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On this day, 7 August 1842, a mass meeting of 18,000 workers took place in the UK, organised by the Chartist movement.
They decided to call a general strike beginning the following day, demanding universal male suffrage, and opposing pay cuts.
The strikes began and spread rapidly around the country, to towns including Manchester, Burnley, Preston, Macclesfield, Oldham, Wigan, and many more.
Workers set up “committees of public safety” which coordinated action and gave permission for essential services to operate, such as water pumps which were needed to prevent coalmines from flooding.
By late September, up to half a million workers had taken part in the strike.
Troops were sent against the workers, and opened fire in towns including Halifax, Skipton, and Preston, while large numbers of strike leaders were arrested, and the strike began to falter.
The final remaining strikers returned to work by the end of September. While voting rights weren't achieved, a number of groups of workers were successful in reducing or reversing proposed pay cuts.
More information, sources and map: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/10685/chartist-mass-meeting
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