A study in British Trade Union history. Attempts at ‘General Union’ 1829—1834

Abstract

The best-known episode in the early history of Britsh Trade Unionism is the dramatic rise and fall of the Grand National Consolidated Trades Union in 1833—1834. Robert Owen's sudden emergence as the leader of a mass movement reported to number a million adherents, the trial and transportation of the unfortunate ‘Tolpuddle Martyrs’ for the crime of administering unlawful oaths, the presentation of the ‘document’ demanding renunciation of Trade Union membership by masters in many parts of the country, and the complete eclipse of the Grand National within a year of its first foundation, make a story which has been told many times with effect, and does not need telling over again. But though this particular story is well-known, there is a good deal that remains obscure in Trade Union history both during this critical year and, still more, during the few previous years when the idea of an all-embracing ‘General Union of Trades’ was taking hold of one section after another of the British working classes.