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What was the impact of the French Revolution on British society?

Initial Reaction from Political LeadersThe early French Revolution appeared to stand for

constitutional monarchy and a few extended rights. Many in Britain therefore offered it cautious approval

The Whig leader Fox declared; ‘ How much the greatest event it is that ever happened in the world’ as it seemed to chime with Whig beliefs

Pitt offered a more cautious welcome as he didn’t want to see anything that would disrupt his improved relations and trade agreements with France

One member of the elite, Edmund Burke, was fiercely opposed to the Revolution from the outset

‘I already heard the fall of civilisation in the falling stones of the Bastille’

Early Reaction Outside ParliamentOne group who actively and enthusiastically

welcomed the French revolution was the Protestant Dissenters led by Dr Price a Methodist minister

The French Revolutionaries had issued the ‘Declaration of the Rights of Man’ in 1789 calling for religious freedom, tolerance and equality. This naturally appealed to minority religious groups in Britain like the Dissenters who did not yet have equal rights

Dr Price made a series of stirring sermons in favour of the revolution and ‘natural rights’ which were soon published and widely distributed.

Response to PriceThe response to price came very quickly

from Edmund Burke who was horrified by Price’s sermons and the fact that they were winning support from some of the educated poor.

Burke published his ‘Reflections on the Revolution in France’ in 1790 predicting that revolution could only results in anarchy, violence, war and dictatorship (quite prophetic)

Burke’s ArgumentsBurke rejected the French revolutionary idea of freedoms arguing that

real freedoms are handed down to us by previous generations and that it is our duty to pass them on to the next without destroying them

Burke identified British freedoms to be, an inheritable crown, an inheritable peerage, and a Commons and voting system which though illogical had ‘evolved’ to best suit the needs of the people.

Burke argued that people had no right to ‘unmake’ systems of government which had taken generations to perfect

Burke predicted that any attempt to break the line of inheritance from the past would result in barbarism, violence, an attack on religion anarchy, war and dictatorship;

‘In the absence of authority some popular general shall draw the eyes of all unto himself and become master of assembly, king and Republic’

Burke’s ideas became the cornerstone of much Conservative thinking from this point on.

Tom PaineTom Paine offered a radical response to

Burke. In his ‘The Rights of Man’ published in 2 volumes 1790 and 1792

Tom Paine spread the appeal of revolutionary ideas to ordinary working men.

He was an English Quaker who had emigrated and actively fought on the American side in the American War of independence. On his return to Britain he had become well connected in Whig circles.

Paine’s IdeasEach generation can either accept or reject the ideas and

systems they inherit from the past, and the French had a right to revolt.

People have natural unalienable rights whether they have been able to secure them are not – life, liberty, and estate

The best system to ensure peoples natural rights is democracy

Britain should abolish the monarch, the peerage and set up as a democratic republic

Britain should ally with France, reduce spending on armed forces and instead spend money on free elementary education for all, and benefits and pensions.

Progressive taxation should be set up200,000 copies of Paine’s books were sold and his ideas widely

read and disseminated.

How Britain DividedVested interests like the aristocracy and wealthier classes

gravitated around burke’s ideas and enthusiastically asserted their wisdom when the Reign of Terror began in France and Napoleon I emerged.

Landowners and the privileged would also whip up lower class hostility against dissenters and radicals in the name of patriotism

Dissenters and educated radical working men – especially the skilled crafts tended to support Paine’s ideas

In July 1791 there were 2 days of riots in Birmingham during which dissenters homes and chapels were attacked by an angry mob. Eventually order was restored with minimal compensation offered to dissenters who had been attacked

How Did Pitt React to Paine?In 1792 Pitt banned all Paine’s books and

decided to prosecute him for ‘scandalous, malicious and seditious libel against the King and the Lords’

Before he could be arrested Paine escaped to France where he became a member of the national assembly. Only later to be arrested and imprisoned for speaking out passionately against the executions of Nobility and the King.

Radicals in BritainWith Paine in France Thomas Hardy (a London

shoemaker) became the de facto leader of the democratic radicals. He set up the Corresponding Society in 1792 – a working class political club with 2 main aims

1. Universal suffrage (a vote for every man)2. Annual parliaments (an election every year)A more moderate political club was set up by a young

Whig Charles Grey called ‘The Friends of the People’ which called for moderate political reform. Charles Grey was later to become Whig PM in 1830

The Revolution and Public OpinionBritain became very divided on this issue. Many early riots for

instance in Birmingham and Manchester in 1792 were actually against revolutionary ideas.

However as hardship struck with war, high food prices and poor harvest radical ideas became more attractive to the urban poor

In 1795 the King’s carriage was attacked by a mob on its way to parliament

In 1797 a significant minority of the Navy mutinied against their officers

In 1797 the French tried to invade England only to be driven offIn 1798 the Irish revolted against Pitt’s Act of Union with French

support and armsSome social historians such as E.P Thompson have suggested that

Britain was close to revolution itself in these years

How Did Pitt Respond?1792 – all ‘seditious’ writings banned and a spy network set

up to investigate radical groups of workersHabeas Corpus suspended 1794-5 and then again 1798-

1801, meaning anyone could be arrested without charge indefinitely

1795 ‘The Two Acts’ passed in response to the attack on the King’s carriage. The Seditious Meetings Act banned all political meetings demanding change, and the Treasonable Practises Act redefined the crime of treason to include all kinds of political opposition

1798 – The Defence of the Realm Act – created a network of part time volunteer militia to protect the country in the event of invasion – around 120,000 of them

1799 – The Combination Acts – banned all trade unions and swearing of illegal oaths