British society in 1815 was under radical change. The industrial revolution had meant that urbanisation was taking place. Badly designed and polluted cities were populated by millions of poor factory workers that lived in crowded and squalid conditions. Many writers and poets of the time recognised the harsh lives that the working class had to live in. Many writings of the time comment on the civil unrest and the affect that the rapid growth of industry was having on the working class.

The unhappiness felt by the working class manifested itself into many well-known examples of the disillusionment felt towards the government. The Radical party was seen as the voice of the people for this period of unrest. Famous leaders such as Major John Cartwright created debating clubs all over Britain to give the working class a voice. Henry Hunt gained a re

putation as a good public speaker and began to attract huge crowds. The Radical press was begun with magazines such as Black Dwarf and newspapers like the Political Register.

Both Lord Liverpool and Lord Sidmouth had lived through the French revolution and thus could see the affects that a revolution could have on a country. This fear would drive the government to employ many varied measures to control the disturbances.

Movements like Luddism and events like the Spa Fields Riots caused great concern in the government. Lord Liverpool was expected by his party to protect their interests. As most of the Tory party and most of its followers were aristocrats, Lord Liverpool came under immense pressure to be seen to be taking firm action against the disillusioned citizens of Britain. Lord Liverpool had appointed lord Sidmouth as home secretary, a fact that undoubtedly influenced the reaction of the government to the disturbances. Lord Sidmouth wanted harsh punishment against those that broke the law and would have pressurised Lord Liverpool to react swiftly and harshly to the disturbances.

The government also brought in the Six Acts in 1819 in response to the Peterloo massacre. They included attempts to restrict the Radical press. The acts were a very specific reaction to the dangerous situation developing.

The seditious Meetings Act was passed in March of 1817 and outlawed any meeting with

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Approximate Word count = 947
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)