The Teetotal Pledge, written by Henry Vincent, was one of the most important texts within the teetotal Chartist movement. Vincent had been imprisoned for a year in Monmouth Gaol in August 1839 for attending a riotous assemblage in Newport, Wales – an event which played an important role in provoking the Newport rising in November 1839. His time in gaol seems to have further convinced him of the importance of temperance as a way to achieve the points of the charter, such that by 28 February 1840 he foresaw ‘a moral combination of the people that that will achieve our every desire.' Vincent was a committed teetotaller, having been abstinent from 1836. He believed that a drunkard could never be an effective radical campaigner and commented to a friend in late 1840 that ‘I am a real down, upright, slanting, and octagonal Tea-totaller.’ Henry Vincent wished to promote these beliefs within the wider Chartist movement. This led to him composing the teetotal pledge, which was first published on 28 November 1840. He begins the pledge by stating that he wishes to improve the condition of the working classes of Britain, and that he believes the most effective means of doing this is through the realisation of the six points of the People’s Charter. However, he goes onto say that this progress is being frustrated by ‘an invidious and powerful enemy – an enemy continuously weakening you, and adding to the strength of your profligate oppressors. That enemy is the love of intoxicating drinks.’ While the address does acknowledge that there are many social and structural issues which have caused the poverty of the working-classes which the Charter would address and remedy, it nevertheless asserts that ‘no state of freedom can improve the man who is the slave to his own vices.’ No matter how much political change occurs, should the working classes persist in degrading habits, no amount of legislation could improve their condition. The pledge then proceeds to outline some examples of individuals, families, and communities who have been impoverished due to alcohol. For example, Vincent describes the families of ‘skilled workmen, in London and other large towns, ragged, hungry, diseased, ignorant, and vicious’ due to excessive alcohol consumption; as well as other families reduced to ‘wants and rags by the insane habits of moderate drinking and smoking.’ Vincent ends the address with the rousing cry that ‘NO GOVERNMENT CAN LONG WITHSTAND THE JUST CLAIMS OF A PEOPLE WHO HAVE HAD THE COURAGE TO CONQUER THEIR OWN VICES.’ The pledge received much support from the time its publication in late 1840. It was reprinted in many regional newspapers throughout the country, evident in the different publications above; and was warmly received by many of the moral force chartists who thought that it supported their belief in political change through peaceful persuasion rather than violent insurrection. Furthermore, other articles were published praising and defending the principle expressed within the pledge, for example in the Scottish 'Chartist Circular' in January 1841. There were a number of reasons as to why Teetotalism was so popular during this period. The chartists had been preoccupied with the poverty of the working classes during this time due to poor economic circumstances, and many, especially Vincent, condemned alcohol for exacerbating the pre-exisiting poverty. Furthermore, many believed that teetotalism would encourage more support from elements of society who may previously have been wary of or indifferent to Chartism – such as the middle-classes and women. The Pledge can be found at the top of the fourth column in the Carlisle Journal, the top of the fifth column in the Reading Mercury, and halfway down the second column in the Shrewsbury chronicle.

Henry Hetherington (1792-1849) was a writer, publisher, and radical activist who played a prominent role within Chartism. He became involved in radical politics during the 1820s, joining radical political organisations, establishing a publishers to print pamphlets and texts, and becoming influenced by the political ideas of Robert Owen. He founded the very successful ‘Poor Man’s Guardian’ Newspaper in 1831 which campaigned against excessive government taxes upon publishing newspapers, claiming that it was a tax on knowledge. Moreover, he was a religious free-thinker and vehemently critical of religion and religious beliefs, this resulted in several prosecutions for blasphemy. He was a founding member of the London Working Men’s Association and was present at a meeting in February 1837 at the Crown and Anchor Tavern on the Strand which eventually led to the drafting the ‘People’s Charter’ – the foundational document of the Chartist movement. During the late 1830s and 1840s he was dedicated to realising the points of the charter through speaking, writing, and campaigning in favour of its implementation. He was sympathetic to the ‘moral force’ wing of the chartist movement who advocated campaigning for the Charter through peaceful methods of persuasion. This is in contrast to the ‘physical force’ chartists – those who wanted to campaign for the charter through both threats and acts of violence. An aspect of such moral force Chartism was a belief in self-help and the moral improvement of the working classes. Hetherington was therefore a signatory of The Teetotal Pledge, imploring them to abstain from alcohol due to its corrupting and degrading effects upon individuals. Moreover, he supported Lovett and Collins's plan for a national association that would be dedicated to educating the working classes. He defended these positions against criticisms from those who thought it divided the movement or detracted from the primary goals of Chartism – for example in the article above attacking Feargus O’Connor, published on 8 May 1841. While in his later years he began to focus on other campaigns such as Owenism and religious freethought, he remained a Chartist until the end of his life, establishing the (rather unsuccessful) ‘People’s Charter Union’ in 1848 a year before his death. In 1849 Hetherington fell ill following an outbreak of cholera in London. Ironically, his strong belief in teetotalism was ultimately the source of his final undoing. He refused to take any medicine to treat the illness, believing that his strict temperance would protect him from the disease. He died on 24 August 1849 aged 57. Before his death he wrote his ‘Last Will and Testament’, reaffirming his long-held atheism, Owenite political ideology, and insisting that his funeral be non-religious. He was buried the next day in Kensal Green cemetery in west London where two-thousand mourners attended. His Epitath reads as follows: HENRY HETHERINGTON DIED AUG. 24. 1849 THE POOR MAN’S GUARDIAN HIS VIEW OF TRUE RELIGION WAS THAT IT CONSISTED IN PROMOTING THE HAPPINESS OF EVERY HUMAN BEING IRRESPECTIVE OF CLASS, CREED, COUNTRY, OR COLOUR. ‘WE OUGHT TO ENDEAVOUR TO LEAVE THE WORLD BETTER THAN WE FOUND IT’

Following the failure of Chartist activism in 1839, most notably the Newport Rising, many Chartists were increasingly convinced that the most effective way of realising the Charter would be through ‘moral force’ – trying to attain political change through peaceful persuasion rather than violent insurrection. This gave rise to several sub-movements within Chartism, an example being the ‘New Move’, which emphasised the importance of the moral reform and improvement of the working classes as an essential precondition to realising the Charter. An important aspect of this new move was ‘Knowledge Chartism’ – the belief that the working classes ought to be sufficiently educated prior to receiving suffrage. This was advocated most notably by William Lovett and John Collins, who laid out their ideas and beliefs in a work they jointly wrote in Warwick Gaol (having both been imprisoned for Libel and Sedition following the Bull Ring riots in Birmingham in 1839), published in September 1840, entitled ‘CHARTISM; A NEW ORGANIZATION OF THE PEOPLE EMBRACING A PLAN FOR THE EDUCATION AND IMPROVEMENT OF THE PEOPLE POLITICALLY & SOCIALLY.’ In the preface to their work, they laid out their join conviction that the most effective way to achieve the points of the Charter would be ‘a peaceful combination of the millions, founding their hopes on the might and influence of intellectual and moral progress.’ They laid out plans for ‘The National Association for Promoting the Political and Social Improvement of the People.’ The aims of the organisation would be to unite all people who wanted to improve the condition of the people, encourage public support of the Charter, create schools to educate working class children, and to disseminate informative texts on philosophy, history, and sociology. Above can be seen a design for a district hall where such activities would take place, in which no alcohol would be permitted. They planned to fund this scheme by thousands of small donations from those who enlisted to join. However, when this method initially proved unsuccessful, Lovett increasingly sought support from sympathetic elements of the middle class – despite the fact that he was ideologically opposed to such help. Despite the high hopes of its founders and the membership of several high-profile Chartists such as Henry Vincent, James Watson, Richard Moore, and Richard Spurr, the organisation ultimately proved unsuccessful and failed to have a significant impact. Lovett and Collins barely received enough funds to open the National Hall in High Holborn in July 1842 and attracted very few working-class adherents. The localities were largely opposed to the ‘New Move’ and sympathetic to O’Connor’s subsequent condemnation of it as needlessly dividing the movement. Indeed, John Watkins, a middle-class Chartist, was so incensed by the scheme that he preached a sermon in 1841 calling for Lovett and other ‘New Movers’ to be assassinated. W.J. Linton, himself a member of the organisation, said of it that ‘after receiving a few hundred members, it dwindled into a debating club, and their hall became a dancing academy, let out occasionally for unobjectionable public meetings.’

Feargus O’Connor (1796-1855) was perhaps the most important and influential leader in the Chartist movement. He came from a prominent, radical, Irish Protestant family. His father, Roger O’Connor, was an Irish Nationalist who had been involved in the United Irishmen, while his brother, Francis, would become a general in Simon Bolivar’s army during the liberation of Latin America. He became involved in radical politics during the 1820s, eventually being elected to parliament in 1832 as a ‘repeal’ candidate – a supporter of Daniel O’Connell and the repeal of the Act of Union 1801 that united the Kingdoms of Ireland and Britain. He campaigned for factory reform, a repeal of the 1834 poor law amendment act, and other radical policies throughout the 1830s. However, he is best remembered for his role within Chartism. O’Connor was at the forefront of Chartism throughout its lifespan. Charismatic, confrontational, and controversial, he had the ability to command respect and support from many who listened to him – especially amongst the working classes. R.G. Gammage, an early historian of the Chartist movement writing in 1854, described him as ‘Upwards of six feet in height, stout and athletic, and…invested with a sort of aristocratic bearing, the sight of his person was calculated to inspire the masses with a solemn awe.’ It was even rumoured amongst his admirers that he was a descendent of the high kings of Ireland. He was an excellent public speaker and became a focal point of Chartism, establishing The Northern Star in 1837 which became the de facto voice of the movement. He was imprisoned in York Castle on 11 May 1840 after being found guilty of seditious libels published in The Northern Star in July 1839. Throughout his time in prison he nevertheless continued to influence the movement by smuggling letters to The Northern Star to be published. He was released from prison in 1841. Feargus O’Connor was profoundly opposed to the ‘New Move’ of Lovett and Vincent in 1840. O’Connor denounced the alliance of church, teetotal, knowledge, and household suffrage Chartism as ‘trick, farce, cheat, or humbug.’ This can be seen in the extract above from an article he wrote for The Northern Star published on 13 March 1841. Former Labour party leader Hugh Gaitskell attributed this opposition to the supposed fact that O’Connor ‘cared neither for education nor morals’ and it was therefore unsurprising that ‘having neither in great measure himself, he was not likely to wish to see them in others.’ However, such opposition was more likely tactical than based upon a dislike of such ideas per se. He feared that failure to sign up for the scheme may suggest that an individual was not worthy of receiving the vote, and that it unnecessarily divided the movement in factions. He was committed to maintaining unity of purpose within Chartism, and worried that such moves would distract from the primary aim of the movement – to realise the 6 points of the People’s Charter. He outlined his views in a famous attack on Lovett’s ‘National Association for the Moral, Social and Political Improvement of the People’ in The Northern Star on 3 April 1841 in his article ‘Knowledge Chartism, Christian Chartism, and Temperance Chartism’.

The Northern Star Newspaper was one of the most important focal points of the Chartist movement. It provided a forum through which many of its most prominent individuals could express their opinions and concerns and it commanded considerable authority among working class people across Britain who were grieved by rapid economic and social changes. It also provided a degree of continuity and unity to a movement that may otherwise have been merely a series of unconnected and intermittent bouts of popular discontent. The Northern Star was founded by Feargus O’Connor alongside printer and publisher Josiah Hobson, with its first edition being printed on 18 November 1837. It was named in honour of the newspaper of The Society of the United Irishmen who were involved in the Irish rebellion of 1798, and who O’Connor’s family had supported at the time. He saw it as providing a mouthpiece to voice the concerns of the working classes and campaign for radical political and social reform. However, many writers, both during the period and subsequent historians, have criticised O’Connor for using the Newspaper to impose his personal ascendency upon Chartism, establish a quasi-cult of personality, and sidelining other voices which dissented from his own. Indeed, the great Irish campaigner for Catholic Emancipation, Daniel O’Connell, commented in 1842 that, 'Upon my word, this paper of Feargus's is a literary curiosity… What a notion of the fellow to set up a newspaper praising himself!' Moreover, some saw it as excessively populist by too readily engaging in demagoguery and pandering to the prejudices of its readers, with fellow prominent chartist Francis Place complaining that it degraded the whole tone of the Radical Press. Notwithstanding these criticisms, The Northern Star experienced an unprecedented level of success for a radical newspaper. Following the publication of the People’s Charter in 1838 its popularity exploded. In April 1839 it enjoyed a weekly circulation of over 60,000 and a much larger number of readers – a fact unthinkable anywhere else in Europe! It continued to provide commentary, debate and news on the Chartist movement, and radical politics more generally, throughout the 1840s. However, its popularity declined alongside the fortunes of Chartism. With a weekly circulation of only 1,200 by the end of 1851, O’Connor sold the paper to George Julian Harney in April 1852. Harney merged it with The Friend of the People to form The Star of Freedom. Although Feargus O’Connor was personally sceptical of the ‘New Move’ in 1840, believing that it unnecessarily divided the movement when many Chartists began to promote self-help and moral improvement, The Northern Star was willing to publish articles – many of which were written by its working-class readers - promoting such ideas. This can be seen in John A. Lawson’s poem called ‘The Irish Exile’s address to his Country on hearing of the progress of Temperance.’ While another extract entitled ‘The Sin of Drunkenness’ describes the corrupting influence of alcohol on individuals. Both these pieces were published in The Northern Star on 28 November 1840, the same date as the publication of the 'Teetotal Pledge', which encouraged Chartists to abstain from alcohol.

On 28th November 1840 the Teetotal pledge was published in the Northern Star. It was written by Henry Vincent and was important in initiating the 'New Move' within the Chartist movement whereby many began to emphasise the importance of individual self-help and moral improvement as an essential precondition to realising the Charter. This resulted in the formation of several organisations to promote such ideas, especially in Scotland and the North of England. This can be seen in the article above from the Scottish paper ‘The Chartist Circular.’ The article praises the Teetotal Pledge as an ‘interesting and philanthropic address’ and, in solidarity with the pledge, also condemns the ‘pernicious use of inebriating drinks’ on the ‘physical, moral, and political wellbeing’ of the working classes. The article then proceeds to implore its readers to ‘dedicate this year [1841] to total abstinence,’ in order to further promote the chartist cause. 101 Scottish Chartists signed the pledge which can be seen at the bottom of the article.

William Lovett was the Secretary of the London Working Men's Association and the key author of the 'People's Charter.' When the first Chartist Convbention met in London in February 1839, Lovett was elected as its secretary. When the Convention moved to Birmingham in May the police tried to stop supporters meeting in Birmingham's Bull Ring, using heavy handed methods. When placards were produced by the convention deploring the activities of the police and accusing them of excessive and illegitimate force, Lovett (as Secretary) and John Collins (who had taken the placards to the printer) were arrested and sentenced to a year in prison for seditious libel - a charge that did not require that what they claimed was untrue, only that it was likely to bring the authorities into disrepute. On his release in July 1840, Lovett retired from politics but, with Collins and Henry Vincent, formed the National Association for Promoting the Political and Social Improvement of the People - an organisation devoted to the education of working people aimed at helping them to better themselves. The organisation lasted until 1857. Lovett's later life was spent as an impoverished bookseller.