Chartism

More middle-class men could influence government, but working-class campaigners who had supported reform felt that their efforts had not won them political power. This disappointment helped create Chartism.

Chartism sought parliamentary reform, including votes for all adult men. O'Connor addressed mass meetings and founded and edited The Northern Star, using the press to spread political demands and organise supporters. Migrants and their descendants participated: William Cuffay, the British-born son of a formerly enslaved African, became chairman of the London Chartist Executive in 1848.

Chartism was a nineteenth-century movement for parliamentary reform. Its demands included votes for all men over 21, secret ballots and payment for MPs. These demands addressed different barriers to political participation.