The Reports Of The Committee Of Secrecy Of The House Of Commons On The Papers Belonging To The Society For Constitutional Information And The London Corresponding Society Seized By Order Of Government And Presented To The House By Mr Secretary Dundas Printed By Order Of The House Of Commons

Conservatism was born as an anguished attack on democracy. So argues Don Herzog in this arrestingly detailed exploration of England's responses to the French Revolution. Poisoning the Minds of the Lower Orders ushers the reader into the politically lurid world of Regency England. At once history and political theory, absorbing and disquieting, this book challenges our own commitments to and anxieties about democracy. Copyright © Libri GmbH. All rights reserved.

The outbreak of revolution in Paris in 1789 forced Britain into a political and military conflict that had a profound impact on politics, economy, public discourse and cultural life well into the 19th century. The essays collected here examine the various responses to the revolution and the significant changes wrought within Britain by the events. Some essays discuss the ideological divisions within Britain and Ireland. Others take a closer look at the media and the debate on the press, and reinvestigate responses to the revolution by prominent contemporaries such as William Godwin, Dugald Stewart, and William Wordsworth.

The political awakening of Scotland in the last quarter of the 18th century is documented by the growing number of pamphlets and other literature in those years. This number increased dramatically following the diffusion of the ideas of the French Revolution, and the heated debate it inspired. Already the war with the American colonies had led to a more widespread interest in politics, and the issues of sovereignty and of representation were to become more and more crucial as the need for a reform - at local as well as at national level - made itself felt. The annotated checklist constitutes a documentary source for further studies in this field, while the comments appended to the items offer information and suggestions for possible directions of research.