Reason For The Failure Of The Radical Challenge In The Period 1812-22

‘Government policies were the most important reason for the failure of the radical challenge in the period 1812 to 22’. How far do you agree? – Ismael Ulluso
Government policies were the most important reason for the failure of the radical challenge in the period 1812 to 22. This failure was achieved through the introduction of laws and legislation such as The Six Acts. Mike Wells says, “It was difficult to meet both because government legislation barred ‘seditious meetings’ and the strong- minded radicals did not work easily together.” *. This quote refers to one of The Six Acts, The Seditious Meetings Prevention Act. This acts prohibited any public meeting of more than 50 people without the permission of a sheriff or magistrate. Mike Wells …show more content…
This clearly shows that a government policy tried to stop the growth of radical ideas. The Six Acts of 1819 were very restrictive measures. This is made evident by a cartoon by George Cruikshank in 1819*. It shows a ‘Free Born Englishman’. The man shackled and his mouth is sealed shut with a padlock. This indicates that The Six Acts has dishonoured his right to free speech as it prohibited meetings of more than 50 people. This is further enhanced by the message ‘free discussion- a farce.’ The man is standing upon the Magna Carta and Bill of Rights. These documents ensure the rights of English citizens. However, the message in this cartoon is that this no longer applies due to The Six Acts. Moreover, there is an axe labelled ‘Law of Libel’. This is a reference to the Blasphemous and Seditious Libels Act, which provided much heavier penalties for those convicted with publishing writing thought to be against the church or state. Therefore, the axe represents a weapon that the government brandished to any of its opposition. This cartoon clearly adds value to the argument that The Six Acts was instrumental in the failure of the radical challenge to Lord Liverpool’s administration since it severely restricted the radical groups’ …show more content…
The aim of this was to give the government the ability to send people to prison without the need for trial. The government used this as a deterrent to any possible radical who could face the punishment of being sent to prison unlawfully. This was effective as many people were arrested using this law. However, Lord Sidmouth set many free in the autumn of 1817. Lord Sidmouth said this quote in front of parliament. He is addressing the problem of the radical movement they face. This quote adds a lot of weight to the argument that the government laws and legislation was the principal factor in the failure of the radical challenge as it shows that the government were actively looking to supress their enemies. All three sources show that Lord Liverpool’s regime were very repressive and introduced a vast number of legislation to curb the radical threat before it grew to a state where it could challenge the administration as had previously happened in France. Government policies were the most important reason for the failure for the radical challenge in the period 1812 to 1822 as they always remained on top of the situation by very quickly snuffing out the flames of any unrest with their reactionary reforms such as The Six