was put forward as the Chartist candidate for Tiverton, a borough which is represented in Parliament by Lord Palmerston, the Foreign Secretary. Mr. Harney, who won on the show of hands, decided to retire when Lord Palmerston demanded a poll" '' Harney's speech at the Hustings was published in full in the ''Northern Star'' and reprinted and distributed widely in Chartist circles <> In 1850 the ''Red Republican'' published the first English translation of ''

The Communist Manifesto ''The Communist Manifesto'', originally the ''Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (german: Manifest der Kommunistischen Partei), is a political pamphlet written by German philosophers Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. Commissioned by the Commu ...

'' The translation was done by

Helen Macfarlane Helen Macfarlane, born Barrhead, 25 September 1818 (registered in the Abbey .e. landwardParish of Paisley), Renfrewshire, Scotland, died Nantwich, Cheshire, England 29 March 1860, was a Scottish Chartist feminist journalist and philosopher, kno ...

, a journalist, socialist and feminist of the time, who wrote for the ''Red Republican'' under the pseudonym Howard Morton. The ''Red Republican'' was not a financial success and was closed down in December 1850. Harney followed it with the ''

Friend of the People Friendship is a relationship of mutual affection between people. It is a stronger form of interpersonal bond than an "acquaintance" or an "association", such as a classmate, neighbor, coworker, or colleague. In some cultures, the concept o ...

'' (December 1850 - April 1852), ''

Star of Freedom A star is an astronomical object comprising a luminous spheroid of plasma held together by its gravity. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked eye at night, but their immense distances from Earth mak ...

'' (April 1852 - December 1852) and ''The Vanguard'' (January 1853 - March 1853). After ''The Vanguard'' ceased publication Harney moved to Newcastle and worked for

Joseph Cowen Joseph Cowen, Jr., (9 July 1829 – 18 February 1900) was an English radical Liberal politician and journalist. He was a firm friend to Anglo-Jewry, and an early advocate of Jewish emancipation, regularly contributing to ''The Jewish Chronic ...

's newspaper, the '' Northern Tribune'' and after traveling to meet French socialists living in exile in

Jersey Jersey ( , ; nrf, Jèrri, label= Jèrriais ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey (french: Bailliage de Jersey, links=no; Jèrriais: ), is an island country and self-governing Crown Dependency near the coast of north-west France. It is the l ...

, Harney became editor of the Jersey Independent. Harney's support for the North in the American Civil War upset

and in November 1862 Harney was forced to resign.

Emigration to United States and return to England

Richmond Cemetery, George Julian Harney memorial

In May 1863 Harney emigrated to the United States. For the next 14 years he worked as a clerk in the Massachusetts State House. After his retirement he returned to England, where he wrote a weekly column for the ''

Newcastle Chronicle The ''Evening Chronicle'', now referred to as ''The Comical'', is a daily newspaper produced in Newcastle upon Tyne covering North regional news, but primarily focused on Newcastle upon Tyne and surrounding area. The ''Comical'' is published by ...

''. Harney died on 9 December 1897, aged 80. He is buried in

Richmond Cemetery Richmond Cemetery is a cemetery on Lower Grove Road in Richmond in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England. The cemetery opened in 1786 on a plot of land granted by an Act of Parliament the previous year. The cemetery has been expande ...

, south west London.

References

Sources

* http://www.spartacus-educational.com/CHharney.htm * John Bedford Leno, ''The Aftermath: With Autobiography of the Author'' (Reeves & Turner, London 1892) {{DEFAULTSORT:Harney, George Julian 1817 births 1897 deaths British Marxists British prisoners and detainees Chartists People from Deptford British socialists Burials at Richmond Cemetery