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'''William Ewart Gladstone''' (1809-1898) was the great [[British Liberal Party|Liberal]] prime minister of Britain's golden age of parliamentary government. Along with his equally great [[Conservative]] rival [[Benjamin Disraeli]] he dominated British politics for the second half of the 19th century.<ref> "Liberal" and "Conservative" had very different meanings in 19th century Britain compared to American usage in the 21st century.</ref> Gladstone served as Liberal prime minister four times (1868–74, 1880–85, 1886, and 1892–94). His financial policies, based on the notion of balanced budgets, low taxes and laissez-faire, were suited to a developing capitalist society but could not respond effectively as economic and social conditions changed. Called the "Grand Old Man" later in life, he was always a dynamic popular orator who appealed strongly to British workers and lower middle class. The deeply religious Gladstone brought a new moral tone to politics with his evangelical sensibility and opposition to aristocracy. His moralism often angered his upper-class opponents (including Queen Victoria), and his heavy-handed control split the Liberal party. His foreign policy goal was to create a European order based on cooperation rather than conflict and mutual trust instead of rivalry and suspicion; the rule of law was to supplant the reign of force and self-interest. This Gladstonian concept of a harmonious [[Concert of Europe]] was opposed to and ultimately defeated by a [[Bismark|Bismarckian system]] of manipulated alliances and antagonisms.

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'''William Ewart Gladstone''' (1809-1898) was the great [[British Liberal Party|Liberal]] prime minister of Britain's golden age of parliamentary government. Along with his equally great [[Conservative]] rival [[Benjamin Disraeli]] he dominated British politics for the second half of the 19th century.<ref>"Liberal" and "Conservative" had very different meanings in 19th century Britain compared to American usage in the 21st century.</ref> Gladstone served as Liberal prime minister four times (1868–74, 1880–85, 1886, and 1892–94). His financial policies, based on the notion of balanced budgets, low taxes and laissez-faire, were suited to a developing capitalist society but could not respond effectively as economic and social conditions changed. Called the "Grand Old Man" later in life, he was always a dynamic popular orator who appealed strongly to British workers and lower middle class. The deeply religious Gladstone brought a new moral tone to politics with his evangelical sensibility and opposition to aristocracy. His moralism often angered his upper-class opponents (including Queen Victoria), and his heavy-handed control split the Liberal party. His foreign policy goal was to create a European order based on cooperation rather than conflict and mutual trust instead of rivalry and suspicion; the rule of law was to supplant the reign of force and self-interest. This Gladstonian concept of a harmonious [[Concert of Europe]] was opposed to and ultimately defeated by a [[Bismark|Bismarckian system]] of manipulated alliances and antagonisms.

[[Image: Gladstone.jpg|thumb|right|220px|William Ewart Gladstone, Liberal Prime Minister of Britain in the late 19th century]]

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Gladstone was born on Dec. 29, 1809, at Liverpool, of Scottish parents. The family maintained close ties to Scotland, and Gladstone's ideas and modes of thinking were shaped by Scots, especially the novels of Sir [[Walter Scott]]. His father, Sir John Gladstone, rose from a humble Scottish origin to be Liverpool's foremost citizen after making a huge fortune in commerce during the Napoleonic wars, based on transatlantic corn and tobacco trade with the United States and on the slave-labour sugar plantations they owned in the West Indies. William was the youngest of four sons. He attended Eton and Christ Church, Oxford. A brilliant student, he learned oratory as well as English literature, history and theology. He was proficient at Greek and Latin, passing at French, poor at mathematics, and ignorant of science. At this time, he began the first of 25,000 diary entries that comprise a remarkable personal record continuing to the week of his death. Gladstone's political genius was recognized at an early age; when he was 22 the Duke of Newcastle, a Conservative party activist, provided him a "rotten borough"<ref>A "rotten borough" was a small district controlled politically by a rich landowner. The Duke spent thousands of pounds entertaining the voters, and Gladstone polled 887 votes. Morley (1901) 1:93; Partridge, (2003) p 32</ref> and he entered Parliament. Gladstone's maiden speech as a young Tory was a defense of the rights of West Indian sugar plantation magnates — slave-owners — among whom his father was prominent.

===Becoming Scottish===

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Although a son of Scottish parents, Gladstone was not initially considered a Scot by Englishmen, for he had been born and brought up in England and did not represent Scotland until 1880. However Gladstone was deeply influence by Scotland. Of [[Walter Scott]]'s political admirers, Gladstone was possibly the most ardent, genuine and significant. Scott's poems and novels were among the earliest texts Gladstone read, and were seminal in the formation of his private identity, both individual and familial, including much of his self-concept, his understanding of family, and his sense of home. Scott's works crucially influenced Gladstone's political understanding of the Scottish nation and its people, and his notions of how to best serve their political interests. In 1880, he became the Liberal MP for Midlothian and his election campaigns there gave him a Scottish profile. Consequently he was depicted by cartoonist Tenniel, in ''Punch'', as both a Highlander and "The McGladstone".<ref>Ruth Clayton Windscheffel, "Gladstone and Scott: family, identity and nation," ''Scottish Historical Review'' Volume 86, Number 1: No. 221, April 2007, online at [[Project Muse]]</ref>.

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Although a son of Scottish parents, Gladstone was not initially considered a Scot by Englishmen, for he had been born and brought up in England and did not represent Scotland until 1880. However Gladstone was deeply influence by Scotland. Of [[Walter Scott]]'s political admirers, Gladstone was possibly the most ardent, genuine and significant. Scott's poems and novels were among the earliest texts Gladstone read, and were seminal in the formation of his private identity, both individual and familial, including much of his self-concept, his understanding of family, and his sense of home. Scott's works crucially influenced Gladstone's political understanding of the Scottish nation and its people, and his notions of how to best serve their political interests. In 1880, he became the Liberal MP for Midlothian and his election campaigns there gave him a Scottish profile. Consequently he was depicted by cartoonist Tenniel, in ''Punch'', as both a Highlander and "The McGladstone".<ref>Ruth Clayton Windscheffel, "Gladstone and Scott: family, identity and nation," ''Scottish Historical Review'' Volume 86, Number 1: No. 221, April 2007, online at [[Project Muse]]</ref>

===Religion===

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His mother, intensely religious, was an evangelical of Scottish [[Episcopal]] origins,<ref> Partridge, (2003) p 18</ref> and his father joined the [[Church of England]], having been a [[Church of Scotland|Presbyterian]] when he first settled in Liverpool. The boy was baptized into the Church of England. He had previously experienced and ignored, from motives of worldly ambition, a call to enter the Church and become an Anglican priest, and his conscience tormented him for the rest of his life. He made amends by attempting to force his political career into conformity with the pietistic religion in which he fervently believed. In 1838 Gladstone nearly wrecked his career when he tried to force a religious mission upon the Conservative Party. He published a book which argued that the State had neglected its duty to the [[Church of England]]; and he coolly suggested that, as that Church possessed a monopoly of religious truth, Nonconformists and Roman Catholics ought to be excluded from all official employments. The historian [[Thomas Babington Macaulay]] and other critics tore his arguments to shreds, and Sir [[Robert Peel]], Gladstone's chief, was outraged. Peel was greatly attached, however, to his high-minded and extraordinarily good-looking young protégé, and he succeeded in diverting Gladstone's attention from theology to finance.

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His mother, intensely religious, was an evangelical of Scottish [[Episcopal]] origins,<ref>Partridge, (2003) p 18</ref> and his father joined the [[Church of England]], having been a [[Church of Scotland|Presbyterian]] when he first settled in Liverpool. The boy was baptized into the Church of England. He had previously experienced and ignored, from motives of worldly ambition, a call to enter the Church and become an Anglican priest, and his conscience tormented him for the rest of his life. He made amends by attempting to force his political career into conformity with the pietistic religion in which he fervently believed. In 1838 Gladstone nearly wrecked his career when he tried to force a religious mission upon the Conservative Party. He published a book which argued that the State had neglected its duty to the [[Church of England]]; and he coolly suggested that, as that Church possessed a monopoly of religious truth, Nonconformists and Roman Catholics ought to be excluded from all official employments. The historian [[Thomas Babington Macaulay]] and other critics tore his arguments to shreds, and Sir [[Robert Peel]], Gladstone's chief, was outraged. Peel was greatly attached, however, to his high-minded and extraordinarily good-looking young protégé, and he succeeded in diverting Gladstone's attention from theology to finance.

Gladstone altered his approach to religious problems, which always held first place in his mind. Before entering Parliament he had already substituted a [[High Church]] Anglican attitude, with its dependence upon authority and tradition, for the narrow evangelical outlook of his boyhood, with its reliance upon the direct inspiration of the Bible. Now in middle life he decided that the individual conscience would have to replace authority as the inner citadel of the Church. That view of the individual conscience affected his political outlook and changed him gradually from a Conservative into a [[British Liberal Party|Liberal]].

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Gladstone lost his parliamentary seat in 1845 because of his free trade views but in 1847 was elected to represent the University of Oxford. He left the Tory (Conservative) Party along with Sir [[Robert Peel]] in 1846, and during the next few years he moved slowly in the direction of liberalism. In 1852 he brought about the fall of the ministry of Lord Derby by his unpremeditated but brilliant attack on the budgets of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Benjamin Disraeli.

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Gladstone served as President of the Board of Trade (~~1843-44~~) during the second ministry of [[Robert Peel]]. He resigned in 1845 over the Maynooth Grant issue, but returned in December as Colonial Secretary. Peel’s government fell in 1846, and Gladstone followed his leader in separation from the [[Conservative Party]]. After Peel’s death in 1850, Gladstone became leader of this ‘Peelite’ faction in the House of Commons.

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Gladstone served as President of the Board of Trade (1843–44) during the second ministry of [[Robert Peel]]. He resigned in 1845 over the Maynooth Grant issue, but returned in December as Colonial Secretary. Peel’s government fell in 1846, and Gladstone followed his leader in separation from the [[Conservative Party]]. After Peel’s death in 1850, Gladstone became leader of this ‘Peelite’ faction in the House of Commons.

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In 1852 Gladstone became [[Chancellor of the Exchequer]] in Lord Aberdeen's ministry (~~1852-55~~). The government resigned in 1855 over the [[Crimean War]] and Gladstone spent the next four years in the political wilderness, refusing to join Derby’s Conservative Ministry on the grounds that he did not want to work with [[Benjamin Disraeli]].

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In 1852 Gladstone became [[Chancellor of the Exchequer]] in Lord Aberdeen's ministry (1852–55). The government resigned in 1855 over the [[Crimean War]] and Gladstone spent the next four years in the political wilderness, refusing to join Derby’s Conservative Ministry on the grounds that he did not want to work with [[Benjamin Disraeli]].

===Finance===

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Gladstone became Chancellor of the Exchequer again in Lord Palmerston's ministry (~~1859-66~~), when he became one of the leaders of the newly renamed Liberal Party. He cut the income tax on the rich from 5% to 2%. His modest parliamentary reform bill was defeated in 1866, but his speeches did much to mold Disraeli's Reform Bill of 1867. His reputation is outstanding as a highly effective Chancellor who raised the visibility and power of the position.

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Gladstone became Chancellor of the Exchequer again in Lord Palmerston's ministry (1859–66), when he became one of the leaders of the newly renamed Liberal Party. He cut the income tax on the rich from 5% to 2%. His modest parliamentary reform bill was defeated in 1866, but his speeches did much to mold Disraeli's Reform Bill of 1867. His reputation is outstanding as a highly effective Chancellor who raised the visibility and power of the position.

Gladstone took readily to finance and achieved his greatest success in that field. He promoted balancing the budget, limiting public expenditure, and paying off national debt. His rhetoric of fiscal responsibility helped to unify the Liberal Party and differed significantly from the Conservatives in advocating fiscal simplicity, reduced government size, and direct taxation.

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As prime minister 1868 to 1874 he headed a Liberal Party that was a coalition of Peelites like himself, Whigs and radicals; Gladstone was now a spokesman for "peace, economy and reform." Besides important legislation regarding Ireland, he passed the [[Elementary Education Act of 1870]], which provided England with an adequate system of elementary schools for the first time and required attendance; the abolition of the purchase of commissions in the army, and of religious tests for admission to Oxford and Cambridge; the introduction of the secret ballot in elections; the legalization of trade unions; and the reorganization of the judiciary in the Judicature Act.

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Between 1870 and 1874 religious disputes played a major part in destroying the broad Liberal Party coalition. Disputes over education, Irish disestablishment, and the Irish universities showed the divergence between, on the one hand, Whigs, who wanted state control of education and the propagation of a nondenominational, morally uplifting Christianity, and on the other hand Gladstone and his supporters, who sought to guard religion's independence from a modernizing civil power. This division struck a lasting blow to prospects of agreement on future policy over education and Ireland.<ref> J. P. Parry, "Religion and the Collapse of Gladstone's First Government, 1870-1874." ''Historical Journal'' 1982 25(1): 71-101. Issn: 0018-246x Fulltext: [http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0018-246X%28198203%2925%3A1%3C71%3ARATCOG%3E2.0.CO%3B2-R in Jstor] </ref>

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Between 1870 and 1874 religious disputes played a major part in destroying the broad Liberal Party coalition. Disputes over education, Irish disestablishment, and the Irish universities showed the divergence between, on the one hand, Whigs, who wanted state control of education and the propagation of a nondenominational, morally uplifting Christianity, and on the other hand Gladstone and his supporters, who sought to guard religion's independence from a modernizing civil power. This division struck a lasting blow to prospects of agreement on future policy over education and Ireland.<ref>J. P. Parry, "Religion and the Collapse of Gladstone's First Government, 1870-1874." ''Historical Journal'' 1982 25(1): 71-101. Issn: 0018-246x Fulltext: [http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0018-246X%28198203%2925%3A1%3C71%3ARATCOG%3E2.0.CO%3B2-R in Jstor]</ref>

====Finances====

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In 1868 Gladstone appointed Robert Lowe (~~1811-92~~) Chancellor of the Exchequer, despite Lowe's nasty attacks on Gladstone's own chancellorships, because he thought Lowe could hold down public spending. Public spending rose, and Gladstone pronounced Lowe "wretchedly deficient," a view that posterity has not challenged. Lowe was, however, a better Gladstonian than Gladstone himself. Lowe also stood out for his systematic underestimation of the revenue, enabling him to resist the clamor for tax cuts and to reduce the national debt instead, and for his insistence that the tax system be fair to all classes, which was more intense and protracted than that of any other chancellor of the age. By his own criterion of fairness - that the balance between direct and indirect taxation remain unchanged - he succeeded. This balance had never been a good measure of class incidence and was by that time thoroughly archaic.<ref> John Maloney, "Gladstone's Gladstone? The Chancellorship of Robert Lowe, 1868-73." ''Historical Research'' 2006 79(205): 404-428. Issn: 0950-3471 Fulltext: [[Ebsco]]

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In 1868 Gladstone appointed Robert Lowe (1811–92) Chancellor of the Exchequer, despite Lowe's nasty attacks on Gladstone's own chancellorships, because he thought Lowe could hold down public spending. Public spending rose, and Gladstone pronounced Lowe "wretchedly deficient," a view that posterity has not challenged. Lowe was, however, a better Gladstonian than Gladstone himself. Lowe also stood out for his systematic underestimation of the revenue, enabling him to resist the clamor for tax cuts and to reduce the national debt instead, and for his insistence that the tax system be fair to all classes, which was more intense and protracted than that of any other chancellor of the age. By his own criterion of fairness - that the balance between direct and indirect taxation remain unchanged - he succeeded. This balance had never been a good measure of class incidence and was by that time thoroughly archaic.<ref>John Maloney, "Gladstone's Gladstone? The Chancellorship of Robert Lowe, 1868-73." ''Historical Research'' 2006 79(205): 404-428. Issn: 0950-3471 Fulltext: [[Ebsco]]

</ref>

====Army reform====

Gladstone paid little attention to military affairs but in 1870 pushed through Parliament major changes in Army organization. Germany's stunning triumph over France proved that the Prussian system of professional soldiers with up-to-date weapons was far superior to the traditional system of gentlemen-soldiers that Britain used. Edward Cardwell (1813–1886) as Secretary of State for War (1868-1874) designed the reforms that Gladstone supported in the name of efficiency and democracy. In 1868 he abolished flogging, raising the private soldier status to more like an honorable career. In 1870 Cardwell abolished "bounty money" for recruits, discharged known bad characters from the ranks. He pulled 20,000 soldiers out of self-governing colonies, like Canada, which learned they had to help defend themselves. The most radical change, and one that required Gladstone's political muscle, was to abolish the system of officers obtaining commissions and promotions by purchase, rather than by merit. The system meant that the rich landholding families controlled all the middle and senior ranks in the army. Promotion depended on the family's wealth, not the officer's talents, and the middle class was shut out almost completely. British

officers were expected to be gentlemen and sportsmen; there was no problem if they were entirely wanting in military knowledge or leadership skills. From the Tory perspective it was essential to keep the officer corps the domain of gentlemen, and not a trade

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for professional experts. They warned the latter might menace the oligarchy and threaten a military coup; they preferred an inefficient army to an authoritarian state. The rise of [[Bismark]]'s new Germany made this reactionary policy too dangerous for a great empire to risk. The bill, which would have compensated current owners for their cash investments, passed Commons in 1871 but was blocked by the House of Lords. Gladstone then moved to drop the system without any reimbursements, forcing the Lords to backtrack and approve the original bill. Liberals rallied to Gladstone's anti-elitism, pointing to the case of Lord Cardigan (1797–1868), who spent £40,000 for his commission and proved utterly incompetent in the Crimean war, where he ordered the disastrous "Charge of the Light Brigade" in 1854. Cardwell was not powerful enough to install a general staff system; that had to await the 20th century. He did rearrange the war department. He made the office of Secretary of State for War superior to the Army's commander in Chief; the commander was His Royal Highness The Duke of Cambridge (1819-1904), the Queen's first cousin, and an opponent of the reforms. The surveyor-general of the ordnance, and the financial secretary became key department heads reporting to the Secretary. The militia was reformed as well and integrated into the Army. The term of enlistment was reduced to 6 years, so there was more turnover and a larger pool of trained reservists. The territorial system of recruiting for regiments was standardized and adjusted to the current population. Cardwell reduced the Army budget yet increased its strength of the army in the home islands by 25 battalions, 156 field guns, and abundant stores, while the reserves available for foreign service had been raised tenfold from 3,500 to 36,000 men.<ref> Ensor, ''England, 1870-1914'' pp. 7-17</ref>

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for professional experts. They warned the latter might menace the oligarchy and threaten a military coup; they preferred an inefficient army to an authoritarian state. The rise of [[Bismark]]'s new Germany made this reactionary policy too dangerous for a great empire to risk. The bill, which would have compensated current owners for their cash investments, passed Commons in 1871 but was blocked by the House of Lords. Gladstone then moved to drop the system without any reimbursements, forcing the Lords to backtrack and approve the original bill. Liberals rallied to Gladstone's anti-elitism, pointing to the case of Lord Cardigan (1797–1868), who spent £40,000 for his commission and proved utterly incompetent in the Crimean war, where he ordered the disastrous "Charge of the Light Brigade" in 1854. Cardwell was not powerful enough to install a general staff system; that had to await the 20th century. He did rearrange the war department. He made the office of Secretary of State for War superior to the Army's commander in Chief; the commander was His Royal Highness The Duke of Cambridge (1819-1904), the Queen's first cousin, and an opponent of the reforms. The surveyor-general of the ordnance, and the financial secretary became key department heads reporting to the Secretary. The militia was reformed as well and integrated into the Army. The term of enlistment was reduced to 6 years, so there was more turnover and a larger pool of trained reservists. The territorial system of recruiting for regiments was standardized and adjusted to the current population. Cardwell reduced the Army budget yet increased its strength of the army in the home islands by 25 battalions, 156 field guns, and abundant stores, while the reserves available for foreign service had been raised tenfold from 3,500 to 36,000 men.<ref>Ensor, ''England, 1870-1914'' pp. 7-17</ref>

===Defeat (1874) and Return (1876)===

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Defeated by the Conservatives at the general election of 1874, Gladstone retired in disgust from public life. He planned to devote the whole of his time, instead of his leisure as theretofore, to the task of defending Christian dogma from scientific onslaught. He coauthored a pamphlet attacking the "Vatican decrees," the newly proclaimed doctrine of papal infallibility; it sold 150,000 copies.<ref> ''The Vatican Decrees in Their Bearing on Civil Allegiance'' (1874) [http://books.google.com/books?id=E1FZC7mXUwIC&dq=inauthor:gladstone+inauthor:william&num=100&as_brr=0 online copy]</ref>

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Defeated by the Conservatives at the general election of 1874, Gladstone retired in disgust from public life. He planned to devote the whole of his time, instead of his leisure as theretofore, to the task of defending Christian dogma from scientific onslaught. He coauthored a pamphlet attacking the "Vatican decrees," the newly proclaimed doctrine of papal infallibility; it sold 150,000 copies.<ref>''The Vatican Decrees in Their Bearing on Civil Allegiance'' (1874) [http://books.google.com/books?id=E1FZC7mXUwIC&dq=inauthor:gladstone+inauthor:william&num=100&as_brr=0 online copy]</ref>

====The Eastern Question====

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Gladstone sprang back into political life in 1876 over his moralistic foreign policy. It was his main concern 1876-1880. Gladstone's campaign to oppose the [[Ottoman Empire]] in the Balkans led the British into a heated debate and drew the party line between Gladstone's Liberals (who denounced the immoral Ottomans) and Disraeli's Conservatives (who supported the Ottoman Empire as an offset to Russian power). Disraeli had threatened war with Russia on the issue and Gladstone argued he was wrong. Liberal opinion was convulsed by atrocities in the Balkans, in particular the massacre of more than 10,000 Christian Bulgars by Turkish irregulars. Gladstone published a ferocious pamphlet, focusing on the Turks' "abominable and bestial lusts ... at which Hell itself might almost blush" and demanding they withdraw from European soil. The pamphlet sold an astonishing 200,000 copies.<ref> '' Bulgarian Horrors and the Question of the East'' (1876) [http://books.google.com/books?id=Ev9wkUr1UloC&dq=inauthor:gladstone+inauthor:william&num=100&as_brr=0 online edition] Disraeli wisecracked, of all the Bulgarian horrors perhaps the pamphlet was greatest.</ref> Gladstone felt a call from God to aid the [[Serbia]]ns and [[Bulgaria]]ns as he stumped the country like some ancient Hebrew prophet denouncing tyranny and oppression. The crowning moment was his "Midlothian campaign" in late 1879. Gladstone in four speeches charged the government with financial incompetency, neglecting domestic legislation, and mismanagement of foreign affairs. By appealing to vast audiences denouncing Disraeli's pro-Turkish foreign policy, Gladstone made himself a moral force in Europe, unified his party, and was carried back to power.

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Gladstone sprang back into political life in 1876 over his moralistic foreign policy. It was his main concern 1876-1880. Gladstone's campaign to oppose the [[Ottoman Empire]] in the Balkans led the British into a heated debate and drew the party line between Gladstone's Liberals (who denounced the immoral Ottomans) and Disraeli's Conservatives (who supported the Ottoman Empire as an offset to Russian power). Disraeli had threatened war with Russia on the issue and Gladstone argued he was wrong. Liberal opinion was convulsed by atrocities in the Balkans, in particular the massacre of more than 10,000 Christian Bulgars by Turkish irregulars. Gladstone published a ferocious pamphlet, focusing on the Turks' "abominable and bestial lusts ... at which Hell itself might almost blush" and demanding they withdraw from European soil. The pamphlet sold an astonishing 200,000 copies.<ref>'' Bulgarian Horrors and the Question of the East'' (1876) [http://books.google.com/books?id=Ev9wkUr1UloC&dq=inauthor:gladstone+inauthor:william&num=100&as_brr=0 online edition] Disraeli wisecracked, of all the Bulgarian horrors perhaps the pamphlet was greatest.</ref> Gladstone felt a call from God to aid the [[Serbia]]ns and [[Bulgaria]]ns as he stumped the country like some ancient Hebrew prophet denouncing tyranny and oppression. The crowning moment was his "Midlothian campaign" in late 1879. Gladstone in four speeches charged the government with financial incompetency, neglecting domestic legislation, and mismanagement of foreign affairs. By appealing to vast audiences denouncing Disraeli's pro-Turkish foreign policy, Gladstone made himself a moral force in Europe, unified his party, and was carried back to power.

The Liberals were not so naive and idealistic as to reject the imperial heritage; many Liberals such as [[H. H. Asquith]] became active imperialists. Liberal Party policy around 1880 was shaped by Gladstone as he repeatedly attacked Disraelian [[imperialism]]. On the other hand national interest was always paramount, and the Liberals were quick to seek common ground with the Conservatives in regard to the [[Berlin Treaty]], in which the party lost the moral high ground as a critic of imperialism.

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==The Irish question==

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The third and final phase of his career was devoted to the Irish question. He sought repeatedly to pass a [[home rule]] bill but failed in 1886 and 1893. In 1869, however, he disestablished the [[Church of Ireland]] (that is the Protestant Anglican Church of the landowners, not the Catholic Church of the peasants), so that taxes were no longer collected for the Church. In 1870 he began to deal with the [[land tenure]] question. The [[Irish Land Act of 1870]] gave some security to Irish tenant farmers by preventing arbitrary eviction and giving the tenants financial rights to improvements they made. The agricultural depression of the 1870s soured the mood, and [[Charles Stewart Parnell]] set up the [[Irish Land League]] that used [[boycott]]s and violence against the landlords. Gladstone's Land Act of 1881, called the “Magna Carta” of the Irish farmer, recognized the three F’s (fair rent, fixity of tenure, and freedom of sale) and provided a land commission to determine what was a "fair rent." The [[Ashbourne Act of 1885]] and supplementary acts of 1887 and 1891 provided a loan fund of many millions of pounds for tenants who wished to purchase their lands. Parnell mastered the arts of [[filibuster]]ing and parliamentary obstruction with 86 solid votes from Irish Nationalist MPs in Parliament he controlled. They were elected thanks to Gladstone's [[Third Reform Bill of 1884]], which greatly extended the franchise and for the first time treated Ireland and Great Britain on equal terms, thus tripling the Irish electorate. Parnell's MP's brought down Gladstone's second government in June of 1885; he was replaced by the Conservatives under [[Lord Salisbury]].

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The third and final phase of his career was devoted to the Irish question. He sought repeatedly to pass a [[home rule]] bill but failed in 1886 and 1893. In 1869, however, he disestablished the [[Church of Ireland]] (that is the Protestant Anglican Church of the landowners, not the Catholic Church of the peasants), so that taxes were no longer collected for the Church. In 1870 he began to deal with the [[land tenure]] question. The [[Irish Land Act of 1870]] gave some security to Irish tenant farmers by preventing arbitrary eviction and giving the tenants financial rights to improvements they made. The agricultural depression of the 1870s soured the mood, and [[Charles Stewart Parnell]] set up the [[Irish Land League]] that used [[boycott]]s and violence against the landlords. Gladstone's Land Act of 1881, called the “Magna Carta” of the Irish farmer, recognized the three F’s (fair rent, fixity of tenure, and freedom of sale) and provided a land commission to determine what was a "fair rent." The [[Ashbourne Act of 1885]] and supplementary acts of 1887 and 1891 provided a loan fund of many millions of pounds for tenants who wished to purchase their lands. Parnell mastered the arts of [[filibuster]]ing and parliamentary obstruction with 86 solid votes from Irish Nationalist MPs in Parliament he controlled. They were elected thanks to Gladstone's [[Third Reform Bill of 1884]], which greatly extended the franchise and for the first time treated Ireland and Great Britain on equal terms, thus tripling the Irish electorate. Parnell's MP's brought down Gladstone's second government in June 1885; he was replaced by the Conservatives under [[Lord Salisbury]].

====Home Rule Bill of 1886 ====

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The Irish land proposals in Gladstone's first [[Home Rule Bill of 1886]] was an unexpected shock to his supporters and brought down his third government in a matter of months. The bill gave all owners of Irish land a chance to sell to the [[state]] at a price equal to 20 years' purchase of the [[rent]]s and allowing [[tenant]]s to purchase the land. [[Republicanism#Ireland|Irish nationalist]] reaction was mixed, [[Ulster Unionism|Unionist]] opinion was hostile, and the election addresses during the 1886 election revealed English radicals to be against the bill also. Among the Liberal rank and file, several Gladstonian candidates disowned the bill, reflecting fears at the constituency level that the interests of the working people were being sacrificed to finance a rescue operation for the landed elite.<ref> Graham D. Goodlad, "The Liberal Party and Gladstone's Land Purchase Bill of 1886.'' ''Historical Journal'' 1989 32(3): 627-641. Issn: 0018-246x Fulltext: [http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0018-246X%28198909%2932%3A3%3C627%3ATLPAGL%3E2.0.CO%3B2-1 in Jstor]]</ref>

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The Irish land proposals in Gladstone's first [[Home Rule Bill of 1886]] was an unexpected shock to his supporters and brought down his third government in a matter of months. The bill gave all owners of Irish land a chance to sell to the [[state]] at a price equal to 20 years' purchase of the [[rent]]s and allowing [[tenant]]s to purchase the land. [[Republicanism#Ireland|Irish nationalist]] reaction was mixed, [[Ulster Unionism|Unionist]] opinion was hostile, and the election addresses during the 1886 election revealed English radicals to be against the bill also. Among the Liberal rank and file, several Gladstonian candidates disowned the bill, reflecting fears at the constituency level that the interests of the working people were being sacrificed to finance a rescue operation for the landed elite.<ref>Graham D. Goodlad, "The Liberal Party and Gladstone's Land Purchase Bill of 1886.'' ''Historical Journal'' 1989 32(3): 627-641. Issn: 0018-246x Fulltext: [http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0018-246X%28198909%2932%3A3%3C627%3ATLPAGL%3E2.0.CO%3B2-1 in Jstor]</ref>

Meanwhile serious confrontations continued between the the local magistrates (who represented the Protestant landowners) and the Irish National League, which replaced the suppressed [[National Land League]], and told tenants to withhold rents from extortionate [[landlord]]s. The Irish question transformed politics in Britain and was not finally settled until the 1920s.

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===Gladstone and Disraeli===

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Writers have often exaggerated the political and especially the personal antagonism between the two men. In the 1830s they were both Tory members of Parliament with similar views, and they did not clash directly over fiscal policy until 1852. Gladstone mistrusted Disraeli and questioned his motives but greatly admired his oratory and literary skill. Disraeli appreciated Gladstone's talents and in the 1850s tried to persuade him to rejoin the Conservatives. From 1858 to 1868 one or the other was Chancellor of the Exchequer (which helped make it a visible and powerful office), and from 1868 to 1885 one or the other was Prime Minister. As rival party leaders in the 1860s and early 1870s, they clashed routinely in the Commons, but they also praised each other and had cordial contacts outside Parliament. Their political relations deteriorated in the later 1870s, which led to ill will that was briefly expressed in public. They continued to be fascinated by each other until they died. Gladstone was shocked by Disraeli's death and denied that there had been any personal hatred between them. The two men misunderstood but genuinely admired each other.<ref> Roland Quinault, "Gladstone and Disraeli: a Reappraisal of Their Relationship." ''History'' 2006 91(4): 557-576. Issn: 0018-2648 </ref>

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Writers have often exaggerated the political and especially the personal antagonism between the two men. In the 1830s they were both Tory members of Parliament with similar views, and they did not clash directly over fiscal policy until 1852. Gladstone mistrusted Disraeli and questioned his motives but greatly admired his oratory and literary skill. Disraeli appreciated Gladstone's talents and in the 1850s tried to persuade him to rejoin the Conservatives. From 1858 to 1868 one or the other was Chancellor of the Exchequer (which helped make it a visible and powerful office), and from 1868 to 1885 one or the other was Prime Minister. As rival party leaders in the 1860s and early 1870s, they clashed routinely in the Commons, but they also praised each other and had cordial contacts outside Parliament. Their political relations deteriorated in the later 1870s, which led to ill will that was briefly expressed in public. They continued to be fascinated by each other until they died. Gladstone was shocked by Disraeli's death and denied that there had been any personal hatred between them. The two men misunderstood but genuinely admired each other.<ref>Roland Quinault, "Gladstone and Disraeli: a Reappraisal of Their Relationship." ''History'' 2006 91(4): 557-576. Issn: 0018-2648</ref>

==Beliefs and political values==

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When Gladstone arrived in politics Britain was ruled by the landed aristocracy. They were still powerful when he left, but they were now joined by an assertive urban middle class, and increasingly by a working class led by skilled craftsmen. Politically the landed aristocracy moved toward the Conservatives, and the middle class toward the Liberals. The workers were split, but after 1910 moved into the new Labour party.

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In May 1864, Gladstone transformed overnight his standing in the country by declaring in the House of Commons that every man is entitled to a vote who is not disqualified by considerations of personal unfitness.<ref> Asa Briggs, ''The Making of Modern England, 1784-1867: The Age of Improvement'' (1959) p 492 </ref> That plea for something like universal suffrage infuriated his chief, the Liberal Prime Minister [[Lord Palmerston]], and cost Gladstone, to his abiding grief, the parliamentary representation of Oxford University. The great world denounced him as an unscrupulous demagogue, but he won wide popular support.

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In May 1864, Gladstone transformed overnight his standing in the country by declaring in the House of Commons that every man is entitled to a vote who is not disqualified by considerations of personal unfitness.<ref>Asa Briggs, ''The Making of Modern England, 1784-1867: The Age of Improvement'' (1959) p 492</ref> That plea for something like universal suffrage infuriated his chief, the Liberal Prime Minister [[Lord Palmerston]], and cost Gladstone, to his abiding grief, the parliamentary representation of Oxford University. The great world denounced him as an unscrupulous demagogue, but he won wide popular support.

Gladstone was no demagogue; he had convinced himself that the masses who hung upon his words were less exposed than the upper and middle classes to motives of material self-interest; and he started to appeal to the masses accordingly as the highest tribunal. He held that they were entitled to be enfranchised, not because he regarded the franchise as an abstract [[natural right]], but because the respectable way of life of the artisan class proved that it had earned the right to vote and govern as a result of having subjected itself to a rigorous preliminary process of moral self-enfranchisement, through moral self-improvement. He won the confidence of the artisans by appealing not to their self-interest but to their self-respect, and he thereby completed in the political field the work of spiritual emancipation that [[John Wesley]], the founder of [[Methodism]], had begun a century before. Despite his subsequent disillusionment with the masses, Gladstone always ridiculed the blindness and selfishness of the the upper ten thousand and the [[House of Lords]].

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* He was opposed to war and despised the cost of military activity, reminding parliament that he ‘uniformly opposed militarism’ throughout his career.

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* Was a firm supporter of [[free trade]]~~--with~~ no tariffs on imports into ~~Britain--believing~~ that international peace and domestic prosperity could best be maintained by removing barriers to reciprocal trade between nations.

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* Was a firm supporter of [[free trade]]—with no tariffs on imports into Britain—believing that international peace and domestic prosperity could best be maintained by removing barriers to reciprocal trade between nations.

* Believed that success was the result of hard work and that failure showed a lack of moral spirit. He therefore believed that the poor should help themselves to alleviate their own condition.

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His unguarded comment caused some harm to Anglo-American relations for many years, but the victory of the Union had an important effect on Gladstone’s outlook. His prejudice slowly disappeared, and eventually came to regard American democracy as one of humanity’s supreme achievements. He later described the American Constitution as: 'the most wonderful work ever struck off at a given time by the brain and purpose of man.'<ref>{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=R5M2AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA179|last1=Gladstone|first1=William|title=Kin Beyond Sea|date=1878|publisher=North American Review|quote=The two constitutions of the two countries express indeed rather the differences than the resemblances of the nations. The one is a thing grown, the other a thing made: the one a praxis, the other a poiesis: the one the offspring of tendency and indeterminate time, the other of choice and of an epoch. But, as the British Constitution is the most subtile organism which has proceeded from the womb and the long gestation of progressive history, so the American Constitution is, so far as I can see, the most wonderful work ever struck off at a given time by the brain and purpose of man. It has had a century of trial, under the pressure of exigencies caused by an expansion unexampled in point of rapidity and range; and its exemption from formal change, though not entire, has certainly proved the sagacity of the constructors, and the stubborn strength of the fabric. }}</ref>

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==~~see~~ also==

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==See also==

* [[British Liberal Party]]

==Further reading==

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* Kinzer, B. L., ed. ''The Gladstonian Turn of Mind: Essays Presented to J. B. Conacher'' (1985), essays by scholars

* Loughlin, J. ''Gladstone, home rule and the Ulster question, 1882–1893'' (1986)

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* Matthew, H. C. G. "Disraeli, Gladstone, and the Politics of Mid-victorian Budgets." ''Historical Journal'' 1979 22(3): 615-644. Issn: 0018-246x Fulltext: [http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0018-246X%28197909%2922%3A3%3C615%3ADGATPO%3E2.0.CO%3B2-I in Jstor]]

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* Matthew, H. C. G. "Disraeli, Gladstone, and the Politics of Mid-victorian Budgets." ''Historical Journal'' 1979 22(3): 615-644. Issn: 0018-246x Fulltext: [http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0018-246X%28197909%2922%3A3%3C615%3ADGATPO%3E2.0.CO%3B2-I in Jstor]

* Meisel, Joseph S. ''Public Speech and the Culture of Public Life in the Age of Gladstone.'' (2001). 382 pp.

* Parry, J. P. ''Democracy and religion: Gladstone and the Liberal party, 1867–1875'' (1986), 504 pp. [http://www.amazon.com/Democracy-Religion-Gladstone-18671875-Cambridge/dp/0521367832/ref=sr_1_14/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1192323865&sr=1-14 excerpt and text search]

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* Ramm, Agatha. "Gladstone's Religion" ''The Historical Journal,'' Vol. 28, No. 2. (Jun., 1985), pp. ~~327-340~~. [http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0018-246X%28198506%2928%3A2%3C327%3AGR%3E2.0.CO%3B2-4 in JSTOR]]

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* Ramm, Agatha. "Gladstone's Religion" ''The Historical Journal,'' Vol. 28, No. 2. (Jun., 1985), pp. 327–340. [http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0018-246X%28198506%2928%3A2%3C327%3AGR%3E2.0.CO%3B2-4 in JSTOR]

* Ramm, Agatha. ''Gladstone as Man of Letters. A James Bryce Memorial Lecture'' (1981),

* Rathbone, Mark. "Gladstone, Disraeli and the Bulgarian Horrors: Mark Rathbone Compares Gladstone's and Disraeli's Differing Approaches to a Crucial Foreign Policy Issue." ''History Review'' #50 (2004) pp 3+. [http://www.questia.com/read/5008609361 online edition]

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====notes====

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[[~~category~~:United Kingdom Prime Ministers]]

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[[Category:United Kingdom Prime Ministers]]

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[[~~category~~:British History]]

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[[Category:British History]]

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[[~~category~~:British Politics]]

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[[Category:British Politics]]

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