Social Movements

Historical movements that have ended, how they won over bystanders and kept going, and where named scholars still disagree about why they rose or failed.

Social Movements

Chartist Movement: 5.7M Signatures Claimed, 1.98M Reported

A Commons report says Feargus O’Connor announced 5,706,000 Chartist signatures in 1848. It counted 1,975,496, and he rejected that count the same day.

11 Nov 2026

Image credit
"The Chartist meeting on Kennington Common, 1848" by Unknown author — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Image_taken_from_page_944_of_%27Old_and_New_London,_etc%27_(11192221776).jpg — Public domain — Public domain in the US (published before 1931) and in the EU (unsigned illustration published 1873 to 1878, 70 years passed)
Social Movements

Luddites: Their Song Named Wide Frames, Not All Machines

In Nottinghamshire in 1812 a Luddite song aimed at wide frames and frames that cut prices. An owner at Lenton said five full-price frames were broken anyway.

11 Nov 2026

Image credit
Illustration: Persuasion Dissected. Generated schematic illustration — not a photograph or historical record. Reuse: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), to the extent any rights exist.
Social Movements

Montgomery Bus Boycott: 381 Days if Counted From December 5

The boycott ran 381 days by this site’s count, 5 December 1955 to 20 December 1956, ending 37 days after the Supreme Court affirmed, per the Park Service.

11 Nov 2026

Image credit
Illustration: Persuasion Dissected. Generated schematic illustration — not a photograph or historical record. Reuse: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), to the extent any rights exist.

Chartist Movement: 5.7M Signatures Claimed, 1.98M Reported

Luddites: Their Song Named Wide Frames, Not All Machines

Montgomery Bus Boycott: 381 Days if Counted From December 5