22 - Divisions within the Political Nation: Whigs and Tories

Which group fully supported the glorious revolution?

The whigs fully supported the glorious revolution.

What were the whigs willing to accept?

The whigs were willing to accept william and mary as monarchs by right and sought broader religious toleration.

How did the Tories feel about the glorious revolution?

The tories were more circumspect in their support for the revolution and their acceptance of william and Mary's right to rule, and they sought to maintain a narrow church of england based on their own Anglicanism.

When can the emergene of whigs and tories be dated to?

although the name 'whig' and 'tory had been used before 1688, they can be dated to the reign of William III and Mary II.

Which groups did William III include in his government?

He pragmatically included both the whigs and tories in his government.

Under what leadership was the whigs activities coordinated under?

The whigs' activities were coordinated under the leadrship of the junto lords.

The junto was made up of moderate Whigs

When did the Junto first come together and for what?

The junto first came together in 1693-94 to help provide administrative support for William and Mary's war efforts with France.

How were the Whig and Tory parties different in terms of their structure?

Whigs' activities were coordinated under the leadership of the junto lords (made up of moderate Whigs). They held daily meetings during parliamentary sessions and kept in touch whilst Parliament was in recess. Larger meetings would convene in taverns when info needed to be shared with those faithful to the whigs.

The tory party, however, were more loosely structured and held brief meetings for backbenchers, as well as writing letters.

Was the whig-tory division solely confined to parliament?

It was reflected in London culture and across the country with the establishment of clubs and campaigning linked to the Whig and Tory factions.

What were the reasons for the developments of party divisions?

Regular parliamentary sessions facilitated cooperation by MPs of similar thinking

More frequent general elections after 1689 led to the need to organise along party lines to contest the elections.

Increased franchise meant electorate had broader backgrounds and interests, which led to more party conflict.

What were the Whigs belief on the three central questions of the succession?

- Believed in a contract between crown and subject, monarchs could be removed if the contract was broken, with parliament as the key check on crown

- Supported William and Mary's war against France in 1688-97

- Wanted an extension of the toleration act of 1689 to allow greater toleration for dissenters.

What were the Tories belief on the three central questions of the succession?

- believed in divine right, with subjects practicing passive obedience and non-resistance

- Supported a limited naal war against France

- Defended the church of england to prevent further religious toleration

How did Whig and Tory attitudes differ towards the Protestant succession?

The whigs were wedded to the protestant succession, whereas a minority of tories were jacobites.

What were the attempts made to help people accept William and Mary?

To help people accept william and mary, many tories had to argue that they were only de facto monarchs, whereas James was in law the king.

When was the jacobite plot?

February 1696

What is a jacobite?

Those who wanted the return of catholic James II and his descendants; the term, comes from 'jacobus', the latin for 'James'

What was the Jacobite plot?

The plan was to ambush and assassinate William III while he was travelling.

It was uncovered in February 1696 before it could be carried out.

The aim was to trigger a Jacobite restoration of James II.

What was introduced as a result of the jacobite plot?

An oath of association was introduced:

The oath demanded that all office holders acknowledge william and Mary as the 'rightful and lawful' monarchs.

How was the oath of association controversial?

For many tories this raised the question of divine right.

a lot of tories had accepted William and Mary only as de facto monarchs and therefore found it difficult to agree to the oath.

How many people refused the oath of association

20 Tory lords nd 90 MPs refused the oath.

What two acts were introduced in an attempt to prevent a catholic restoration?

- Act of Settlement

- Abjuration Act

When was the act of settlement?

1701

What was the act of settlement?

The Act of Settlement was a law passed in 1701 to secure a Protestant succession to the English throne.

How did the Tories feel about an act of settlement?

Most tories accepted the act of settlement as a political necessity.

When was the Abjuration act?

1702

What was the abjuration act?

The abjuration act demanded that all office holders, MPs, clergy, teachers and lawyers denounce the claim of James II's son to the throne.

What was the key division between tories and whigs?

The extent of toleration.

What was the difference between the Tories and Whigs beliefs in relation to toleration?

The tories were essentially anglicans who wanted to maintain the church of england without further concessions to dissenters.

The whigs wished to broaden the church of england to allow greater toleration and thus encompass more dissenters within it.

When was the nine years war?

1688-97

What was the nine years war?

Fought between Louis XIV and an alliance of other powers led by William of orange.

While fought primarily on mainland Europe, battles were also fought in Ireland, Scotland and north america.

What was William's position in the nine years war?

William remained Stadtholder (chief executive official), had been fighting on and off since the 1660s.

How much was the cost of the war to england?

£36 million

Which group sought ways to finance the nine years war and why?

The Whigs actively sought ways to finance the conflict, partly due to their full commitment to the military effort and party due to self-interest, as they could benefit financially.

What did Whigs do specifically to fund the nine years war?

1693 Million loan act

1694 establishment of the Bank of England, which was at the heart of the 'financial revolution'.

What was the tories' position on funding the nine years war?

Tories moved from initial support to dismay at the costs of a land war, and they argued for a cheaper naval strategy.

What were the different stages of the development of 'party divisions' + dates? (2)

- 1690-96: the emergence of the Junto whigs

- 1696 - 1701 : the Tories in power

What was the 'emergence of the Junto whigs' stage?

After their victory at the Battle of the Boyne (1690), William and mary began to remove tories from government and replace them with whigs who were willing to support the war effort.

As part of this process, therere was realignment of the previous tory-whig division.

Between 1690 and 1694 the division between whigs and Tories calmed down and a new pattern in English politics started to appear: both 'parties' collaborated in order to control royal spending to the extent that 'court and chancery' division became , once again more applicable in explaining the divisions across the Political Nation.

After 1694 , the Tories stood more clearly for the 'country' position in opposition to William and Mary's government, while 'new' whigs, labelled Junto Whigs, became a central part of it.

When was the Battle of the Boyne?

1690

When did the tories stand more clearly for the 'country' position?

1694

What treaty ended the war between Willian and Mary and Louis XIV?

Treaty of Ryswick

When was the treaty of ryswick?

1697

What was the treaty of Ryswick?

Saw a temporary ending of the war between William and mary and Louis XIV

What was the 'tories in power' stage?

Tories were against the continuation of high taxes to maintain William and Mary's forces.

This led to the tories making common cause with anti-administration Whigs to exploit the overconfidence of the Junto Whigs to gain seats in the election of 1698.

The co-monarchs, who needed ministers that could bring the cooperation of parliament, started to appoint tories.

What was the result of having the tories in power?

- A cut in the land tax

- A reduction of the army in 1697

- William's dutch guards sent back to the dutch republic in 1699

- The impeachment of leading Junto whigs in 1701

- The 1701 Act of settlement

What was the traditional view of the split between Tories and Whigs?

it was linked to different economic interests.

How do Tories and Whigs have different economic interests?

- The financial settlement during the glorious revolution also had socioeconomic importance, because it made investors, usually Whig moneylenders, wealthy very quickly.

It created a new class of 'monied' men who made money from loans, bonds and credit.

These men gained political clout as government officials sought their opinions and advice not just on domestic affairs but also on foreign policy.

This was a shock to traditional tory landowners, who had to pay land taxes.

What do other historians caused the split between tories and whigs?

Some historians, such as Tim Harris, also stress the continuing impact of religion as a source of the division within the Political nation, and argue that perhaps the emergence of the party divide could be traced back to the unresolved religious issues from the Restoration in 1660.