History of the English People, Volume VIII Modern England, 1760-1815 By: John Richard Green (1837-1883)
First Page: HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH PEOPLE by JOHN RICHARD GREEN, M.A. Honorary Fellow of Jesus College, Oxford VOLUME VIII MODERN ENGLAND. 1760 1815. London MacMillan and Co., Ltd. New York: The MacMillan Co. 1896 First Edition, 1879; Reprinted 1882, 1886, 1891. Eversley Edition, 1896. CONTENTS BOOK IX MODERN ENGLAND. 1760 1815. CHAPTER II PAGE THE INDEPENDENCE OF AMERICA. 1767 1782 1 CHAPTER III INDUSTRIAL ENGLAND. 1782 1792 45 CHAPTER IV ENGLAND AND REVOLUTIONARY FRANCE. 1792 1801 97 CHAPTER V ENGLAND AND NAPOLEON. 1801 1815 144 MAPS I. THE COLONIES OF NORTH AMERICA AT THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE To face p. 1 II. EUROPE AFTER THE PEACE OF LUNÉVILLE, 1801 146 III. EUROPE AFTER THE PEACE OF TILSIT, 1807 158 [Illustration: THE COLONIES OF NORTH AMERICA at the Declaration of Independence] CHAPTER II THE INDEPENDENCE OF AMERICA 1767 1782 [Sidenote: Growing influence of public opinion.] The Chatham ministry marked a new phase in the relation of public opinion to the government of the State. In 1766 as in 1756 Pitt had been called into office by "the voice of the people" at large. But in his former ministry the influence he drew from popularity could only make itself effective through an alliance with the influence which was drawn from political connexion; and when the two elements of the administration became opposed the support of the nation gave Pitt little strength of resistance against the Whigs. Nor had the young king had much better fortune as yet in his efforts to break their rule. He had severed them indeed from Pitt; and he had dexterously broken up the great party into jealous factions. But broken as it was, even its factions remained too strong for the king. His one effort at independence under Bute hardly lasted a year, and he was as helpless in the hands of Grenville as in the hands of Rockingham. His bribery, his patronage, his Parliamentary "friends," his perfidy and his lies, had done much to render good government impossible and to steep public life in deeper corruption, but they had done little to further the triumph of the Crown over the great houses. Of the one power indeed which could break the Whig rule, the power of public opinion, George was more bitterly jealous than even of the Whigs themselves. But in spite of his jealousy the tide of opinion steadily rose. In wise and in unwise ways the country at large showed its new interest in national policy, its new resolve to have a share in the direction of it. It showed no love for the king or the king's schemes. But it retained all its old disgust for the Whigs and for the Parliament. It clung to Pitt closer than ever, and in spite of his isolation from all party support raised him daily into a mightier power. It was the sense that a new England was thus growing up about him, that a new basis was forming itself for political action, which at last roused the Great Commoner to the bold enterprise of breaking through the bonds of "connexion" altogether. For the first time since the Revolution a minister told the peers in their own house that he defied their combinations. [Sidenote: Chatham's withdrawal.] The ministry of 1766 in fact was itself such a defiance; for it was an attempt to found political power not on the support of the Whigs as a party, but on the support of national opinion. But as Parliament was then constituted, it was only through Chatham himself that opinion could tell even on the administration he formed; and six months after he had taken office Chatham was no more than a name. The dread which had driven him from the stormy agitation of the Lower House to the quiet of the House of Peers now became a certainty. As winter died into the spring of 1767 his nervous disorganization grew into a painful and overwhelming illness which almost wholly withdrew him from public affairs; and when Parliament met again he was unable either to come to town or to confer with his colleagues... Continue reading book >>

History of the English People, Volume VIII Modern England, 1760-1815 By: John Richard Green (1837-1883)

First Page:

HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH PEOPLE

JOHN RICHARD GREEN, M.A. Honorary Fellow of Jesus College, Oxford

VOLUME VIII

MODERN ENGLAND. 1760 1815.

London MacMillan and Co., Ltd. New York: The MacMillan Co. 1896

First Edition, 1879; Reprinted 1882, 1886, 1891. Eversley Edition, 1896.

CONTENTS

BOOK IX

MODERN ENGLAND. 1760 1815.

CHAPTER II PAGE THE INDEPENDENCE OF AMERICA. 1767 1782 1

CHAPTER III

INDUSTRIAL ENGLAND. 1782 1792 45

CHAPTER IV

ENGLAND AND REVOLUTIONARY FRANCE. 1792 1801 97

CHAPTER V

ENGLAND AND NAPOLEON. 1801 1815 144

MAPS

I. THE COLONIES OF NORTH AMERICA AT THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE To face p. 1

II. EUROPE AFTER THE PEACE OF LUNÉVILLE, 1801 146

III. EUROPE AFTER THE PEACE OF TILSIT, 1807 158

[Illustration: THE COLONIES OF NORTH AMERICA at the Declaration of Independence]

CHAPTER II

THE INDEPENDENCE OF AMERICA

1767 1782

[Sidenote: Growing influence of public opinion.]

The Chatham ministry marked a new phase in the relation of public opinion to the government of the State. In 1766 as in 1756 Pitt had been called into office by "the voice of the people" at large. But in his former ministry the influence he drew from popularity could only make itself effective through an alliance with the influence which was drawn from political connexion; and when the two elements of the administration became opposed the support of the nation gave Pitt little strength of resistance against the Whigs. Nor had the young king had much better fortune as yet in his efforts to break their rule. He had severed them indeed from Pitt; and he had dexterously broken up the great party into jealous factions. But broken as it was, even its factions remained too strong for the king. His one effort at independence under Bute hardly lasted a year, and he was as helpless in the hands of Grenville as in the hands of Rockingham. His bribery, his patronage, his Parliamentary "friends," his perfidy and his lies, had done much to render good government impossible and to steep public life in deeper corruption, but they had done little to further the triumph of the Crown over the great houses. Of the one power indeed which could break the Whig rule, the power of public opinion, George was more bitterly jealous than even of the Whigs themselves. But in spite of his jealousy the tide of opinion steadily rose. In wise and in unwise ways the country at large showed its new interest in national policy, its new resolve to have a share in the direction of it. It showed no love for the king or the king's schemes. But it retained all its old disgust for the Whigs and for the Parliament. It clung to Pitt closer than ever, and in spite of his isolation from all party support raised him daily into a mightier power. It was the sense that a new England was thus growing up about him, that a new basis was forming itself for political action, which at last roused the Great Commoner to the bold enterprise of breaking through the bonds of "connexion" altogether. For the first time since the Revolution a minister told the peers in their own house that he defied their combinations.

[Sidenote: Chatham's withdrawal.]

The ministry of 1766 in fact was itself such a defiance; for it was an attempt to found political power not on the support of the Whigs as a party, but on the support of national opinion. But as Parliament was then constituted, it was only through Chatham himself that opinion could tell even on the administration he formed; and six months after he had taken office Chatham was no more than a name. The dread which had driven him from the stormy agitation of the Lower House to the quiet of the House of Peers now became a certainty. As winter died into the spring of 1767 his nervous disorganization grew into a painful and overwhelming illness which almost wholly withdrew him from public affairs; and when Parliament met again he was unable either to come to town or to confer with his colleagues... Continue reading book >>

Book sections
History of the English People, Volume I Early England, 449-1071; Foreign Kings, 1071-1204; The Charter, 1204-1216	History of the English People, Volume II The Charter, 1216-1307; The Parliament, 1307-1400	History of the English People, Volume III The Parliament, 1399-1461; The Monarchy 1461-1540
History of the English People, Volume IV	History of the English People, Volume V Puritan England, 1603-1660	History of the English People, Volume VI Puritan England, 1642-1660; The Revolution, 1660-1683
History of the English People, Volume VII The Revolution, 1683-1760; Modern England, 1760-1767	History of the English People, Index	History of the English People, Volume VIII Modern England, 1760-1815

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