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Great Britain 1824

Synopsis

The English Combination Acts forbade workers to organize for the purpose of obtaining higher wages or controlling work-place conditions. The acts were repealed in 1824 as the result of a campaign led by the radical London tailor and political agitator Francis Place and the radical member of Parliament (MP) Joseph Hume. The social basis of the campaign was the skilled artisan class, particularly in London, rather than factory workers or laborers. A wave of strikes following repeal aroused organized opposition from manufacturers, and a new version of the Combination Act was passed in 1825. The new act, although it severely restricted the activities permitted to workers' groups, did allow trade unions a legal existence.

Timeline

• 1800: The United States moves its federal government to Washington, D.C.
• 1805: Napoleon defeats a combined Austrian and Russian...