Changes

==Early career to 1868==

==Early career to 1868==

Gladstone was born on Dec. 29, 1809, at Liverpool, of Scottish parents. 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 &mdash; slave-owners &mdash; among whom his father was prominent.  

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 &mdash; slave-owners &mdash; among whom his father was prominent.  

===Becoming Scottish===

===Becoming Scottish===

Although a son of Scottish parents, Gladstone was not initially considered a Scot, for he had been born and brought up in England and had only represented English constituencies. 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>.   

Although a son of Scottish parents, Gladstone was not initially considered a Scot, for he had been born and brought up in England and had only represented English constituencies. 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>.