Manhood Suffrage League

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Manhood Suffrage League
SecretaryWilliam Morgan
(1874-1875)
Frank Kitz
(1875-1877)
Maltman Barry
(1877-1878)
Founded1874 (1874)
Dissolved1881 (1881)
Preceded byReform League
Succeeded bySocial Democratic Federation
IdeologyRadicalism
Later:
Socialism
Political positionLeft-wing
  • Politics of United Kingdom
  • Political parties
  • Elections

The Manhood Suffrage League was a nineteenth-century ultra-radical and, later, socialist club.

The organisation was founded in 1874 as the Democratic and Trades Alliance Association.[1] Most of its initial members were tailors or shoemakers based in Soho, many had been active Chartists and, later, supporters of James Bronterre O'Brien, and almost all were active in the First International. They included Maltman Barry, Johann Eccarius, Robert Gammage, John Bedford Leno, Charles Murray, , , and .[2][3]

In 1875, the club renamed itself as the "Manhood Suffrage League",[1] taking its name from the northern section of the Reform League. Around this time, Frank Kitz came into contact with the group.

In 1877, Maltman Barry, by then the club's secretary, became an outspoken supporter of the Tory campaign to intervene in the Russo-Turkish War. Much of the group objected to this, and the organisation ceased to function by the end of the year.[3] However, it subsequently revived, and by the early 1880s, it had become more interested in socialism. The group became influential in the and the . League members Murray, and James MacDonald all subsequently became leading figures in the Social Democratic Federation.[4]

References[]

  1. ^ a b "Lane, Joseph (1851-1920)". Encyclopedia of Marxism. Glossary of People. Marxist Internet Archive. Retrieved 25 August 2021.
  2. ^ Thompson, E. P. (1976) [1955]. William Morris: Romantic to Revolutionary. New York: Pantheon Books. pp. 281–282. ISBN 0394733207. OCLC 1127689439.
  3. ^ a b Laity, Paul (2002) [1995]. The British Peace Movement, 1870-1914. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 71. ISBN 9781280446740. OCLC 1078692704.
  4. ^ Crick, Martin (1994). The history of the Social-Democratic Federation. Keele: Ryburn Publishing. pp. 20–21. ISBN 1853310913. OCLC 315967820.
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