Question 1
Using these four sources in their historical context, assess how far they support the view that the main reason for the ineffectiveness of strikes was the lack of support for the trade union organising
the action.
Source A: A leading figure in the formation of early trade unions presents evidence to the Select Committee on Combinations.
Men are reluctant to take part in a strike. They fear the loss of employment, for a time at any rate, and the probable consequence of their ultimate discharge and their entire loss of employment. Also, if they take an active part, they fear endless unceasing persecution. Not only will they be kept out of employment by the master they have left but by all the other masters who will turn against them. There is a great reluctance by workmen to take part in a strike for fear of what it brings upon their wives and families.
John Doherty, testimony, 1838
Source B: A Norwich manufacturer, before the Assistant Commissioners on the Handloom Weavers, recounts the experience of handloom weavers he employed who went on strike.
I found my weavers starving after several weeks on the 3 shillings per week provided by the union, when they might have been earning at least five times as much. Many of them applied to me for work. I told them I should give them none unless they went publically to the magistrates stating that they were willing to be employed on my terms. They at once complied with these conditions and an additional police force was engaged to guard both day and night the houses of those who might take work. Some weavers have asked me for work on even lower wages than I am paying.
Mr Robberds, testimony, 22 September 1838
Source C: A contemporary comments on the nature of the four months’ strike in the Northumberland and Durham coalfield organised by the Miners Association.
There was a strong element of religion in the strike, on the side of the men. Many of the local Primitive Methodist preachers were its most active supporters. Prayers for its success were offered up in the chapels. It was not uncommon for those involved to plead for the assistance of the Almighty. In particular, they prayed that the non-union men who were brought from a distance, many of them Welsh and Irish, to work in a colliery – the ‘blacklegs’ as they were called – might be injured.
An observer, diary, 1844
Source D: A Manchester cotton manufacturer reflects on the difficulties faced by unions in organising strike action.
The strike is very weak when there are workers outside the Union, or when members separate from it for the sake of the momentary advantage offered by the bourgeoisie. These black sheep (who are known as knobsticks) render fruitless the efforts of the united workers. Knobsticks are usually threatened, insulted, beaten or otherwise maltreated by the members of the Union. Persecution follows, and as the law-abiding bourgeoisie has the law in its own hands, the force of the Union is broken almost every time by the first unlawful act. The history of these unions is a long series of defeats of working-men, interrupted by a few isolated victories.
Friedrich Engels, The Conditions of the Working Class in England, 1844
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