'A gigantic scheme of co-operation': The Miners' and Seamen's United Association in the North-East, 1851-1854

Author: Flanagan, John¹

Source: Labour History Review, Volume 74, Number 2, August 2009 , pp. 143-159(17)

Publisher: Maney Publishing

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Abstract:

This article discusses the nature and extent of collaboration between two labour unions in the North-East which was aimed at establishing a permanent alliance in order to further perceived joint aims. Chartist-inspired, if not formally aligned to the movement, the proposed union was very much in tune with the principles of the 'Charter and Something More' espoused by G. J. Harney in 1851. Moreover, the leadership of the joint union saw that working-class solidarity was an important long-term aim and in that sense the organization anticipated the kind of affiliative strategies promoted by the Labour Parliament of 1854. This article proposes that the fragmentation of Chartism was an experience mirrored by the miners' and seamen's movement. The problems of maintaining mass support from an industry in which trade unionists were unwelcome, as well as differences over tactical aims, proved impossible to overcome.

Keywords: LABOUR; MINERS; SAILORS; SEAMEN; UNIONS; CHARTIST; CHARTISM; NORTH-EAST ENGLAND

Document Type: Research article

DOI: 10.1179/174581809X451863

Affiliations: 1: Newcastle University, UK

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