The Society for Constitutional Information was a British activist group founded in 1780 by Major John Cartwright, to promote

parliamentary reform In the United Kingdom, Reform Act is most commonly used for legislation passed in the 19th century and early 20th century to enfranchise new groups of voters and to redistribute seats in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons ...

. It was an organisation of social reformers, many of whom were drawn from the rational dissenting community, dedicated to publishing political tracts aimed at educating fellow citizens on their lost ancient liberties. It promoted the work o
Tom Paine
and other campaigners fo

Most members of the Society for Constitutional Information were also opposed to the slave trade.Simkin, John.

" ''Spartacus Educational'', Spartacus Educational, Sept. 1997, spartacus-educational.com/PRsocietyC.htm. It was particularly strong in Sheffield. The Society flourished until 1783, but thereafter made little headway. The organization actively promoted

Thomas Paine Thomas Paine (born Thomas Pain; – In the contemporary record as noted by Conway, Paine's birth date is given as January 29, 1736–37. Common practice was to use a dash or a slash to separate the old-style year from the new-style year. In th ...

's ''

Rights of Man ''Rights of Man'' (1791), a book by Thomas Paine, including 31 articles, posits that popular political revolution is permissible when a government does not safeguard the natural rights of its people. Using these points as a base it defends the ...

'' and other radical publications, and under the leadership of

John Horne Tooke John Horne Tooke (25 June 1736 – 18 March 1812), known as John Horne until 1782 when he added the surname of his friend William Tooke to his own, was an England, English clergyman, politician, and Philology, philologist. Associated with radica ...

collaborated with other reform societies, metropolitan and provincial, such as the

London Corresponding Society The London Corresponding Society (LCS) was a federation of local reading and debating clubs that in the decade following the French Revolution agitated for the democratic reform of the British Parliament. In contrast to other reform associati ...

, with which it met in 1794 to discuss a further national convention as well as producing many

pamphlet A pamphlet is an unbound book (that is, without a hard cover or binding). Pamphlets may consist of a single sheet of paper that is printed on both sides and folded in half, in thirds, or in fourths, called a ''leaflet'' or it may consist of a ...

s and

periodical A periodical literature (also called a periodical publication or simply a periodical) is a published work that appears in a new edition on a regular schedule. The most familiar example is a newspaper, but a magazine or a journal are also examples ...

s. After the government repression and

1794 Treason Trials The 1794 Treason Trials, arranged by the administration of William Pitt, were intended to cripple the British radical movement of the 1790s. Over thirty radicals were arrested; three were tried for high treason: Thomas Hardy, John Horne Tooke a ...

in October, in which the leaders were acquitted, the society ceased to meet.

Notes

External links

Introduction , British history online
1780 establishments in Great Britain Politics of the Kingdom of Great Britain 1794 disestablishments in Great Britain Organizations established in 1780 Organizations disestablished in 1794 Political organisations based in the United Kingdom Radicals (UK) {{UK-org-stub

See also

Notes

External links