Politics, Finance, and the People
$120.00
| Title | Range | Discount |
|---|---|---|
| Trade Discount | 5 + | 25% |
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Description
This book examines financial and administrative reform in Britain, 1779-88, growing out of failure in the War of American Independence.
In December 1779, charges of political corruption and the cost of the American War unleashed a political and popular movement in Britain called ‘economic reform.’ It began as a political struggle between the Crown and the Opposition parties, which was supported by a powerful surge of public opinion. The initial objective of the Opposition was to reduce the ‘influence of the Crown’ – the honors, patronage, contracts, and other benefits used by the King and his ministers to strengthen their political support in Parliament and elections. In mid-course, economical reform shifted to an emphasis on better management of the finances – improved collection of the revenue, recovering balances held by offices of tax collection and expenditure, reform of accounts and audit, abolition of sinecures and fees, and establishment of a systematic process of debt reduction. The investigations and reforms of the 1780’s were the crucial first step in the long-term reform of administrative structure.
EARL REITAN is Professor of History Emeritus at Ilinois State University, USA. He is co-author of English Heritage (1988) and author of Politics, War and Empire: the Rise of Britain to a World Power, 1688-1792 (1994), The Thatcher Revolution: Margaret Thatcher, John Major, Tony Blair and the Transformation of Modern Britain, 1979-2001 (2003), and a series of articles on the Civil List in Eighteenth-century British politics.
Preface * Introduction * The Foundations, 1760-70 * The Rise of Economical Reform, 1770-79 * The Crown, the Parties and the People, 1780 * Lord North, 1780-82 * The Rockingham Ministry, 1782 * The Shelburne Ministry, 1782-3 * The Coalition Ministry, 1783 * William Pitt and Fiscal Stability, 1784-92 * William Pitt and Economical Reform, 1784-88 * Afterword * Bibliography
Additional information
| Weight | 1 oz |
|---|---|
| Dimensions | 1 × 6 × 9 in |
