Ten Englishmen of the Nineteenth Century

Ten Englishmen of the
Nineteenth Century
by James
Richard Joy

The Project Gutenberg EBook of Ten Englishmen of the Nineteenth
Century
by James Richard Joy Copyright laws are changing all over the world.
Be sure to check the copyright laws for your country before
downloading or redistributing this or any other Project Gutenberg
eBook.
This header should be the first thing seen when viewing this Project
Gutenberg file. Please do not remove it. Do not change or edit the
header without written permission.
Please read the "legal small print," and other information about the
eBook and Project Gutenberg at the bottom of this file. Included is
important information about your specific rights and restrictions in how
the file may be used. You can also find out about how to make a
donation to Project Gutenberg, and how to get involved.
**Welcome To The World of Free Plain Vanilla Electronic Texts**
**eBooks Readable By Both Humans and By Computers, Since
1971**
*****These eBooks Were Prepared By Thousands of
Volunteers!*****

Title: Ten Englishmen of the Nineteenth Century
Author: James Richard Joy
Release Date: June, 2004 [EBook #5876] [Yes, we are more than one
year ahead of schedule] [This file was first posted on September 15,
2002]
Edition: 10
Language: English
Character set encoding: ASCII
*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK, TEN
ENGLISHMEN OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY ***

This eBook was produced by Ryan Ramseyer.

TEN ENGLISHMEN OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY
By James Richard Joy
1902

To My Daughter Helen With Her Father's Love

PREFACE

The object of this work is to set forth with as much clearness as
possible the more important facts in the history of England in the
nineteenth century. We have chosen to do this through the medium of

biography, in the belief that the lives of a few representative men would
present better opportunities for interesting and effective treatment than
an historical narrative, which must have been encumbered by a mass of
detail not capable of effective disposition within the limited space at
our command. An introductory chapter serves to give a general view of
the course of events and to show the relations of the men and
movements which are afterward presented in more detail.
With but one exception our "Ten Englishmen" are men in public life,
political or military. Artists, authors, preachers, and scholars were
purposely left out of the account, because they are to receive
prominence in other parts of the course for which this volume was
written. The exception was made in the case of George Stephenson,
because the revolution in transportation, due to his improvement of the
locomotive engine, has had such a powerful influence upon the
industrial development of the nation.
In bringing these great personages before the reader our intention has
been quite as much historical as biographical. Each name is linked with
some conspicuous problem in statesmanship, and the endeavor has
been to set forth the work as well as the workman. It is hoped that the
library notes appended to each chapter will be of assistance to the
earnest student, in supplementing the meager outlines of this volume
with the abundance of personal detail and wealth of dramatic incident
which give life and action to history.
The appendix should not be overlooked. Its selections from authentic
speeches, letters, dispatches, and other writings bring the reader into
touch with the men who made England great.
One word more. Our "Ten" are not necessarily "THE Ten." They are
the men whose lives lay in line with the writer's plan. If they serve to
accentuate the leading features of the history we are not disposed to
argue with those who would present other candidates for the honor of
inclusion in the list.
James Richard Joy

Plainfield, N.J., June 4, 1902.

INTRODUCTION

ENGLAND IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY
The opening of the nineteenth century found England in the midst of a
great foreign war, which for almost a generation absorbed the thought
and energy of the nation, and postponed for the time the vital questions
of economic and political reform which clamored for settlement.
THE STRUGGLE WITH NAPOLEON
The war began in 1793, when the French nation, having overturned its
ancient throne, and revolutionized its social and political institutions,
set out on a democratic crusade for "Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity,"
which involved it in a conflict with the governments of Europe.
William Pitt, who had been Prime Minister of George III. since 1783,
had twice banded the European states against the French republican
armies; but while the English fleets remained masters of the seas, the
enthusiasm of the French soldiers, and the genius of their young
generals, had thus far proved too strong for the mercenary battalions of
despotism. In the closing month of the year 1800, Pitt's "Second