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Conclusion

from Part III - Petitioning

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 February 2023

Henry J. Miller
Affiliation:
Durham University
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Summary

The conclusion summarises the key findings of the book. Not only were petitions and petitioning a central, and hitherto, missing component of our understanding of UK political culture, but these practices contributed to the transformation of political culture. The remainder of the conclusion considers how a study of petitionary culture reconnects and pushes forward the currently fragmented field of nineteenth-century political history, before considering three major implications of the book for the wider historiography. First, it demonstrates that UK political culture was even more inclusive than previously thought, thereby qualifying the emphasis on the exclusivity of the political nation. Second, it charts how the authority and legitimacy of the Commons in particular, and Parliament more generally, was renewed by petitions, although it could also, on occasion, be challenged by petitioners. Third, it shows how the UK state was transformed by the continuous interaction with petitioners, and restores the place of the people within accounts of the relationship between state and subjects. Ultimately, petitions and petitioning were part of a broader social phenomenon that decisively reshaped the modern political culture of the UK.

Type
Chapter
Information
A Nation of Petitioners
Petitions and Petitioning in the United Kingdom, 1780–1918
, pp. 276 - 282
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

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  • Conclusion
  • Henry J. Miller, Durham University
  • Book: A Nation of Petitioners
  • Online publication: 02 February 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009053631.015
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  • Conclusion
  • Henry J. Miller, Durham University
  • Book: A Nation of Petitioners
  • Online publication: 02 February 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009053631.015
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Conclusion
  • Henry J. Miller, Durham University
  • Book: A Nation of Petitioners
  • Online publication: 02 February 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009053631.015
Available formats
×