The Whigs' Ideology

Whig Ideology The Whigs were a political party that was in opposition to the Tories another political party in England and Scotland that developed in response to the need for reform during the 18th and 19th century. The group was made up of different groups of society that opposed British politics. Whigs were made up of Presbyterians against Restoration and aristocrats that opposed the licentious behavior and the lavish spending that was occurring at the court. Whigs were also liberals that opposed the Churches persecution of Protestants that refused to reform to Catholic teachings of the King. The Whigs fought against the corruption of the British Court and parliament as well as the oppressive rule of Charles II. Whigs feared an absolute Catholic regime if Charles II brother the Duke of York succeeded the Crown (Zuckert, 2011). The basic tenets of the Whig party are the belief in a democratic political process, a constitution, freedoms and rights for the citizens, and the need for scientific discovery. Whigs believed in the Natural Rights of the citizen and opposed a centralized government that was run by the monopoly of the King. In order to ensure that James did not take the throne the Whigs introduced a bill in Parliament that was ruled by Tories and it failed. Tories believed in the ultimate rule of the King. While the Whigs were not successful in England there ideology became the basis for the future American government. In England the Whigs fought for a fair parliamentary process while in America Whigs fought for a democratic government and independence from England but the end goals was the same. The Whig ideology influenced the drive for reform and change through the opposition of political processes such as the rule of the King. Because Americans opposed the taxes and oppressive rule of the King the ideology of the Whig political beliefs ignited the spark needed for the American people to come together and fight for the right for

References: Zuckert, M. (2011). English Radical Whigs: Natural Law and Natural Rights. Retrieved December 9, 2011 from http://www.nlnrac.org/earlymodern/radical-whigs-and-natural-rights