Lenin commented that the British Constitution Movement was "the first extensive, truly mass and political proletarian revolutionary movement in the world". The Charter Movement marked that the British proletariat began to enter the historical stage as an independent political force, and started the struggle for political power with the bourgeoisie.

Britain was the first country to have a bourgeois revolution and an industrial revolution. In the19th century, it was called "the factory of the world". For many years, in this country famous for its "parliamentary democracy", only those who pay high income tax have the right to vote, and workers are excluded from the parliamentary gate.

1842 On May 2nd, the streets of London were crowded with people. The mighty workers came to the lower house of parliament, and the head of the National Charter Association submitted the second petition of the National Charter to the lower house.

The petition reads: "As far as its current composition is concerned, your institution is neither elected by the people nor decided by the people. It only serves the interests of a few people, ignoring the poverty, pain and wishes of most people. "

The petition also pointed out that in Britain, "the rulers are extravagant and wasteful, and the ruled suffer and starve." For example, Queen Victoria's daily income is 164 pounds 17 shillings 60p, while her husband Prince Albert's daily income is 104 pounds 20 shillings, while millions of workers earn only two or three pence.

The petitioner believes that before the people gain political power, the elimination of a monopoly will not help workers get rid of poverty, but after the people gain political power, all monopolies and all forms of oppression should stop. The "monopoly" mentioned by the petitioner refers to the monopoly of voting rights and paper money, the monopoly of machinery and land, and the monopoly of newspapers and religious privileges.

This petition, signed by 3 million people (about half of British adult men), once again demands that the People's Charter be made into law.

The People's Charter is a petition submitted by the Workers' Association to the National Assembly in 1837. It proposes that all men aged 2 1 have the right to universal suffrage, that voting in elections should be held in secret, that restrictions on the property qualifications of parliamentary candidates should be lifted, and that the National Assembly should hold a re-election once a year, and that electoral districts should be evenly distributed.

In May of the following year, after the petition was published, it was called the People's Charter, and 1839 and1250,000 people signed the petition.

1840 in July, representatives of charters from all over the world held a conference in Manchester, announcing the establishment of the National Charter Association. Its purpose is "to achieve a thorough reform of the House of Commons, so that the House of Commons can fully and faithfully represent all the personnel in the United Kingdom", and in order to achieve this goal, only peaceful and legal means can be adopted. The association has hundreds of branches all over the country, and members must pay membership fees. It is the bud of the first workers' political party in modern times.

1848, driven by the revolutionary storm in continental Europe, the Charter Movement rose again.

The third national petition further pointed out that labor is the only source of all wealth, and workers have priority over the fruits of their own labor. People are the only source of strength. 6.5438+0.97 million people have signed the petition. Workers in London, Manchester, Birmingham, Liverpool and Glasgow held large-scale demonstrations.

On April 10, the representatives of the Third National Charter loaded the petition into four splendid carriages and drove to the National Assembly, but they were suppressed by the gendarmerie on the way. Congress refused to accept the petition. Then, the government ordered the dissolution of the National Charter Association.

Lenin commented that the British Constitution Movement was "the first extensive, truly mass and political proletarian revolutionary movement in the world". The Charter Movement marked that the British proletariat began to enter the historical stage as an independent political force, and started the struggle for political power with the bourgeoisie.