William Wilberforce Context Activities

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William Wilberforce: 1789 Speech for the Abolition of Slavery Context Activities 1. After reading the brief history of the life of Wilberforce, what motivated him to take up the cause of slavery and how would you anticipate this influencing his arguments? 2. What factors gave Wilberforce the opportunity to influence others? 3. Read the following definitions for Tories and Whigs, the leading political parties of the day. William Pitt was prime minister of a majority Tory government but originally aligned himself with the Whigs. He was often referred to as a ‘new Tory’ but called himself an ‘independent whig’. What does this information tell you about Wilberforce’s audience? Definition for WHIG (thefreedictionary.com) Historically a member of the English political party or grouping that opposed the succession to the throne of James, Duke of York, in 1679-80 on the grounds that he was a Catholic. Standing for a limited monarchy, the Whigs represented the great aristocracy and the moneyed middle class for the next 80 years. In the late 18th and early 19th centuries the Whigs represented the desires of industrialists and Dissenters for political and social reform. Origins of the word: probably shortened from whiggamore, one of a group of 17th-century Scottish rebels who joined in an attack on Edinburgh known as the whiggamore raid; probably from Scottish whig - to drive. 1. A member of the liberal party in Great Britain. (Historical Terms) a member of the American political party that opposed the Democrats from about 1834 to 1855 and represented propertied and professional interests 2. (Government, Politics & Diplomacy) a conservative member of the Liberal Party in Great Britain 3. (Economics) a person who advocates and believes in an unrestricted laissez-faire economy 4. a 17th-century Scottish Presbyterian, esp one in rebellion
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