Assessment of British radicalism during the period 1784 to 1815

Type :

Term papers

Pages :

5 pages

Format :

.doc

Published date :

08/11/2009

Category :

History & geography

Sub category :

Modern history

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Summary :

Introduction
Efforts to avoid pedantry
Organic parliamentary and religious reform
The radical movement and the reforming element in the revolution
The relationship between 'the polity' and the radicals after 1789
1. The Radical Movement as the 1790's progressed
The period from 1784 to 1815
1. Diviosin into two parts
2. The most important change during this period
3. The marginalization of radicalism after 1803
Conclusion
Bibliography

Abstract

The assertion that the radical movement was never anything more than a "marginal phenomenon in a broadly reforming polity" is certainly bold; it is easy enough to pick holes in such statements when they are removed from their context and surrounding qualifications. Bearing this in mind, this essay will aim to avoid pedantry, instead taking a broader interpretation of the general argument that the statement points towards. In so doing, it will show that it contains more than a grain of truth, but that equally there is much more to the story than it suggests.

Efforts to avoid pedantry notwithstanding, some analysis of the meaning of the statement are necessary simply because it is so multifaceted. It is easy enough to pick a few key points in the period and assess whether, at these points, the british polity was "broadly reforming" and the Radical movement "marginal". In summing these up, it is possible to pronounce whether the general trend conforms to that described in the statement, or not. This will, indeed, be the main approach of this essay.