Whigs and Tories
Uploaded by HeartBreaker on Jan 21, 2006 |
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Whigs and Tories
The main political groupings in Parliament were the Whigs and the Tories. Despite both groups being in Parliament, the differentiation between programs of the Whigs and the Tories were quite noticeable.
During the reign of Queen Anne, the Whig faction was seeking favor from the Hanoverian, George I. Meanwhile the Tories strived to make a rapid peace settlement with France. The Whigs¡¯ strategy clearly paid-off when George arrived in Britain, and favored them over the Tories. They supported monarchy, but they still wanted Parliament to retain, ¡°the final word.¡± These Whigs favored urban commercial interests, and the prosperity of landowners. Instead of neglecting religious tolerance, the Whigs favored it, which was toward the Protestant nonconformists of England.
As stated earlier, while the Whigs sought the favor of George I, the Tories urged the rapid settlement of the war with France. In the final months of Queen Anne¡¯s reign, the Tories feared that they would lose their power to the Whigs, since George favored, them; so they promoted the Stuart Pretender, and some rallied to his cause. They wanted a strong monarchy, low taxes for landowners, and firm support of the Anglican Church.
One of the few things in common between the Whigs and Tories was that neither group was organized like a modern political party. During the reign of the Hanoverian king, George I, the main difference between the Whigs and the Tories was that one group had access to public office and patronage and the other did not. Also, as stated earlier, the Whigs favored George I, whereas the Tories favored the Stuart Pretender. All together, there were more differences than commonalities.
Both the Whigs and Tories were in Parliament, but they were very diverse. They had different views on religion, economy, politics, war, and basically almost everything. I think it was smart how the Whigs strived to win the favor of George I to their side. I¡¯d say it was clever tactic, and it certainly helped them too. The Tories on the other hand did not think ahead, and try to grab the position as the favored of the king. Although they tried to end war, it would have been smarter to build a strong foundation for their grouping. I think much would have been different were the Tories to had they gotten the favor of the king. |
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