Whiggism

Whiggism, or Master Billy learning his task, cartoon of 1784. Lord Thurlow acts as schoolmaster to William Pitt the Younger. The schoolroom contains images of King George III, labelled a "Great Whig", and implied to be under the influence of Lord Bute; Charles James Fox, labelled a "True Whig"; and Lord Shelburne, labelled a "False Whig."

Whiggism is a political philosophy that grew out of the Parliamentarian faction in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms (1639–1651). The Whigs advocated the supremacy of Parliament (as opposed to that of the king), tolerance of Protestant dissenters, and opposition to a "Papist" (Roman Catholic) on the throne, especially James II or his descendants.[1] It is associated with early conservative liberalism.[2]

After the Glorious Revolution of 1688–1689, Whiggism dominated English and British politics until about 1760, after which the Whigs splintered into different factions. After 1760, the Whigs still included about half of the leading families in England and Scotland, as well as most merchants, dissenters, and the middle classes. The opposing Tory position was held by the other great families, the Church of England, most of the landed gentry and officers of the army and the navy. Whigs also opposed Jacobitism, a movement of traditionalists tolerant of Roman Catholicism, with substantial Tory overlaps. While in power, Whigs frequently referred to all opponents as "Jacobites" or dupes of Jacobites.

Whiggism originally referred to the Whigs of the British Isles, but the name of "Old Whigs" was largely adopted by the American Patriots in the Thirteen Colonies. Following independence, American Whiggism became known as republicanism. The term "Old Whigs" was also used in Great Britain for those Whigs who opposed Robert Walpole as part of the Country Party.[3]

  1. ^ Ronald Hamowy, "Whiggism" in The Encyclopedia of Libertarianism (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, Cato Institute 2008), ISBN 978-1412965804, OCLC 750831024, LCCN 2008-9151, doi:10.4135/9781412965811.n328 pp. 542–543
  2. ^ Efraim Podoksik, ed. (2013). In Defence of Modernity: Vision and Philosophy in Michael Oakeshott. Imprint Academic. p. 14. ISBN 9781845404680. ... For Whig liberalism is also known as 'conservative liberalism' ...
  3. ^ Whiggism, n. at oed.com. Retrieved 16 August 2011 (subscription required)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia · View on Wikipedia

Developed by Nelliwinne