This circular letter was signed by Samuel Nicholson and William Wood of the Manchester and Salford Trades Council. The Congress originally planned for May 1868, eventually took place 2-6 June 1868 at the Manchester Mechanics Institute. It was attended by 334 delegates representing 118,000 trade union members and including George Potter from London. The "Junta" appear to have regarded the proposed Trades Union Congress with disfavour, as a rival to their own authority: there is no reference to the Congress in the London Trades Council minutes and they sent no representative. The first Congress discussed the Royal Commission, the legal position of unions and plans for a second Congress, to be held in Birmingham.

Title	Circular calling the first Trades Union Congress, 1868
Maker	Manchester and Salford Trades Council
Production Date	1868
Format	Letter
Copyright	--
Holding Institution	TUC Library Collections, London Metropolitan University
Related Objects	--