John Cartwright

This is a biography of Major John Cartwright (1740–1824).

John W. Osborne (Author)

9780521088145, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 30 October 2008

188 pages
22.6 x 15.2 x 1.1 cm, 0.25 kg

This is a biography of Major John Cartwright (1740–1824), the English advocate of radical reform who had considerable influence in shaping the mainstream of reform in England in the nineteenth century, and whose ideas lay behind the working-class Chartist Movement. Known as the 'Father of Reform', Cartwright was the first person of importance to hold a literal belief in universal male suffrage and was venerated by generations of reformers. Dr Osborne's book clarifies and analyses Cartwright's extensive political plans and ideas against the background of contemporary English radicalism and of social and political change. He shows how Cartwright, as a member of the English landed gentry, tried to understand conditions which were changing at an unprecedented rate and still retained a high degree of traditionalism and conservatism.

1. Old England and the Free-Born Englishman
2 The Emerging Radical
3. The French Revolution and English Reform
4. A Lost Opportunity: Cartwright and the Industrial Revolution
5. The Reform Movement in London
6. Founding the Hampden Clubs
7. Radical Protest and Government Reaction
8. The Peterloo Massacre and Cartwright's Arrest
9. The Indefatigable Octogenarian
10. Conclusion: The Father of Reform.

Subject Areas: History [HB]