Political Parties In Britain 1783 1867

The theme of Professor Evan's book is the growth of a recognizable modern party system from the much looser and often family-based attachments of the eighteenth century. He examines the significance of the terms 'Whig' and 'Tory' in the later eighteenth century and the growth of a party aligment between 1788 and 1812 - a period in which war was a major factor in polarization. He discusses the years of Tory hegemony under Liverpool and the decline of the independent member, and then takes as his main themes the transition from Whigs to Liberals and from Tories to Conservatives in the period of 1830-46 which saw so much concern both with political reform and with social questions. He also examines the substantial growth of political organizations. Professor Evans goes on to deal with the paradox that though the Tory party was shattered by the corn law crisis, the subsequent period to 1867 saw an increasing importance being attached to party allegiance. He also discusses the waning power of the Crown, the growing importance of general elections, and various areas of divergence between parties. Although the emphasis of this book is necessarily thematic, a firm sense of chronology is always maintained.

The theme of Professor Evan's book is the growth of a recognizable modern party system from the much looser and often family-based attachments of the eighteenth century. He examines the significance of the terms 'Whig' and 'Tory' in the later eighteenth century and the growth of a party aligment between 1788 and 1812 - a period in which war was a major factor in polarization. He discusses the years of Tory hegemony under Liverpool and the decline of the independent member, and then takes as his main themes the transition from Whigs to Liberals and from Tories to Conservatives in the period of 1830-46 which saw so much concern both with political reform and with social questions. He also examines the substantial growth of political organizations. Professor Evans goes on to deal with the paradox that though the Tory party was shattered by the corn law crisis, the subsequent period to 1867 saw an increasing importance being attached to party allegiance. He also discusses the waning power of the Crown, the growing importance of general elections, and various areas of divergence between parties. Although the emphasis of this book is necessarily thematic, a firm sense of chronology is always maintained.

The Age of Improvement has long established itself as a classic of modern historical writing. Widely read and quoted it has had a unique influence on teaching and research. This second edition draws on the great volume of new research - produced by Lord Briggs amongst others, since its original publication. The book stresses both the underlying unity and the rich variety of the age, and raises fundamental issues about a period of crucial change in British history - industrialisation, war, constitutional change and the attitudes of politicians towards it, political development, and, not least, society and culture. In the background are the new economic powers based on the development of a coal and iron technology; in the foreground, new social and political problems and new ways of tackling them. The author also discusses perceptions of, and reactions to, changing circumstances, the influence of religion and science on national life, and changing styles in art and literature. The story ends, not with a full stop but with a question mark. Could improvement be maintained? Could balance and progress continue to be reconciled?

With over 80,000 copies sold since its first appearance in 1959, The Age of Improvement has every right to claim the status of a classic of modern historical writing. Asa Briggs' masterly study of the period stresses the underlying unity of the age. In the background are the new economic powers based on the development of a coal and iron technology, in the foreground, the problems posed by the world's first industrial revolution.

Drawing on the conclusions of recent research, this book takes a more critical view of Peel's political career than is conventionally offered. It argues that, although Peel was an efficient administrator and a dominant political leader in the 1830s and 1840s, he lacked both intellectual flexibility and political sensitivity. His arrogance and inflexibility rather than the inadequacies of his backbenchers, were largely responsible for the break-up of the Conservative party in 1846 and for its generation in the political wilderness thereafter. Completing the trilogy of Great Victorian Prime Ministers in the Lancaster Pamphlet series, Professor Evans's reassessment of Peel's career sheds light both on a major political figure and, more widely, on party politics in the first half of the nineteenth century.

This revised edition of the classic text of the period provides both the student and the specialist with an informative account of post-Roman English society.

John Gooch's book is a concise introduction to the unification of the Italian states and the legacy of this union. Starting in 1815 at the end of the Napoleonic Wars, the book goes on to explain how, despite the causes of disunity, these Italian states shared racial, linguistic, and cultural factors, which led to their eventual political unity.

In this lucid and readable study, Michael Mullet explains the historical importance of a man and a movement whose influence are still felt in the modern world. The pamphlet locates John Calvin in the context of early 16th-century France and then charts his emergence as an influential theologian and civic religious leader in the 'second generation' of reformers following Luther. After exploring the main lines of Calvin's theology, set out in the Institutes, the central section deals with the difficult process by which his authority was imposed on, or accepted by, Geneva. Finally, the long-term impact of John Calvin is evaluated, including the hypothesis that Calvinism has assisted the economic development of Europe.

This compact study assesses the personality, political and economic policies in war and peace, of America's longest-serving president and one of the most important political figures of the twentieth century, Franklin. D. Roosevelt. Also providing an overview of the America over which Roosevelt presided, the book offers a concise survey of both domestic and foreign affairs.