John Doherty
John Doherty was an influential Irish labor reformer born around 1798, who significantly impacted the labor movement in 19th-century England. He began his career as a cotton spinner in Manchester after moving there in 1816, where he became involved in early union activities. His participation in the failed spinners' strike of 1818 led to a two-year prison sentence, but this experience galvanized his commitment to labor reform. Doherty played a key role in founding the Manchester Cotton Spinner's Union and published a journal to address union issues. Notably, he was instrumental in the establishment of the Grand General Union of All the Operative Spinner's of the United Kingdom in 1829 and the National Association for the Protection of Labour in 1830, advocating for workers' rights and child labor laws. Despite facing personal controversies and limited success in some of his efforts, Doherty's advocacy laid the groundwork for future reforms during the Industrial Revolution. He also contributed to promoting literacy and education in his community before passing away in 1854.
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John Doherty
- Born: c. 1798
- Birthplace: Buncrana, Ireland
- Died: April 15, 1854
- Place of death: Manchester, England
Biography
John Doherty was born in Ireland around the year 1798. As a youngster, he worked as a cotton spinner and took his craft to Manchester, England, in 1816. During the failed spinners’ strike of 1818, a workers’ union named the Philanthropic Society was formed, and this event helped shape Doherty’s lifelong struggle for labor reform. For his part in the spinners’ strike, he was sent to prison for two years beginning in 1819. Upon his release, Doherty wed a hatter named Laura in the early 1820’s and the couple had five children.
Due to his growing involvement in the union, he was elected secretary of the Manchester Cotton Spinner’s Union in 1828 and used his post to publish Returns of the Friendly Associated Cotton Spinner’s, a journal publicizing union issues. When the union was threatened by a splinter movement, his journal, The Conciliator, helped patch up the differences and prevent secession. A second strike failed because the small union did not have the necessary resources. Doherty realized that the only path to labor reform lay in creating a union for the entire United Kingdom, a goal that was realized with the formation of the Grand General Union of All the Operative Spinner’s of the United Kingdom in 1829.
Not stopping with the unification of spinners, Doherty also helped create the National Association for the Protection of Labour in 1830, and was secretary in its early days. Concern for all workers led him to lobby for child labor laws and to establish the Society for the Protection of Children Employed in Cotton Factories. Doherty’s child labor reform was used as a basis for future British reform laws enacted during the Industrial Revolution. Despite his ability to attain some of the reforms he sought, Doherty’s success was limited because of media scrutiny of his personal life, including at least one claim of spousal abuse.
Doherty’s literary accomplishments primarily exist within the labor journals he pioneered, but some of his pamphlets and letters have survived the test of time. Eventually, he became a printer and bookseller for The Poor Man’s Advocate in Manchester and encouraged literacy through education and reading rooms. He died in 1854.