John Wesley

John Wesley was born in Epworth, Lincolnshire, on June 17, 1703. He was the fifteenth of the 19 children of Samuel Wesley, an Anglican minister who took his pastoral duties seriously and instilled this idea in his son. John's mother, a woman of great spiritual intensity, disciplined her children through a code of strict and uncompromising Christian morality, instilling in John a firm conception of religious piety, concern, and duty. In 1714 Wesley entered Charterhouse School, and in 1720 he became a student at Christ Church, Oxford. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1724, and then in 1725 he was ordained a deacon in the Church of England and was elected a fellow of Lincoln College, Oxford, in 1726. He became curate to his father in the following year and was ordained a priest in 1728. Returning to Oxford in 1729, Wesley, in addition to the duties of his fellowship at Lincoln, became active in a religious club to which his younger brother Charles belonged. The Holy Club, nicknamed "Methodists" by its critics, met frequently for discussion and study. Its members engaged in prayer, attended church services, visited prisoners, and gave donations to the needy. The Holy Club was one of Wesley's formative influences, and he soon became its acknowledged leader. In 1735, John, sustained by his years at Oxford and keen of putting the principles of the Holy Club to work elsewhere, accepted the invitation of James Oglethorpe to become a minister in the recently founded colony of

Georgia. John and his brother spent two disappointing years in the New World because despite of his enthusiasm to bring them the gospel, he was rejected by the colonists and received indifferently by the Indians. He also became involved in an unsuccessful love affair, which brought him the unwanted publicity of a court case.His stay in Georgia was, however, not without benefit. Both on his trip over and during his two-year stay, he was deeply influenced by Moravian missionaries, whose sense of spiritual confidence and commitment to practical piety impressed him. In England, Wesley continued to keep in close touch with the Moravians. At one of their meetings - in Aldersgate Street, London, on May 24, 1738 - he experienced conversion while listening to a reading of Martin Luther's preface to the Epistle to the Romans. "I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone, for salvation, Wesley wrote, "and an assurance was given me that He had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death." Even though John later broke with the Moravians, through that personal commitment he became instilled with the desire to take this message to the rest of England. He found the bishops to be very unsympathetic towards him and most clergymen hostile to the point of closing their churches to him. So he followed the example of preachers such as George Whitefield and began an itinerant ministry that lasted more than fifty years. Forced to preach outside the churches, he became adept at open-air preaching and, as a result, began to reach many, especially in the cities, that the Church of England had shown little concern about. He was 5 feet 6 inches in height and weighed about 120 pounds, so he always had to perch on a chair or platform when he preached. He averaged 15 sermons a week, and as his Journal indicates, he preached more than 40, 000 sermons in his career, traveling the length and breadth of England altogether more than 250,000 miles many times during an age when roads were often only muddy ruts. A contemporary described him as the last word in neatness and dress" and "his eye was 'the brightest and most piercing that can be conceived. Preaching was not easy, crowds were often aggressive, and once a bull was let loose in an audience he was addressing. John, however, quickly learned the art of speaking and, despite opposition; his sermons began to have a marked effect. Many were converted immediately, frequently exhibiting physical signs, such as fits or trances.

From the beginning Wesley viewed his movement as one within the Church of England and not in opposition to it. As he gained converts around England, however, these men and women grouped themselves together in societies that Wesley envisioned as playing the same role in Anglicanism as the monastic orders do in the Roman Catholic Church. He took a continual and rather authoritarian part in the life of these societies, visiting them periodically, settling disputes, and expelling the unruly. Yearly conferences of the whole movement presented him with the opportunity to establish policy. Under his leadership each society was broken down into a "class, which dealt with matters of finance, and a "band, which set standards of personal morality. In addition, Wesley wrote numerous theological works and edited 35 volumes of Christian literature for the edification of the societies. A tireless and consummate organizer, he kept his movement prospering despite a variety of defections. Yet the continual opposition of the Anglican bishops, together with their refusal to ordain Methodist clergy, forced Wesley to move closer to actual separation toward the end of his life. In 1784 he took out a deed of declaration, which secured the legal standing of the Methodist Society after his death. In the same year he reluctantly ordained two men to serve as "superintendents" for Methodists in North America. He continued the practice to provide clergymen for England but very sparingly and with great hesitation. Wesley always maintained that he personally adhered to the Church of England. Methodism had a significant impact on English society. It brought religion to masses of people who, through the shifts of population brought about by the industrial revolution, were not being reached by the Anglican Church. In addition, it had a beneficial effect on many within both the Church of England and rebellious congregations. By emphasizing morality, self-discipline, and thrift to the deprived classes, Wesley has been credited by some historians as being a major force in keeping England free of revolution and widespread social unrest during his day. He himself was politically conservative, a critic of democracy, and a foe of both the American and French revolutions. Throughout his life Wesley's closest confidant was his brother and co-worker Charles, the composer of a number of well-known hymns. Wesley, always extraordinarily healthy, remained active to the end, preaching his final sermon at an open-air meeting just 4 months before his death on March 2, 1791, in London. The 18th century found the Church of England out of touch with both the religious and social problems of the day. Its leadership was

constituted largely by political appointees, its clergy were riddled with ignorance, and churchmen of genuine concern were rare. The influence of rationalism and deism even among dedicated clergymen caused the Anglican Church to be unaware of the spiritual needs of the masses. John Wesley's great achievement was to recognize the necessity of bringing religion to this wide and neglected audience.

George Fox

George was the son of a weaver, and was born in July 1624 at Fenny Drayton, Leicestershire. He became a cobbler with little book learning beyond the Bible. When he was 19, a voice told him to "forsake all"; so he became a dropout, wandering about England in an introverted quest for religious truth. Gradually he clarified his beliefs, convinced that he derived them from direct experiences of God's light within him, "without the help of any man, book, or writing." Holding that every man and woman could be similarly enlightened by Christ, he began "declaring truth" in public and developed into a dynamic, passionately sincere speaker. He preached in barns, houses, and fields and in churches "after the priest had done"; but because his zeal sometimes led him to interrupt services, he was imprisoned as a disturber of public order. Inspired by the "Inner Voice," he became spiritual leader of some Nottinghamshire former Baptists but then went to the north of England, preaching, praying, and protesting at every opportunity. In 1652 he trekked about Yorkshire, a sturdy figure in leather breeches wearing a broad brimmed hat over the ringlets of hair which fell to his shoulders.

Though Fox denounced creeds, forms, rites, external sacraments, and a "man-made" ministry, he became something of a negative formalist, refusing to tip his hat to anyone or to call months and days by their pagan names; and he used "thee" and "thou" instead of "you." Such violation of conventions provoked intense opposition. Fox was repeatedly beaten by rowdies and persecuted by the religious, and the forces of law and order imprisoned him eight times for not conforming to the establishment. But his unconquerable courage and his emphasis on the spirit rather than the letter of religion won him converts, even among his persecutors. Oddly, this opponent of institutional religion showed a genius for organizing fellowships of Friends complete with unpaid officers, regular meetings, and funding arrangements. As a result, though his message was universal, individualistic, and spiritual, Fox founded what, by 1700, became the largest Nonconformist sect in England. In 1654 he organized a team of some 60 men and women as a mission to southern England. After converting many there, he extended his own preaching to Scotland (1657-1658), Wales (1657), Ireland (1669), the West Indies and America (1671-1673), the Netherlands (1677 and 1684), and Germany (1677). By 1660 he was issuing epistles to the Pope, the Turkish Sultan, and the Emperor of China. He was a strange mixture of fanaticism and common sense, selflessness and exhibitionism, liberalism and literalism. In 1669 Fox married the outstanding female leader in the Quaker movement, Margaret, widow of his friend and patron Thomas Fell. But God's service took priority over their partnership, which was interrupted by his missions, his imprisonments in 1673-1675, and his supervision of the movement. He died in London on Jan. 13, 1691. Fox composed hundreds of tracts for his times, defending principles of the Friends and exposing other men as sinners and ministers of the "Great Whore of Babylon;" but it is by his Journal, a record of his day-to-day activities and thoughts, that he is best remembered.

William Wilberforce

William was born in august 1759 and died in July 1833; he was born in the great northern seaport of Hull and served in the English Parliament from 1780 to 1825. Living for something much greater than him, he fought for the sake of human pride and affected the lives of millions across the globe. Although he was involved with programs for education, overseas missions, parliamentary reform, and religious liberty, he is honoured most for his untiring commitment to the abolition of slavery and the slave trade. When Wilberforce's opponents criticized his faith and attacked his reforms, instead of condemning them, he won them over with integrity, honesty, and sensitivity, using his incredible gifts of oration (speech) and persuasion. Wilberforce's unrelenting forty-year crusade against slavery required supreme perseverance and patience to overcome the many setbacks and defeats. In 1807, Parliament finally passed his bill of abolition. His triumph brought him incredible prestige and freed him to pursue other plans for improving the quality and morality of life in Great Britain. His efforts made the foundations for the great moral revival of the Victorian period. William was the son of a wealthy merchant who died when he was still a child. Placed under the guardianship of his uncle and aunt (a strong supporter of John Wesley), William developed an early interest in

Methodism. His mother, however, was disturbed by this development and the young William was returned to her care. After attending Pocklington School in 1776, William Wilberforce was sent to St John's College, Cambridge. He was shocked by the behaviour of most of his fellow students and later wrote: "I was introduced on the very first night of my arrival to as licentious a set of men as can well be conceived. They drank hard, and their conversation was even worse than their lives." Wilberforce spent most of his time with the social elite, eventually losing his interest in Biblical religion. He was able to live off his parents' wealth doing as little work as possible. In these surroundings, he befriended William Pitt the Younger who would later become the Prime Minister of England. At the young age of twenty-one, Wilberforce ran for the seat in the House of Commons of Hull in 1780. The 8,000 he spent and his incredible gift for speaking brought about his triumph over both his opponents. (Wilberforce never lost an election till he died, shortly before his 74th birthday.) On the long holidays between Parliament sessions, he would sometimes travel with friends or family. One time, he invited Isaac Milner, a friend since grammar school. Milner turned out to be a strong Christian without the stereotypes that Wilberforce had felt about Evangelicals. The following summer, Wilberforce travelled again with Milner and discussed the Bible for hours and hours. Wilberforce said his intellectual assent became profound conviction. This conversion to Christianity and the subsequent change in his life were manifested when he wrote that riches were, "considering them as in themselves, acceptable, but, from the infirmity of [our] nature, as highly dangerous possessions; and [we are to value] them chiefly not as instruments of luxury or splendour, but as affording the means of honouring his heavenly Benefactor, and lessening the miseries of mankind." By the same token, he believed everything in politics was for the purpose of alleviating misery and spreading happiness for all. Wilberforce struggled about how to practice his beliefs in his public life. William Pitt tried to talk him out of becoming an Evangelical, saying that this change would "render your talents useless both to yourself and mankind." On December 7, 1789, Wilberforce risked seeing the unpopular Evangelical parliament member, John Newton. He had so many doubts about going to see Newton, he walked twice around the block before he could get up the

courage to knock on his door. Newton encouraged him not to cut himself off from public life and wrote him two years later: "It is hoped and believed that the Lord has raised you up for the good of His church and for the good of the nation." No one could have imagined at that time what Wilberforce would accomplish. The battle of uncertainties lasted for a few months until a more peaceful serenity came over him on Easter Day, 1786. Wilberforce went into the fields to pray when, as he said in a letter to his sister Sally, "amidst the general chorus with which all nature seems on such a morning to be swelling the song of praise and thanksgiving." Wilberforce was so ashamed of the "shapeless idleness" of his prior life that he wrote, "I was filled with sorrow. I am sure that no human creature could suffer more than I did for some months." Beginning soon after his conversion until he was married 11 years later, Wilberforce spent his days studying "about nine or ten hours a day," typically "breakfasting alone, taking walks alone, dining with the host family and other guests but not joining them in the evening until he 'came down about three-quarters of an hour before bedtime for what supper I wanted.'" "The Bible became his best-loved book and he learned stretches by heart." It seems as though Wilberforce wanted to make up the time he wasted due to his laziness in college. At 37 years old, Wilberforce met Barbara and married her and on May 30, 1797, about two weeks after they met. In the first eight years of their marriage, they had four sons and two daughters. They were still married when Wilberforce died, thirty-six years later. Wilberforce became interested in social reform, in particular improving working conditions in factories. Millions of men, women, and children had no choice but to work sixteen hours, six days a week in grim factories. People had come to the cities to find work but had been exploited and crowded together in filthy apartments. Here, they could easily catch cholera, typhoid, and tuberculosis. Eventually, Lady Middleton (Albinia Townshend, elder sister of Thomas Townshend, 1st Viscount Sydney) approached Wilberforce and asked him to use his power as an MP to stop the slave trade. Wilberforce wrote "I feel the great importance of the subject and I think myself unequal to the task allotted to me," but he agreed to do his best. On May 12, 1789, Wilberforce made his first speech against the slave trade. As he studied the slave trade and learned of the atrocities, he became more and more resolved to do

something about it. He described his conviction, "I confess to you, so enormous, so dreadful, so irremediable (permanent) did its wickedness appear that my own mind was completely made up for Abolition. Let the consequences be what they would, I from this time determined that I would never rest until I had effected its abolition." He viewed the slave trade as his personal responsibility and asked the Parliament to be responsible as well, "I mean not to accuse anyone but to take the shame upon myself, in common indeed with the whole Parliament of Great Britain, for having suffered this horrid trade to be carried on under their authority. We are all guilty we ought to all to plead guilty, and not to exculpate ourselves by throwing the blame on others." Most of Wilberforce's fellow Tories were against any limits to the slave market but Wilberforce persisted. Even when his first bill, in 1791, was defeated by a landslide of 163 votes to 88, Wilberforce did not give up. The opposition that carried on for more than twenty years was because the plantations in the West Indies produced huge financial benefits to the traders and to the British as a whole. They could see no other way to produce besides using slave labour. It was such an emotionally heated debate that Wilberforce's life was threatened at times, especially when he criticized the slave ship captain, Robert Norris. Besides the concern of physical harm there was the sorrowful loss of friends and the enormous political pressure to back down because of the international political consequences. For instance, the West Indian colonial assemblies said they would declare independence from Britain and federate with the United States if Britain outlawed slavery. These kinds of financial and political arguments kept the Parliament stirred up for decades. In 1805, the House of Commons finally passed a law that made it illegal for any British subject to transport slaves, but the House of Lords blocked it. In 1807, William Grenville made a speech saying that the slave trade was "contrary to the principles of justice, humanity, and sound policy." This time, when the vote was taken, a huge majority in the House of Commons and the House of Lords backed the proposal and the Abolition Bill was passed with 283 votes to 16, making the slave trade illegal on all British ships. It was an emotional day in Parliament and Wilberforce, having given so much of his heart and effort, broke down and cried. It became law on March 25, 1807. After 1807, with the support of friends such as Beilby Porteus, the Bishop of London, Wilberforce continued to fight for the complete emancipation of slaves in the British Empire. In 1823, Wilberforce wrote a 56-page booklet, Appeal to the Religion, Justice and Humanity of the Inhabitants of the British

Empire in Behalf of the Negro Slaves in the West Indies. This pamphlet inspired the formation of the Anti-Slavery Society, which led the emancipation campaign. Although British captains were fined 100 for every slave that was found aboard their ship, this did not stop the trade. If a slave-ship was in danger of being captured by the Navy, the captain would order the slaves to be thrown overboard in order to reduce the fine. Some of the campaigners realized that the only way to stop slavery completely was to make it illegal. Wilberforce retired from the House of Commons in 1825, and Thomas Fowell Buxton became the leader of the Parliamentary campaign. The Emancipation Bill slowly gathered support and was approved on July 26, 1833. On that day, slavery was abolished throughout the British Empire. Wilberforce died three days later and a month before the Slavery Abolition Act was passed (an act which gave all slaves in the British Empire their freedom). Wilberforce wrote, "God Almighty has set before me two great objects, the suppression of the Slave Trade and the Reformation of Manners." It was at his suggestion, together with Bishop Porteus, that the Archbishop of Canterbury requested George III of the United Kingdom to issue his Proclamation for the Discouragement of Vice in 1787. Wilberforce understood that the peculiar doctrines of Christianity lead to passion and emotions for spiritual things and encourage people to transform their morals (or manners, as they were sometimes called) thereby influencing the political welfare of the nation. If a principle of true Religion [i.e., true Christianity] should gain ground, there is no estimating the effects on public morals, and the consequent influence on our political welfare. He deeply felt that the key to new morals and lasting political reformation can only come about when new affections for God are experienced. According to Wilberforce, new affections would not come just from ethical systems. Wilberforce promoted the concept that a persons actions were a reflection of their "peculiar doctrines." He wrote in his book about how most of the Christians in England were ineffective because they had abandoned their doctrines: The fatal habit of considering Christian morals as distinct from Christian doctrines insensibly gained strength. Thus the peculiar doctrines of Christianity went more and more out of sight, and as might naturally have

been expected, the moral system itself also began to wither and decay, being robbed of that which should have supplied it with life and nutriment. Too many men and women were hanged. Venality, drunkenness, and the high crime rate arose from the general decadence, especially the corruption and irreligion of the trend setters, not in those days pop stars and media moguls but the nobility and landed gentry. The high civilization of eighteenth century England was built on the slave trade, mass poverty, child labour, and political corruption in high places. As one historian wrote, there was little to choose between the morals of the English and French aristocracy in the century before the French Revolution. Wilberforce endeavoured to make goodness fashionable by establishing the Proclamation Society that was dedicated to promoting virtue in public life. Philanthropy was encouraged and a number of parliamentary measures for the poor, the deaf, the mentally ill, and for animals were introduced. Wilberforce also crusaded against pornography. In his driving passion to lift the moral climate of that time, Wilberforce was known to be involved with over 60 organizations. The British East India Company was set up to give the English a share in the East Indian spice trade (before the Spanish Armada, Portugal and Spain had monopolized the market). In 1793, the East India Company had to renew its charter and William Wilberforce suggested adding clauses to enable the company to employ religious teachers with the aim of "introducing Christian light into India." He had also tried to set up a mission in India. This plan was unsuccessful, but Wilberforce tried again in 1813, when the charter had to be renewed again. Wilberforce, using many petitions and various statistics, managed to persuade the House of Commons to include the clauses. In part of his efforts, his work enabled missionary work to become a part of the conditions of the British East India Company's 1813 renewed charter. (Although concerned with the country deeply, Wilberforce himself had never been to India.) Eventually, this resulted in the foundation of the Bishopric of Calcutta. Wilberforce was also a founding member of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals as well as the Church Missionary Society (since renamed Church Mission Society). He also worked with the reformer, Hannah More, in the Association for the Better Observance of Sunday which had the goal to provide all children with regular education in reading, personal hygiene and religion. Wilberforce

worked to establish educational reform, prison reform, health care reform, and to limit the number of hours children were required to work in factories. The seventeenth century house in which he was born is today Wilberforce House museum in Kingston upon Hull.

The Quakers

The Quakers also commonly known as the Religious Society of Friends comprises religious organizations arising out of a Christian movement in mid17th century England which focused on ordinary individuals' own experience of Christ. There is no single Religious Society of Friends with universal

juridical authority as each national or regional organization (usually termed a Yearly Meeting) has full autonomy (independence). Today, there is a large range of theological belief between Yearly Meetings, reflecting developments in the 19th and 20th centuries. Some Yearly Meetings (termed conservative) have retained Friends' beliefs of relying on the guidance of the eternal Christ; whereas other Yearly Meetings have moved towards evangelicalism, with a stress on Scriptures, biblical inerrancy and salvation; and other Yearly Meetings who have moved towards liberalism with their stress on individual interpretation, in some cases with some members now holding universalist or non-theistic beliefs. Friends worship in a variety of forms. Some meet for silent worship with no human leader and no fixed programme (mainly in Europe, Australia, New Zealand and parts of North America). Some meet for services led by a pastor with readings and hymns (mainly in Africa, Asia and parts of North America). Some have a form of worship which incorporates elements of both styles. Most branches of the Religious Society of Friends are known to the public by testifying to their faith in their actions and the way they live their lives. Such testimony may vary according to how different individuals are led and events in the wider world at the time; however, well known examples of ways in which Friends have acted historically in many yearly meetings in North America and the UK have included refusing to participate in war; social action aimed at promoting social justice and equality including participating in the anti-slavery movement in North America during the mid-19th Century and the women's rights movement; wearing particular, simple clothing (plain dress); using the same form of address to refer to everyone (e.g. using thee and thou to talk to anyone and not using titles such as Mr, Mrs, etc.); and refusing to swear oaths. The Religious Society of Friends has been categorized as one of the peace churches, alongside the Church of the Brethren, Mennonites and Amish, because of all of these churches' emphasis on Christian pacifism. These churches also share other similarities in terms of theology including a literal interpretation of the Sermon on the Mount, an emphasis on simplicity in speech and dress, and a lack of creedal statements. The name "Religious Society of Friends", dating from the 18th century, remains the most widely accepted name to this day, although often "Quakers" is added in parentheses for the sake of clarity.

During the seventeenth century they often referred to themselves as the 'Saints'. Other common names in the early days were 'Children of the Light' and 'Friends of the Truth', reflecting the central importance of Christ as an Inner light that showed individuals' true condition. The term 'Religious Society of Friends', harks back to the 'Friends of the Truth'. The origin of the name "Quaker" is unclear. In 1650, a prominent Friend, George Fox, was brought before Justice Bennet of Derby on a charge of blasphemy. According to Fox's Journal, Bennet "called us Quakers because we bid them tremble at the word of God", a scriptural reference (e.g., Book of Isaiah 66:2, Ezra 9:4). Therefore, what began apparently as a way to make fun of Fox's admonition by those outside the Society of Friends became a nickname that today many Friends use for themselves. However, there are some Friends who prefer other names: some evangelical Friends' organizations use the term "Friends Church", and some monthly and yearly meetings (usually in the programmed tradition) do not use the term 'Religious' and refer to themselves as part of the "Society of Friends" (e.g. London Yearly Meeting, until the mid-twentieth century). The Religious Society of Friends began in England in the late 1640s, in a context of social upheaval which included increasing dissatisfaction with the established church, the execution of the king, and the rise of Nonconformist movements.The founder of Quakerism is generally accepted to have been George Fox. He became convinced that it was possible to have a direct experience of Jesus Christ without the mediation of clergy. He began to spread this message as an itinerant preacher and found several pre-existing groups of like-minded people; he felt called to gather them together, eventually becoming accepted as their leader.In the first few years of the movement, Quakers thought of themselves as part of the restoration of the true Christian church after centuries of apostasy. Generally, Quakerism has had no creed but always had doctrines. George Fox dismissed theologians as "notionists" but accepted the Catechism and Confession of Faith by Robert Barclay. Some Quakers today are little concerned with theology and are more focused on acting in accordance with the leading of the Spirit. Quakers historically have expressed a preference for understanding coming from God's Spirit over the knowledge derived from objective logic or systematic theology. Early Friends believed that the direct experience of God was available to all people, without mediation (e.g., not through hired clergy, nor through outward sacraments). Fox described this by

insisting that "Christ has come to teach His people Himself." Parallels have been observed between the beliefs of the early Quakers and those of the anabaptists, whom Voltaire refers to as the 'fathers' of the Quakers. Since Friends believe that each person has the ability to experience and respond to God, much of the Quaker perspective is based on trying to hear God and to allow God's Spirit free action in the heart. Isaac Penington wrote in 1670: "It is not enough to hear of Christ, or read of Christ, but this is the thing to feel him my root, my life, my foundation..." The theological beliefs of different Yearly Meetings vary considerably, ranging from evangelical Christianity to Universalist and new thought beliefs. In addition, wide variation exists in the degree of yearly meetings' acceptance of dissenting beliefs among their individual members and constituent local groups. As a public statement of faith, many Yearly Meetings publish their own version of a Book of Discipline - often called Faith and Practice - which expresses their sense of truth and purpose; these documents generally are revised periodically. While the predominant theological beliefs of different Yearly Meetings do not tally exactly with the style of service, there is often some co-relation, with many Yearly Meetings that hold programmed worship having more evangelical theological beliefs, and those with unprogrammed worship tending to have more liberal theological beliefs. Quakers also believe in continuing revelation, with the idea that God speaks directly to any person, without the need for any human intermediary. For this reason, many reject the idea of priests or holy people, but believe in the priesthood of all believers, and reject the doctrine of sola scriptura. The idea of the Inner Light, or Inward Light of Christ is important to many Quakers: the idea that there is that of God within everyone, guiding them through their lives.

The ClapHam Sect

The Clapham Sect or Clapham Saints were a group of influential likeminded Church of England social reformers based in Clapham, London at the beginning of the nineteenth century (active c. 1790 1830). They are described by the historian Stephen Tomkins as "a network of friends and families in England, with William Wilberforce as its centre of gravity, who were powerfully bound together by their shared moral and spiritual values, by their religious mission and social activism, by their love for each other, and by marriage".

Its members were chiefly prominent and wealthy evangelical Anglican who shared common political views concerning the liberation of the slaves, the abolition of the slave trade and the reform of the penal system. The group's name originates from Clapham, then a village south of London (today part of south-west London), where both Wilberforce and Thornton, the sect's two most influential leaders, resided and where many of the group's meetings were held. They were supported by Beilby Porteus, Bishop of London, who sympathised with many of their aims. They founded Freetown in Sierra Leone, the first major British colony in Africa, whose purpose in Thomas Clarkson's words was "the abolition of the slave trade, the civilization of Africa, and the introduction of the gospel there". After many decades of work both in British society and in Parliament, the group saw their efforts rewarded with the final passage of the Slave Trade Act in 1807, banning the trade throughout the British Empire and, after many further years of campaigning, the total emancipation of British slaves with the passing of the Slavery Abolition Act in 1833. They also campaigned vigorously for Britain to use its influence to eradicate slavery throughout the world. Lampooned in their day as "the saints", the group published a journal, the Christian Observer, edited by Zachary Macaulay and were also credited with the foundation of several missionary and tract societies, including the British and Foreign Bible Society and the Church Missionary Society. Other societies that they founded or were involved with included: the AntiSlavery Society, the Abolition Society, the Proclamation Society, the Sunday School Society, the Bettering Society, and the Small Debt Society. The Clapham sect have been credited with playing a significant part in the development of Victorian morality, through their writings, their societies, their influence in Parliament, and their example in philanthropy and moral campaigns, especially against slavery. In the words of Tomkins, "The ethos of Clapham became the spirit of the age".

Members of the Clapham Sect included:

Thomas William Edward Thomas Charles

Fowell Buxton (17861845), MP and brewer Dealtry (17751847), Rector of Clapham, mathematician James Eliot (175897), parliamentarian Gisbourne (17581846), clergyman and author

Grant (17461823), administrator, chairman of the directors of the British East India Company, father of the first Lord Glenelg
Katherine Zachary

Hankey

Macaulay (17681838), estate manager, colonial governor, father of Thomas Babington Macaulay
Hannah

More (17451835), writer and philanthropist Sharp (17351813), scholar and administrator

Granville Charles

Simeon (17591836), Anglican minister, promoter of missions

James

Stephen (17581832), Master of Chancery, great-grandfather of Virginia Woolf.

Lord

Teignmouth (17511834), Governor-General of India

Henry

Thornton (17601815), economist, banker, philanthropist, MP for Southwark, great-grandfather of writer E.M. Forster
Henry

Venn(172597), founder of the group, father of John Venn and greatgrandfather of John Venn (originator of the Venn diagram)
John

Venn (17501813), Rector of Holy Trinity Church, Clapham

William

Wilberforce (17591833), MP successively for Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire and Bramber, leading abolitionist

James Ramsey

Born at Lossiemouth in a traditional two-room cottage, Ramsay MacDonald was the illegitimate son of Mary Ramsay and a ploughman named MacDonald. He was educated at a local board school in Drainie and read

enthusiastically o1utside of school. For a time he became a pupil teacher at the school in which he had been a pupil. Moving to London, he became actively interested in socialism and joined the Fabian Society. He earned a living as a clerk and then as a secretary for a prospective Parliamentary candidate. He also became involved in journalism. He joined the Independent Labour Party in 1894, coming into contact with another Scot, Keir Hardie. He later became secretary of the Labour Representative Committee (which was to become the Labour Party). MacDonald was appointed secretary of the Labour Party in 1900, a position he filled until 1911. He was also chairman of the Independent Labour Party (ILP), 1906-9, and leader of the Labour Party 1911-14. When in 1914 the ILP. broke away from the British Labour Party, Ramsay MacDonald, with Keir Hardie, Philip Snowden, and others, carried on, following a separate policy regarding the Great War. The ILP advocated pacificsm and peace by negotiation but MacDonald accepted that the argument had been lost and argued for the war effort - much to the dismay of his former ILP colleagues. A member of the London County Council from 1901-4, he was elected as a Member of Parliament for Leicester, 1906-18. His pacifist views meant that the public thought he had betrayed his country and he lost his seat in Parliament. He was later elected M.P. for Aberavon, Glamorganshire, in 1922, becoming leader of the opposition, supported by an influx of "Red Clydeside" Members of Parliament from Glasgow constituencies. On the defeat of Stanley Baldwin's government, January 21, 1924, he became prime minister and head of the first Labour government in Great Britain, but heading a minority government. A second term of office arose in 1929-31, at the height of the Depression. Between 1931 and 1935 he was again Prime Minister in a coalition with the Conservative party. His moderation and gradualism alienated him from many of his more radical colleagues in the Labour movement and in 1935 he lost his seat at Westminster to Emmanuel Shinwell. Ramsay MacDonald died aboard "Reina del Pacifico" while crossing the Atlantic on November 9 1937.

He married Margaret Ethel, daughter of Dr. J. H. Gladstone in 1896. She seemed to provide MacDonald with some of the social graces he lacked and bore him six children. After her death in 1911, wrote her biography. Among his writings are Socialism and Society, 1905; Labour and the Empire, 1907; The Social Unrest, 1913; Parliament and Revolution, 1919; and two books on India - The Awakening of India, 1913, and The Government of India, 1919.

Thomas Clarkson

Thomas Clarkson was among the foremost British campaigners against both slavery and the slave trade. He was born in Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, on 28 March 1760 and educated at the grammar school there where his father, the Rev. John Clarkson, was headmaster. In 1775, he went to St. Paul's School in London where he excelled. He went up to Cambridge in 1780 where he was an outstanding student. His awareness of slavery originated in an essay,

originally written in Latin, as an entry in a Cambridge University prize competition, which it won. (In fact, Clarkson had already won a BA competition, and he wanted and became the first person to win the MA competition as well.) The question - and there was only one - was "is it lawful to make slaves of others against their will?" (Anne Liceat Invitos in Servitutem Dare?) The question was set by the vice-chancellor, Peter Peckard, a man of liberal views who later wrote two abolitionist pamphlets himself. Although Clarkson knew nothing about this subject, it engaged his curiosity and he soon discovered the works of Anthony Benezet, which became at that stage his principal source. He also asked around, and found both students and others with personal experience of slavery and the slave trade. His research paid off and, after having written the essay (and collected the prize) he translated it into English, rather hurriedly he apologetically informs us, so that it could gain a wider audience. In 1786, the essay was published as an essay on the slavery and commerce of the human species, particularly the African, translated from a Latin Dissertation, which was honoured with the first prize in the University of Cambridge, for the year 1785. Clarkson's Essay was immediately influential, and it soon brought him into contact with others who had published or campaigned against the slave trade, including James Ramsay and Granville Sharp. In May 1787, Clarkson was one of the twelve men who formed the Committee for Abolition of the African Slave Trade. Clarkson took on the role of fact-finder, and for the next two years rode around the country gathering evidence against the trade. In some places, notably the major slave-trading ports of Bristol and Liverpool, this was a dangerous activity, not least because Clarkson tried openly to gather support for the abolition campaign. On his periodic returns to London, Clarkson passed his evidence to the Abolition Committee, who arranged for the campaign to be taken to parliament where William Wilberforce was leading the effort to outlaw the trade. In February 1788, a committee of the privy council started to take evidence on 'the present state of the African trade'. While Wilberforce steered the campaign through parliament, Clarkson continued to produce new evidence, evidence which Wilberforce put to good use in his famous speech of 12 May 1789. Meanwhile, Clarkson made much of his evidence available to the wider public as well as to parliament: between 1787 and 1794, he wrote several books or pamphlets opposing the slave trade. His energies were not just confined to Britain. In the autumn of 1789, he went to Paris where he attempted (with little success) to persuade the new government of France to abolish the slave trade. As he pointed out

in the many letters he wrote to Mirabeau on the subject, and which were later published, the revolutionary ideals of libert, fraternit, and galit meant little if they were not extended to the slaves. Clarkson's energy was unabated on his return to London early in 1790. He continued to work hard in London and, later that year, resumed his travels throughout Britain, travels which he kept up for several years. In the meantime, the parliamentary campaign was not going well. [See the Wilberforce page for more details] Public interest in abolition declined as well. Clarkson threw himself into the task with increased vigour, but it could not last. In July 1794, he suffered a physical breakdown brought on by overwork. Completely burned-out, and having spent most of his money, he was forced to retire from the campaign. A subscription was raised on his behalf by Wilberforce. Unfortunately, this act of charity was later to be the source of some unpleasantness. The abolition campaign lay dormant until the early years of the nineteenth century. In 1803, Clarkson returned to the committee and, in the following year, its efforts were renewed with a new campaign. Clarkson once again toured the country gathering evidence while Wilberforce again introduced the Abolition Bill before parliament. The Bill fell in 1804 and 1805, but gave the abolitionists an opportunity to sound out support. A public campaign once again promoted the cause, and the new Whig government was in favour as well. In January 1807, the Abolition Bill was again introduced, this time attracting very considerable support, and, on 23 February 1807, parliament voted overwhelmingly in favour of abolition of the slave trade. Clarkson was celebrated as a national figure and a model of philanthropy. In 1808, on the crest of this wave, he wrote the comprehensive History of the Rise, Progress and Accomplishment of the Abolition of the African Slave Trade. This book provides the historian with much of the detail of the abolition campaign, and is an important record of the movement. However, some felt that Clarkson overplayed his own contribution (he had, after all, been absent between 1794 and 1803). Modern historians have also noted the rather self-congratulatory tone of the work, which did much to foster the myth of virtuous philanthropy of the anti-slavery 'saints'. Nonetheless, Clarkson's dedication to the cause is undoubted. With the abolition of the slave trade, public interest in the issue waned temporarily. Clarkson remained committed, not only to abolition of the trade around the world, but to the complete emancipation of the slaves in British colonies. He remained active on both fronts, including travelling to France in 1818 to press the Czar of Russia, Alexander I, to suppress the slave trade. In 1823, the Anti-Slavery Society was formed to press for emancipation.

Clarkson and Wilberforce were vice-presidents, although much of the work was done by younger members, in particular, by Thomas Fowell Buxton. Clarkson contributed a new essay, Thoughts on the Necessity for improving the Condition of the Slaves in the British Colonies, with a view to their ultimate emancipation, and acted in the role of the elder statesman. His health, however, was not good and so he was unable to participate fully in the early 1830s, when the Emancipation Bill was finally passed. Indeed, he was almost blind from cataracts, but these were cured after a successful (if dangerous) operation in 1836. This cure allowed him once more to read and write with ease. Unfortunately, some of his reading was the recently published Life of William Wilberforce in which some embarrassing correspondence from the 1790s was revealed. Clarkson was not seen at his best in these letters, nor in the Strictures on a Life of William Wilberforce which he published as a result in 1838. Clarkson continued to write antislavery pamphlets into the 1840s, despite having retired to Playford Hall, an Elizabethan manor in Suffolk, after his last appearance at the Anti-Slavery Society in 1840. He died on 26 September 1846, at the age of 86, and is buried in Playford church.

William Pitt
William Pitt the younger was born on 28 May 1759 at Hayes near Bromley in Kent. In 1766, his father, William Pitt the Elder, became the Earl of Chatham. This possibly led to Williams political status later in life. During his childhood, William was a very sickly boy. Due to his lack of health, Williams parents insisted that he be taught at home. His tutor, Rev. Edward Wilson, a Cambridge graduate, saw him excel in every subject. By the age of seven, William was already fluent in Latin. Pitts father observed how much his son had excelled, and decided the time had come for young William to have a chance to go even farther with his studies. Having been to Oxford and hating every moment of it Pitts father decided to send him to

Cambridge. Thus, in 1773, at the very young age of fourteen, William Pitt the Younger set off for Pembroke Hall in Cambridge, where he studied the classics, math, English history, and political philosophy. Having been sickly all of his life, William had another attack of gout. For this, his doctor prescribed a bottle of port a day as the cure. Even though he was only fourteen, he continued to drink for the rest of his life. Several years later, after graduating, in 1778, Pitts father made his last speech. Less than a month after this speech, he died leaving his son an income of less than 3,000 a year. This sent Pitt into major debt, which he kept till his death. While at Cambridge, Pitt met and befriended a young scholar named William Wilberforce. Their friendship is important because later, Wilberforce helped Pitt in his rise to power as the Prime Minister. In addition, Pitt also helped Wilberforce in his fight for the abolition of slavery. While they were both still in their early 20s, Pitt and Wilberforce were both elected to Parliament. This helped Pitt in his political career immensely because now he could make his opinions known to the important members of society.

Beginning in 1782 a series of political circumstances quickly moved the office of Prime Minister onto Pitt's young shoulders. Charles WatsonWentworth succeeded Lord North as Prime Minister but he died only three months later. William Petty, another Whig, was appointed Prime Minister by the King. Most of the other Whigs, including Charles James Fox (a sworn political enemy of Pitt), disliked this decision and many protested. However, Pitt decided to support Petty and was then given the position of Chancellor of the Exchequer, second only to the Prime Minister. Fox then joined with Lord North, and they decided to bring about the defeat of Petty. When Petty resigned in 1783, King George III, who hated Fox, offered Pitt the office of Prime Minister. But Pitt declined, knowing he would never gain the support of the House of Commons. The Fox-North Coalition rose to power, and eventually lost control of the government and resigned. After this resignation, the King once again asked Pitt to take on the role as Prime Minister and 24 year old Pitt gladly accepted, becoming the youngest Prime Minister on record. Pitt appeared to have no religious status. Looking over his life, there was no sign that he was a Christian. He appeared to believe in God, but it all ends

there. As far as can be deciphered, Pitt showed no interest in religion until William Wilberforces conversion. But even after that, all records have shown he had no interest in God or Jesus at all. After having been Prime Minister for a few years, Pitt had gained much popularity. In 1788, Pitt advised William Wilberforce to take up the fighting for the abolition of the slave trade. After much convincing, Wilberforce finally agreed. But on the day Wilberforce was supposed to propose the resolution, he became ill. Because of this, Pitt had to propose the resolution for him. Surprisingly enough, after giving the resolution to the House of Commons, his main support came from the Fox administration, his sworn enemy. Because of this unexpected support, the resolution was passed into Parliament. Then war struck. Prior the start of the French revolution, Pitt had to keep England finances alive. This was an ironic job for William due to the fact the he personally owed thousands of pounds in various debts. On January 1, 1801, Pitt saw the success of his work to unite Roman Catholic Ireland and Anglican England as a stand against possible French invasion. However, King George III would not allow the additional freedoms Pitt pushed for the Catholics and Pitt resigned in protest. Following the resignation of Prime Minister Henry Addington in 1804, William Pitt returned to the position despite his weakened body from a life time of sickness. In October 1805, Admiral Horatio Nelson performed spectacularly at the Battle of Trafalgar, perhaps causing Napoleon Bonaparte to put off his French invasion into England. The war against France was still not going well when, at only 47 years old, Prime Minister Pitt lay in his bed very sick with presumably liver failure. As he looked out his window he thought of England. His last words are reported to be either, Oh, my country! How I leave my country! or I think I could eat one of Bellamy's veal pies. At his death in 1806, he was buried at West Minster Abbey and his debt of 40,000 was paid off by the country of England. Years later, when William Wilberforce died, he was buried right next to his lifelong friend, William Pitt.

James Stephen

James Stephen was born on 30 June 1758 and died on 10 October 1832.He was the principal English lawyer associated with the abolitionist movement. Stephen was born in Poole, Dorset; the family home later being removed to Stoke Newington. He married twice and was the father of Sir James Stephen and grandfather of Sir James Fitzjames Stephen and Sir Leslie Stephen and great-grandfather of Virginia Woolf. James Stephen began his career reporting on parliamentary proceedings. Later he held an official post in the Caribbean at St. Kitts; at that time a British colony. During a visit to Barbados he witnessed the trial of four black slaves for murder. The trial, which found the men guilty as charged, was

considered by many to be a grave miscarriage of justice. The men were sentenced to death by burning, and Stephens' revulsion at both the trial and the verdict led him to vow never to keep slaves himself, and to ally himself with the abolitionist movement. He opposed the opening up of Trinidad through the use of slave labour when ceded to the British in 1797, recommending instead that Crown land should only be granted for estates that supported the immigration of free Africans. He considered that, besides the evangelical arguments in support of freedom from slavery, internal security, particularly from potential French interests, could be obtained in the British West Indian Islands by improving the conditions of slaves. Stephen was a skilled lawyer whose specialty was the laws governing Great Britain's foreign trade. He was a defender of the mercantilist system of government-licensed controlled trade. In October, 1805 the same month that the British fleet under Lord Nelson defeated the French fleet his book appeared: War in Disguise; or, the Frauds of the Neutral Flags. It called for the abolition of neutral nations' carrying trade, meaning America's carrying trade, between France's Caribbean islands and Europe, including Great Britain. Stephen's arguments two years later became the basis of Great Britain's Orders in Council, which placed restrictions on American vessels. The enforcement of this law by British warships eventually led to the War of 1812, even though the Orders were repealed in the same month that America declared war, unbeknown to the American Congress. James Stephen's second marriage was to Sarah, sister of William Wilberforce, in 1800, and through this connection he became frequently acquainted with many of the figures in the anti-slavery movement. Several of his friendships amongst the abolitionists were made in Clapham (home to the Clapham Sect) where he had removed from Sloane Square in 1797; also in the village of Stoke Newington a few miles north of London, where James Stephen's father leased a family home from 1774 onwards called Summerhouse. The property adjoined Fleetwood House and Abney House at Abney Park and stood where Summerhouse Road is built today. Close by were the residences of three prominent Quaker abolitionists: William Allen (17701843), Joseph Woods the elder, and Samuel Hoare the younger (17511825). The latter two were founder members of the predecessor body to the Committee for the Abolition of the Slave Trade. Anna Letitia Barbauld, author of An Epistle to William Wilberforce (1791) also came to live in Stoke Newington in 1802. Inevitably, Wilberforce also became

a frequent visitor to Stoke Newington, combining meetings with William Allen and his Quaker circle with visits to his sister Sarah and brother-in-law James. James Stephen came to be regarded as the chief architect of the Slave Trade Act 1807, providing William Wilberforce with the legal mastermind he needed for its drafting. To close off loopholes pointed out by some critics, he became a Director of the Africa Institution for the Registration of Slaves through which he advocated a centralized registry, administered by the British government, which would furnish precise statistics on all slave births, deaths, and sale, so that "any unregistered black would be presumed free". Though he introduced many successful ideas to strengthen the legal success of the abolitionist cause, this mechanism which he believed to be "the only effective means to prevent British colonists from illicitly importing African slaves" was never taken up. His last public engagement was a speaking engagement at a meeting of the Anti-Slavery Society at Exeter Hall in 1832. From 1808 to 1815 James Stephen became an MP, and in 1811 Master in Chancery. In 1826 he issued An Address to the People and Electors of England, in which, echoing his speeches, he had some success in urging the election of Members of Parliament who would not be "tools of the West India interest", paving the way for the second Abolition Bill which succeeded in 1833. Stephen's second wife, Sarah ne Wilberforce, died in 1816. Her Niece, Barbara Wilberforce, died in 1821, and in 1832 Stephen himself died. All three are buried at St Mary's churchyard, Stoke Newington, London, along with Stephen's first wife, his mother and father and two of his infant daughters. Three sons from Stephen's first marriage (m. Anna Stent at St Leonard, Shoreditch 1783) survived him, and achieved prominence in law, abolition and the civil service: Sir James Stephen (17891859), Henry John Stephen (17871864), and George Stephen (17941879). NOTE: - Sarah Wilberforce (c. 1757 1816) was the eldest sister of William Wilberforce (17591833), the Abolitionist of Slavery, and Barbara (17991821) was his daughter.

Zachary Macaulay

Zachary Macaulay (2 May 1768 13 May 1838) was a slavery abolitionist and campaigner.Macaulay was born in Inveraray, Scotland, the son of the Rev. John Macaulay (17201789, minister in the Church of Scotland, grandson of Dmhnall Cam,[1] and his mother was Margaret Campbell. He had two brothers, Rev. Aulay Macaulay, scholar and antiquary, and Colin Macaulay, General, slavery abolitionist and campaigner. Receiving only a rudimentary education, he eventually taught himself Greek and Latin, and read the English classics. Having worked in a merchants office in Glasgow, he fell into bad company and began to indulge in excessive drinking.

In late 1784, at the age of sixteen, in order to get his life into some kind of order, Macaulay emigrated to Jamaica, where he worked as an assistant manager at a sugar plantation. He was at first deeply affected by the horrific violence of the slavery which surrounded him, but eventually became hardened to the plight of the slaves (by his own admission callous and indifferent). He was a good worker, had successfully moderated his drinking, and proved himself to be a model bookkeeper. He also, eventually, began to take an interest in the slaves and their welfare. In 1789 Macaulay returned to Britain and secured a position in London. His sister Jean had married Thomas Babington of Rothley Temple, Leicestershire, a country gentleman and ardent evangelical, and soon after Macaulay went to stay with them he began to come under their influence. He underwent what he described as a conversion experience and soon came to know Babingtons associates, among whom were William Wilberforce and Henry Thornton. Sierra LeonePartly because of his experiences in Jamaica, in 1790 Macaulay was invited to visit Sierra Leone, the west African colony founded by the Sierra Leone Company to provide a home for emancipated slaves from the United States who came to Sierra Leone via Nova Scotia. Returning to the colony in 1792 as one of the council members, he was promoted to governor in 1794, and was the longest serving governor of Freetown during the 1790s. An unpopular governor, Macaulay remained as governor until 1799. Macaulay married Selina Mills of Bristol (to whom he had been introduced by Hannah More) on 26 August 1799, and they settled in Clapham, Surrey. They had several children, including Thomas Babington Macaulay the historian, poet and politician .Hannah More Macaulay (18101873) who married Sir Charles Trevelyan and was the mother of Sir George Otto Trevelyan Macaulay became a member of the Society for the Abolition of the Slave Trade, working closely with William Wilberforce, and soon becoming a leading figure in the parliamentary campaign against the slave trade. He later became secretary of the committee, which became known as the African Institution. His major contribution was to work on the collection and collating of the huge volume of evidence and drafting of reports a role to which he was ideally

suited as a skilled statistician with a meticulous approach and an exceptional head for figures. He also became a member of the Clapham Sect of evangelical Christian reformers, together with Wilberforce, Henry Thornton and Edward Eliot, and edited their magazine, the Christian Observer, from 1802 to 1816. In the 1820s Macaulay turned his attention towards securing the total abolition of slavery itself. He helped found the Society for the Mitigation and Gradual Abolition of Slavery (later the Anti-Slavery Society) in 1823, and was editor of its publication, the Anti-Slavery Reporter. Through his incessant hard work and reasoned argument, he helped to lay the foundation for the eventual abolition of slavery throughout the British Empire in 1833. A fellow of the Royal Society, he was also an active supporter of the British and Foreign Bible Society the Cheap Repository Tracts and the Church Missionary Society. Last daysAfter a period of ill health, Macaulay died in London on 13 May 1838. A memorial to him was erected in Westminster Abbey, depicting the figure of a kneeling slave with the motto Am I not a Man and a Brother?

Charles James Fox

Charles James Fox (24 January 1749 13 September 1806), styled The Honourable from 1762, was a prominent British Whig statesman whose parliamentary career spanned thirty-eight years of the late 18th and early 19th centuries and who was particularly noted for being the arch-rival of William Pitt the Younger. The son of an old, indulgent Whig father, Fox rose to prominence in the House of Commons as a forceful and eloquent speaker with a notorious and colourful private life, though his opinions were rather conservative and conventional. However, with the coming of the American Revolution and the influence of the Whig Edmund Burke, Fox's opinions evolved into some of the most radical ever to be aired in the Parliament of his era. He came from a family with radical and revolutionary tendencies and his first cousin and friend Lord Edward Fitzgerald was a prominent member of the Society of United Irishmen who was arrested just prior to the Irish Rebellion of 1798 and died of wounds received as he was arrested. Fox became a prominent and staunch opponent of George III, whom he regarded as an aspiring tyrant; he supported the revolutionaries across the Atlantic, taking up the habit of dressing in the colours of George Washington's army. Briefly serving as Britain's first Foreign Secretary in the ministry of the Marquess of Rockingham in 1782, he returned to the post in a coalition government with his old enemy Lord North in 1783. However, the

King forced Fox and North out of government before the end of the year, replacing them with the twenty-four-year-old Pitt the Younger, and Fox spent the following twenty-two years facing Pitt and the government benches from across the Commons. Though Fox had little interest in the actual exercise of power and spent almost the entirety of his political career in opposition, he became noted as an anti-slavery campaigner, a supporter of the French Revolution, and a leading parliamentary advocate of religious tolerance and individual liberty. His friendship with his mentor Burke and his parliamentary credibility were both casualties of Fox's support for France during the Revolutionary Wars, but he went on to attack Pitt's wartime legislation and to defend the liberty of religious minorities and political radicals. After Pitt's death in January 1806, Fox served briefly as Foreign Secretary in the 'Ministry of All the Talents' of William Grenville, before he died on 13 September 1806, aged fifty-seven.

Table of Contents
John Wesley George Fox William Wilberforce The Quakers 12 The Clapham Sect 16 James Ramsey 19 Thomas Clarkson 21 William Pitt James Stephen 27 page 1 page 4 page 6 page page page page page 23 page

Zachary Macualay 30 Charles James Fox 33

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