James Bronterre O'Brien
Encyclopedia
James Bronterre O'Brien (1805 – 23 December 1864) was an Irish
Chartist
leader, reformer
and journalist
.
, County Longford
, Ireland
in 1804 or 1805. O'Brien went to a local church school but one of his teachers recognised his intellectual abilities and arranged for him to be educated at the progressive Lovell Edgeworth School. In 1822 he proceeded to Trinity College, Dublin
, where he won several academic prizes including the Science Gold Medal. After studying law
at King's Inns
, O'Brien moved to England
in 1829 with the intention of becoming a lawyer
in London
.
, William Cobbett
, Henry Hetherington
and other leaders of the struggle for universal suffrage
. In 1836 he joined the London Working Men's Association
.
O'Brien began contributing articles to Henry Hetherington's Poor Man's Guardian. He signed these articles with the pseudonym 'Bronterre' and James O'Brien eventually adopted it as his middle name. He worked very closely with Hetherington and when he was imprisoned for publishing an unstamped newspaper, O'Brien took over the editorship of the Poor Man's Guardian. O'Brien and Hetherington also collaborated on other unstamped newspapers such as The Destructive and the London Dispatch. In 1837 O'Brien began publishing Bronterre's National Reformer. In an attempt to avoid paying stamp duty, the journal included essays rather than 'news items'. During this period, Henry Hetherington and O'Brien led the struggle against the stamp duty and were consistent in their arguments that working people needed cheap newspapers that contained political information.
O'Brien was influenced by the socialist writer, Gracchus Babeuf, who had been executed during the French Revolution
. In 1836 O'Brien began publishing translations of Babeuf's work in the Poor Man's Guardian. He also included Filippo Buonarroti
's account of Babeuf and the Conspiracy of Equals. O'Brien became fascinated with the history of radicalism
and began work on books on the French Revolution
and the English Commonwealth. However, the authorities raided his house in 1838 and seized his manuscripts and the projects were never completed.
In 1838 O'Brien added his support for a more militant approach to winning the vote that was being advocated by Feargus O'Connor
and George Julian Harney
through the London Democratic Association
. However, O'Brien, unlike O'Connor, refused to support the use of violence to achieving universal suffrage. O'Brien argued that the Chartists should adopt a policy that was midway between the petitioning supported by William Lovett
and the Moral Force Chartists, and the violence being threatened by O'Connor's Physical Force group.
After Bronterre's National Reformer ceased publication, O'Brien worked for O'Connor's Northern Star
. His articles played an important role in increasing the circulation of what had become the most important of the radical newspapers. As well as writing for the Northern Star, James O'Brien also found time to publish his own newspaper The Operative.
. He was convicted of sedition
and sentenced to eighteen months in Lancaster
Prison. When O'Brien was released from prison he found it difficult to continue working with Feargus O'Connor. The two men disagreed over the issue of Physical Force. Another source of dispute concerned parliamentary elections. O'Brien favoured the idea of putting up Chartist candidates whereas O'Connor preferred the tactic of putting pressure on the Whig government by threatening to vote for Tory candidates. O'Brien was involved in standing Chartist candidates against Government Ministers in key seats, particularly in standing against Lord Palmerston
in Tiverton.
O'Brien finally broke with O'Connor when along with Henry Vincent
and Robert Gammage he joined the Complete Suffrage Union. O'Brien continued to publish newspapers. He joined with his old friend Henry Hetherington to revive the Poor Man's Guardian in 1843 and this was followed by the National Reformer in 1844. These newspapers were not a financial success and by May, 1847, both papers had ceased publication.
After the failure of these two newspapers O'Brien concentrated on writing for other publications such as Reynold's Weekly and the Glasgow Sentinel. He also gave public lectures and in 1851 he opened the Eclectic Institute in Denmark Street, Soho
, London
, where adult education classes were offered in English, French, science and mathematics.
.
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
Chartist
Chartism
Chartism was a movement for political and social reform in the United Kingdom during the mid-19th century, between 1838 and 1859. It takes its name from the People's Charter of 1838. Chartism was possibly the first mass working class labour movement in the world...
leader, reformer
Reform
Reform means to put or change into an improved form or condition; to amend or improve by change of color or removal of faults or abuses, beneficial change, more specifically, reversion to a pure original state, to repair, restore or to correct....
and journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
.
Irish Birth & Formative Years
James O'Brien, was born near GranardGranard
Granard is a town in the north of County Longford, Ireland and has a traceable history going back to 236 A.D.. It is situated just south of the boundary between the watersheds of the Shannon and the Erne, at the point where the N55 national secondary road and the R194 regional road...
, County Longford
County Longford
County Longford is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Midlands Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Longford.Longford County Council is the local authority for the county...
, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
in 1804 or 1805. O'Brien went to a local church school but one of his teachers recognised his intellectual abilities and arranged for him to be educated at the progressive Lovell Edgeworth School. In 1822 he proceeded to Trinity College, Dublin
Trinity College, Dublin
Trinity College, Dublin , formally known as the College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, was founded in 1592 by letters patent from Queen Elizabeth I as the "mother of a university", Extracts from Letters Patent of Elizabeth I, 1592: "...we...found and...
, where he won several academic prizes including the Science Gold Medal. After studying law
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
at King's Inns
King's Inns
The Honorable Society of King's Inns , is the institution which controls the entry of barristers-at-law into the justice system of Ireland...
, O'Brien moved to England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
in 1829 with the intention of becoming a lawyer
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.
Political Awakening & Activism
In London he joined the Radical Reform Association where he met Henry HuntHenry Hunt
Henry Hunt may refer to:*Henry Hunt , British politician*Henry Jackson Hunt , American Civil War General*Henry Ambrose Hunt , British meteorologist...
, William Cobbett
William Cobbett
William Cobbett was an English pamphleteer, farmer and journalist, who was born in Farnham, Surrey. He believed that reforming Parliament and abolishing the rotten boroughs would help to end the poverty of farm labourers, and he attacked the borough-mongers, sinecurists and "tax-eaters" relentlessly...
, Henry Hetherington
Henry Hetherington
Henry Hetherington was a leading British Chartist.- Early years :Henry Hetherington was the son of a London tailor, John Hetherington , and was born on 17 June 1792, at 16 Compton Street, Soho, London...
and other leaders of the struggle for universal suffrage
Universal suffrage
Universal suffrage consists of the extension of the right to vote to adult citizens as a whole, though it may also mean extending said right to minors and non-citizens...
. In 1836 he joined the London Working Men's Association
London Working Men's Association
The London Working Men's Association was an organization established in London in 1836. It was one of the foundations of Chartism. The founders were William Lovett, Francis Place and Henry Hetherington. They appealed to skilled workers rather than the mass of unskilled factory labourers...
.
O'Brien began contributing articles to Henry Hetherington's Poor Man's Guardian. He signed these articles with the pseudonym 'Bronterre' and James O'Brien eventually adopted it as his middle name. He worked very closely with Hetherington and when he was imprisoned for publishing an unstamped newspaper, O'Brien took over the editorship of the Poor Man's Guardian. O'Brien and Hetherington also collaborated on other unstamped newspapers such as The Destructive and the London Dispatch. In 1837 O'Brien began publishing Bronterre's National Reformer. In an attempt to avoid paying stamp duty, the journal included essays rather than 'news items'. During this period, Henry Hetherington and O'Brien led the struggle against the stamp duty and were consistent in their arguments that working people needed cheap newspapers that contained political information.
O'Brien was influenced by the socialist writer, Gracchus Babeuf, who had been executed during the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
. In 1836 O'Brien began publishing translations of Babeuf's work in the Poor Man's Guardian. He also included Filippo Buonarroti
Filippo Buonarroti
Filippo Buonarroti , the great-grandnephew of Michelangelo Buonarroti, was a Florentine official at the court of Cosimo III, Grand Duke of Tuscany and an antiquarian, whose Etruscan studies, among the earliest in that field, inspired Antonio Francesco Gori...
's account of Babeuf and the Conspiracy of Equals. O'Brien became fascinated with the history of radicalism
Political radicalism
The term political radicalism denotes political principles focused on altering social structures through revolutionary means and changing value systems in fundamental ways...
and began work on books on the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
and the English Commonwealth. However, the authorities raided his house in 1838 and seized his manuscripts and the projects were never completed.
In 1838 O'Brien added his support for a more militant approach to winning the vote that was being advocated by Feargus O'Connor
Feargus O'Connor
Feargus Edward O'Connor was an Irish Chartist leader and advocate of the Land Plan.- Background :Feargus O'Connor was born into a prominent Irish Protestant family, the son of Irish Nationalist politician Roger O'Connor...
and George Julian Harney
George Julian Harney
George Julian Harney was a British political activist, journalist, and Chartist leader. He was also associated with Marxism, socialism, and universal suffrage.-Early life:...
through the London Democratic Association
London Democratic Association
The East London Democratic Association was founded in January 1837 by George Julian Harney in opposition to the LWMA, later supported by James Bronterre O'Brien and Feargus O'Connor. In April 1838 ELDA was reconstituted as the London Democratic Association with an eight point resolution covering...
. However, O'Brien, unlike O'Connor, refused to support the use of violence to achieving universal suffrage. O'Brien argued that the Chartists should adopt a policy that was midway between the petitioning supported by William Lovett
William Lovett
William Lovett was a British activist who was a leader of the political movement Chartism as well as one of the leading London-based Artisan Radicals of his generation....
and the Moral Force Chartists, and the violence being threatened by O'Connor's Physical Force group.
After Bronterre's National Reformer ceased publication, O'Brien worked for O'Connor's Northern Star
Northern Star (chartist newspaper)
The Northern Star and Leeds General Advertiser was a chartist newspaper published in the United Kingdom between 1837 and 1852.-Foundation:Feargus O'Connor, a former Irish MP forging a career in English radical politics, decided to establish a weekly newspaper in 1837...
. His articles played an important role in increasing the circulation of what had become the most important of the radical newspapers. As well as writing for the Northern Star, James O'Brien also found time to publish his own newspaper The Operative.
Turning Point
O'Brien continued to be active in the Chartist movement and in 1840 he was arrested and charged with making a seditious speech in ManchesterManchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
. He was convicted of sedition
Sedition
In law, sedition is overt conduct, such as speech and organization, that is deemed by the legal authority to tend toward insurrection against the established order. Sedition often includes subversion of a constitution and incitement of discontent to lawful authority. Sedition may include any...
and sentenced to eighteen months in Lancaster
Lancaster, Lancashire
Lancaster is the county town of Lancashire, England. It is situated on the River Lune and has a population of 45,952. Lancaster is a constituent settlement of the wider City of Lancaster, local government district which has a population of 133,914 and encompasses several outlying towns, including...
Prison. When O'Brien was released from prison he found it difficult to continue working with Feargus O'Connor. The two men disagreed over the issue of Physical Force. Another source of dispute concerned parliamentary elections. O'Brien favoured the idea of putting up Chartist candidates whereas O'Connor preferred the tactic of putting pressure on the Whig government by threatening to vote for Tory candidates. O'Brien was involved in standing Chartist candidates against Government Ministers in key seats, particularly in standing against Lord Palmerston
Henry Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston
Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston, KG, GCB, PC , known popularly as Lord Palmerston, was a British statesman who served twice as Prime Minister in the mid-19th century...
in Tiverton.
O'Brien finally broke with O'Connor when along with Henry Vincent
Henry Vincent
Henry Vincent was active in the formation of early Working Men's Associations in Britain, a popular Chartist leader, brilliant and gifted public orator, prospective but ultimately unsuccessful Victorian MP, and later an anti-slavery campaigner.- Early life :Henry Vincent was born in High Holborn,...
and Robert Gammage he joined the Complete Suffrage Union. O'Brien continued to publish newspapers. He joined with his old friend Henry Hetherington to revive the Poor Man's Guardian in 1843 and this was followed by the National Reformer in 1844. These newspapers were not a financial success and by May, 1847, both papers had ceased publication.
After the failure of these two newspapers O'Brien concentrated on writing for other publications such as Reynold's Weekly and the Glasgow Sentinel. He also gave public lectures and in 1851 he opened the Eclectic Institute in Denmark Street, Soho
Soho
Soho is an area of the City of Westminster and part of the West End of London. Long established as an entertainment district, for much of the 20th century Soho had a reputation for sex shops as well as night life and film industry. Since the early 1980s, the area has undergone considerable...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, where adult education classes were offered in English, French, science and mathematics.
Decline & Demise
By the 1850s O'Brien's poverty began to damage his health. He suffered from bronchitis and his Chartist friends attempted to raise money in recognition of the great sacrifices that he had made in the struggle to win universal suffrage and the freedom of the press. However, the damage to his health was so bad that he spent his last years bed-ridden. James Bronterre O'Brien died on 23 December 1864, and is buried in Abney Park CemeteryAbney Park Cemetery
Abney Park in Stoke Newington, in the London Borough of Hackney, is a historic parkland originally laid out in the early 18th century by Lady Mary Abney and Dr. Isaac Watts, and the neighbouring Hartopp family. In 1840 it became a non-denominational garden cemetery, semi-public park arboretum, and...
.