Peterloo to the Pankhursts: Radicalism and Reform in the 19th Century

Discover the history of the struggle for rights and representation

16 August 2019 marked the bicentenary of the Peterloo Massacre, a key milestone in the campaign to reform Parliament in the 19th century, and an important part of Britain’s democratic heritage and history.

On this course, you will understand this event within a wider context of radicalism and reform over the 19th century.

You will start the course charting the charged political climate resulting from the American and French revolutions in the 18th century and conclude the course by examining the campaign for universal men’s and women’s suffrage in the early years of the 20th century.

This course is for anyone with an interest in political and social history, including the history of British Parliament, trade unionism and the labour movement.

This course is for anyone with an interest in political and social history, including the history of British Parliament, trade unionism and the labour movement.

• Improve your understanding of key milestones in the extension of citizens' rights and representation in the nineteenth century.
• Explore the origins and path of the course of Parliamentary reform from the impact of the American and French Revolutions to the First World War.
• Reflect upon and debate the role of popular protest in effecting political change.
• Improve your understanding of the development of workers' rights and the emergence of modern trade unionism and the Labour Party.
• Compare the responses of the Liberal and Conservative parties to calls for universal suffrage and the emergence of mass politics.