Political Changes in 18th Century England

The 18th century in England saw the destruction of the political structures that had been built up in the century before, as the political parties once in power lost their footing (or found themselves entirely transformed) to be replaced by different ones and as the power in the government shifted along institutional lines to the cabinet. The result of these transformations was that the modern structures of the British government were in substantial ways established during the first and second quarters of the 18th century.1

By the middle of the 18th century, both Whigs and Tories found themselves changed from what they had been. This is hardly surprising, given how much history had changed around them since these parties had formed. It is in fact less surprising that they changed than that they survived at all. This is especially true of the Whig Party, which had to sustain charges of corruption and elitism. This last was perhaps the more serious of the two for a party that had modeled itself as (at least in some measure) the voice of the people. Or perhaps it is more accurate to say that this became the more serious of the two charges as time passed and populist movements become more powerful and more insistent upon a government accountable to the needs of the people.

The fact that the Whig Party did manage to survive into the 18th century indicates that its platform did still have something of importance to contribute to the dialogue of public life in England as well as th

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r consciences to follow the religious callings of their individual faiths. To the extent that both the American and early English branches of the Whig parties were able to convince the people that they were working toward an ideal like this, they were able to hold power and guide the destinies of their countries.5 But before the world changed and the Whigs with it - and before their long period of being out of favor and out of power - what kept the Whigs so long at the heart of the British government? Despite the power-mad nature of some of the most important Whigs (perhaps most notably Robert Walpole), the Whigs were able to present themselves as the right people to do the job. This was partly due to the fact that at least for substantial periods of time the leaders of the opposition were to fragmented to form a government and so the Whigs ruled by default,6 partly because the familial and social connections of prominent Whigs gave them a power beyond that created by themselves as individuals or their politicies.7 But there were also elements of the Whig platform that did give it political strength and popular support, and without these it could not have continued in power for as long as it did. The continuing support felt by the

Category: History - P