“History Option TMA 03 Task 1 – What evidence is there in the extract of the three explanations for Chartisms support that you learned about in Block 2, Unit 2, Making sense of history, and which, if any, is stressed most strongly by the speaker? TMA 03 Task 2 – Reflection and feedback.”

The extract is taken from a primary source of information, a speech made by an unknown man, published in the Northern Star newspaper on July 6th 1839. The Northern Star was an enormous contributor to the Chartist cause, a publication unlikely to highlight anything negative in relation to Chartism, and this should be remembered when examining the extract. Evidence from the speech of the three explanations for Chartisms support will be shown; economic circumstance, the need for a national political movement, and a desire for a culturally inclusive community. It will be shown that a need for a national political movement is stressed most strongly by the speaker.

1839 was a time of great economic hardship, and in such times social unrest, and consequently support for Chartism, grew. (Rostow, cited in the Open University, 2013, Block 2, p. 36). The speaker advocates the virtues of the f…(short extract)