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.
The Essay on Bill Of Rights Government England King
Since the restoration of the Stuart King monarchy in 1660, England had been knee-deep in authoritative issues between King and Parliament. Those refusing to conform to the Anglican Church were denied basic liberties. Only upon the expulsion of King James II and the "Glorious Revolution" that followed, placing King William III and Queen Mary on the throne, did the idea divine-right monarchy come to ...
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 freedom. Whigs were patriots and through their ideology the belief of fair political and judicial processes a willingness to engage in battle for this ideology sparked the American Revolution. While the term Whig evolves from a derogatory term meaning “Scottish cattle driver” the accomplishments of the Whig political party forever changed how the political processes in England and America would function.
Due to the beliefs and ideology of the Whig’s England was finally freed from the oppressive rule of the Monarchy and is now run by a Parliament and America was freed from England in order to develop a democratic government focused on the rights of the people and establishing due process rights. Without the ideology of the Whig political party America would not have had the motivation or the drive to fight the battle and win freedom from the oppressive rule of England.