This book, originally published in 1979, traces the growth of English radicalism from the time of Wilkes to the final suppression of the radical societies in 1799. The metropolitan radical movement is described in the context of the general democratic evolution of the West in the age of the American and French revolutions, by showing how its direction was influenced by events in France, Scotland and Ireland. The book emphasizes the importance of the great regional centres of provincial radicalism and of the evolution of a local, radical press. It also throws light on the impact of Painite radicalism, the origins of Anglo-french hostilities in 1793, the English treason trials of 1794, the protest movement of 1795 and the final phase of Anglo-Irish clandestine republicanism.

Excerpt from Address to the Friends of Liberty Reflecting men can see that amidst all the opposition, violence, threats, and machinations of slave-holders, and their abettors, the cause of liberty has steadily advanced, and is about to be brought to a glorious consummation. And it ought to inspire the people of this country with gratitude, that such a momentous moral reformation, affecting the temporal and eternal welfare of millions of people, in this and coming generations, is to be achieved at no greater sacrifice. So deeply involved were the people of this country in the guilt of oppression and prejudice that probably nothing short of murders under Lynch law, profligate expenditures of life and property, - war, robbery and conquest, - and audacious attempts to defend, extend and perpetuate slavery, would have aroused the people of the free states to a consideration of impending danger, and inspired them with a determination to avert it. Much as the unconstitutional annexation of Texas, with the consequent war with Mexico, is deplored, this great calamity and ineffaceable national reproach will, we doubt not, be overruled for the downfall of the politicians who perpetrated the enormous evil, and for the arrestation and overthrow of American slavery, for which the annexation and war were perfidiously brought about. "He Taketh the Wise in their Own Craftiness... Surely The Wrath of Man Shall Praise Thee the Remainder of Wrath Shalt thou Restrain. Thanks to an overruling Providence, the great body of the people of the free states are beginning to see that their rights and their liberties are in jeopardy, and bands of patriotic and resolute men are standing aloof from their political parties, vowing eternal hostility to the extension of slavery. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.