How significant was O'Connor's leadership in the failure of Chartism?

... Kate McPherson How significant was O'Connor's leadership in the failure of Chartism? (1,163 words) It can be argued that O'Connor was the main cause of Chartism's failure. When he became active in the Chartist movement, he became critical of leaders such as William Lovett and Henry Hetherington who believed in moral force. At a speech held in Manchester on 29th September 1839, he promised his people he would lead them to "death or glory", and proposed violent action if Parliament did not grant them the six points of the Charter. These speeches outraged leaders such as Lovett, so he was excluded from the platform of a mass meeting which had been organised by the London Working Men's Association. His speeches and newspaper articles became more threatening so was blamed by the moral force to have caused the failure of The Newport Rising on 4th November 1839. By May 1847, O'Connor had persuaded over 70,000

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