Abstract
This PhD thesis explores the influence of America on British debates about franchise reform leading up to the passage of the Second Reform Act in 1867. It explores British public discourse surrounding reform between 1832 and 1867 through analysis of travel literature, newspapers, periodicals, quarterlies, political texts by public intellectuals, election speeches, speeches from working-class reform demonstrations, and records of parliamentary debates.The thesis sets out to understand the ways in which British perceptions of America after 1832 shaped British debates over political reform that culminated in 1867 with the Second Reform Act. Throughout, it considers how British political commentators adapted the ways in which they utilised the example of the United States to suit different target audiences, with different elements of American democracy featuring in their analysis depending on where these debates took place.
Examining how the United States featured in these different facets of British reform discourse, the thesis offers insights into British political ideas and political culture in the 1860s generally, and into the Reform Act of 1867 more specifically, including how Conservative fears about Americanisation in the 1860s represented an early opportunity for the Conservative Party to wrest control of the language of patriotism from the Liberal party, as well as how Liberal divisions over the political relevance of America foreshadowed debates about the caucusization of liberal politics that came to prominence in the late 1870s.
Unlike other modern European democracies and the ancient democratic republics of Greece and Rome, America was understood by many to share the same Anglo-Saxon heritage as Britain. British political commentators believed that the earliest interpreters of the U.S.
Constitution had been guided by British precedents and political traditions. American politics were seen to have inherited broadly similar understandings as those in Britain. However, the reform debates of the 1860s took place in the light of a brutal Civil War, a Presidential assassination, the suspension of civil liberties and a shift towards economic protectionism. In taking account of these significant developments, this thesis concludes that America played an important role in shaping the public debate over political reform during the 1860s and that references to the United States formed a key – and hitherto underappreciated – element of the language of public discourse about reform in this period.
| Date of Award | 1 Dec 2023 |
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| Original language | English |
| Awarding Institution |
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| Supervisor | Arthur Burns (Supervisor) & Paul Readman (Supervisor) |