Jeremiah Yates facts for kids

Jeremiah Yates was an important English potter and a strong supporter of a movement called Chartism. This movement worked to get more political rights for working people in the 1800s. Jeremiah even spent a year in prison because he helped organize workers during a big strike in 1842.

He was born in 1810 in Fenton, Staffordshire, England. This area was known as the Staffordshire Potteries because of its many pottery factories. When he married Ann Smith in 1837, he moved to Hanley.

Jeremiah was a potter by trade. He also owned a coffee house and a temperance hotel. He ran these businesses with his wife from their home. A temperance hotel was a place where no alcohol was served.

What was Chartism?

In the late 1830s, Jeremiah Yates became very involved in Chartism. This was a movement that started in 1836. Its main goal was to give working-class people more power and a say in how the country was run.

Why Chartism Grew

At that time, most people in Britain could not vote. Only about 18% of adult men had the right to vote. This was after the 1832 Reform Act which did not help many working people. There was also a lot of poverty and many people did not have jobs.

A law called the 1834 Poor Law Amendment made things even harder. It meant poor people could not get help unless they went to a workhouses. In workhouses, families were often separated. These unfair conditions made many people support the Chartist movement. It became very popular, especially in the north of England.

Jeremiah Yates strongly believed in the Chartist cause. He went to many meetings and sold Chartist books and newspapers from his coffee house. He even named his first son after famous working-class heroes.

The People's Charter

In 1839, the Chartists sent a formal petition to the British Parliament. This petition was called the People’s Charter. It had six main demands:

• All men (over 21) should be able to vote.
• Voting should be secret.
• People should not need to own property to become a Member of Parliament (MP).
• MPs should be paid for their work.
• Voting areas should be equal in size.
• Parliament elections should happen every year.

Even though 1.25 million people signed this petition, Parliament rejected it. In 1842, another petition with over 3.3 million signatures was also rejected.

Jeremiah Yates and the 1842 Strikes

When Parliament rejected the People's Charter again in 1842, people were very upset. There was also a lot of unemployment and low wages. This led to many strikes across Britain. These strikes are known as the 1842 General Strike.

The strikes were very serious in the Staffordshire Potteries. Coal miners started striking in June 1842 because their pay was cut. By the end of July, strikes were happening everywhere in North Staffordshire.

The Chartists supported these strikes. They called for a general strike across the Potteries. On August 15, Chartists held a big meeting in Hanley. Thousands of people were there. After a speech, they decided that all work should stop. They wanted this to happen "until the People's Charter becomes the law of the land."

Jeremiah Yates was part of a group that left the meeting to convince others to join the strike. A witness at his trial said that Jeremiah led about 200 men to a factory. They stopped the workers there and took them away.

Facing Legal Trouble

Jeremiah was arrested six days later, on August 21. In October 1842, he was found responsible for causing trouble and stopping people from working. He was given a one-year prison sentence. He served his time at Millbank prison in London.

Jeremiah's sentence was not as harsh as some others. His actions were mostly peaceful. However, some people involved in the strikes caused damage to property. Troops were brought in to stop the strikes. In one event, they fired on strikers, and some people were hurt or killed. After the strikes, many people faced trials. A large number were sent to prison, and some were even sent to Australia.

Life After Prison

Jeremiah was released from prison in October 1843. He could not get his old job back at the pottery factory. Employers were very against the Chartists.

Despite this, Jeremiah remained active in the Chartist movement. He held meetings at his Temperance hotel. He also campaigned for other Chartist prisoners to be released. He led meetings against new laws that he felt were unfair to workers.

In 1845, he became a delegate for Chartist conferences. He also managed to get a job as an assistant surveyor of highways for Shelton.

Jeremiah Yates passed away on October 11, 1852, at the age of 42. He was buried in St. Mark's, Shelton Parish Church. Many friends and people from the community attended his funeral.