The People’s History museum: a place where the past comes alive
- “A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots.” Marcus Gravey
- In the fourth and final instalment of our features on the People's History Museum, we present a video which looks into how far citizens' rights have progressed
The People’s History museum: a place where the past comes alive from Northern Quota on Vimeo.
To think about your future you must first know your past. You cannot build a house without a proper basis as well you cannot create your future without being aware of the past. History is a massive area which it cannot be absorbed so easily, but its importance and its power to make actions memorable it just keeps coming back again and again.
The prestigious People’s History Museum, being a national museum of democracy, offers insights on a time where equal rights were out of context. Located in Manchester since 1990 it gives as a comparison about how people's principles developed until the present day, honouring those who stood up bravely and fought for the ideas they believed in.
Pioneer of working-class radicalism, Henry “Orator" Hunt along with the Manchester Patriotic Union, organised a demonstration at St. Peter’s Field due to the pressure generated by poor economic conditions. Cavalry was called upon the crowd, where 15 people died and 700 were injured in the Peterloo Massacre.
We were given the chance to take a tour of the museum, realising the impact of our ancestor’s decision in our present and future. A time map was revealed to us showing how Chartism changed over time.
The People’s History museum is the place where the past comes alive, where you realise that the present is shaped because of people’s bravery. It teaches us not to take everything for granted and specially to fight for our future.
They sacrificed themselves; it’s time to do the same, in our own manner.