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Society of the Friends of the People
The Society of the Friends of the People (full title ''The Society of the Friends of the People, Associated for the Purpose of Obtaining a Parliamentary Reform'') was formed in Great Britain by a group of Whigs at the end of the 18th century as part of a Radical Movement seeking political reform that would widen electoral enfranchisement at a time when only a wealthy minority had the vote. The Society in England was aristocratic and exclusive, in contrast to the ''Friends of the People'' in Scotland who increasingly drew on a wider membership, before government clampdowns at the onset of the Napoleonic Wars ended the Societies.
==Background==
Although the Glorious Revolution had increased parliamentary power with a constitutional monarchy and the union of the parliaments had brought England and Scotland together, towards the end of the 18th century the monarch still had considerable influence over Parliament which itself was dominated by the English aristocracy and by patronage. Candidates for the House of Commons stood as Whigs or Tories, but once elected formed shifting coalitions of interests rather than splitting along party lines. At general elections the vote was restricted to property owners, in constituencies which were out of date and did not reflect the growing importance of manufacturing towns or shifts of population, so that in many rotten boroughs seats could be bought or were controlled by rich landowners, while major cities remained unrepresented. Radicals and more moderate Reformers called for reform of the system.
The American Revolutionary War ended in humiliating defeat of a policy which King George III had fervently advocated, and in March 1782 the King was forced to appoint an administration led by his opponents which sought to curb Royal patronage. In November 1783 he took his opportunity and used his influence in the House of Lords to defeat a Bill to reform the British East India Company, dismissed the government and appointed William Pitt the Younger as his Prime Minister. Pitt had previously called for Parliament to begin to reform itself, but he did not press for long for reforms the King did not like. Proposals Pitt made in April 1785 to redistribute seats from the "rotten boroughs" to London and the counties were defeated in the House of Commons by 248 votes to 174.
The French Revolution in 1789 was welcomed by many in Britain with hopes for a mutual interest in Liberty and peace. The King recognised the hand of justice in limitation of the powers of the French king, who had lately assisted the American rebels. The Whig club of Dundee described it as "the triumph of liberty and reason over despotism, ignorance and superstition." Thomas Paine's ''The Rights of Man'' encouraged mass support for democratic reform and numerous reform Societies were formed across Britain, starting with the London Corresponding Society which was founded by artisans and working men on 25 January 1792.
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