Sources and Debates in Modern British History

Ellis Wasson earned his PhD in British history at Cambridge and teaches at Tower Hill School in Wilmington and the University of Delaware. He is the author of Whig Renaissance: Lord Althorp and the Whig Party 1782–1845 (1987), Born to Rule: British Political Elites (2000), and Aristocracy and the Modern World (2006), and has published numerous articles on the history of British politics and European landed society.

• List of Documents xiList of Figures xixPreface xxiAbbreviations xxixPart I The Eighteenth Century 11 State and Empire 3The Constitution 4Threats to the Political and Social Order 11The Sinews of Empire 18North America 21India 24Historians’ Debates 27Counterfactuals to Consider 282 Economy and Society 29Honor and Manners 30The Struggle for Life and Wealth 35The Poor Law 40Economic Theory 43Historians’ Debates 51Counterfactuals to Consider 523 Culture and Identity 53The Scottish Enlightenment 54The English Enlightenment 57Education 62The Romantic Movement 66Women 68Slavery 71National Identities 76Historians’ Debates 80Counterfactuals to Consider 81Part II The Nineteenth Century 834 State and Empire 85Radicalism and Protest 86Constitutional Reform 1829–32 90Further Parliamentary Reform 97Party Ideologies 103The Empire 109The Origins of World War I 120Historians’ Debates 123Counterfactuals to Consider 1245 Economy and Society 127Industrialization 128Urban and Rural Life and Employment during Industrialization 135Social Position and Money 142Economic Theory 148Historians’ Debates 156Counterfactuals to Consider 1586 Culture and Identity 159Women 160Victorian Thinkers 169Social Darwinism 177British Identities 182Irish Identities 185Historians’ Debates 191Counterfactuals to Consider 193Part III The Twentieth Century 1957 State and Empire 197World War I 198World War II and the Cold War 201Party Ideologies 211The European Union 214Empire to Commonwealth 217Historians’ Debates 227Counterfactuals to Consider 2298 Economy and Society 231Traditional Society 232Capitalism at Bay 238War and Civilian Life 243The Welfare State 245Historians’ Debates 253Counterfactuals to Consider 2559 Culture and Identity 257Women 258Minorities and Immigration 263British Identities 271Irish Identities 280Historians’ Debates 287Counterfactuals to Consider 289Bibliography 291Index 297