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= American Revolution =

Radical Whigs
The radical Whig ideology supported Lockean notions of political freedom, and their republican writings were read widely by American colonists, particularly that of Thomas Paine. The influence of the radical Whigs, John Wilkes in particular, was that what Americans believed about British public opinion towards the colonies was one among many factors that influenced policy decisions made in the colonies. However, extra-parliamentary Whig political movements in Britain did not generate much support for the colonists prior to and during the Revolution. The radical Whig political writers supported the American Revolution because they were particularly supportive of liberty as a new political idea.

John Wilkes was a radical English politician at the time of the Revolution who generated great popularity among the colonies. No British politician at this time was more popular throughout America than Wilkes. Wilkes was a powerful advocate of independence in Britain as a Member of Parliament and later as the Lord Mayor of London. He spoke of America as one “of the most renowned states, for they build on the solid basis of general public liberty.”

During the Revolution, “Wilkes and Liberty” was a war cry used by both British and American radicals for whom he had become a folk hero, even though most only knew his principles and not his identity. For his support of the colonists, Wilkes was a highly polarising figure in Britain. Colonists viewed Wilkes as the proponent of constitutional principles of liberty and freedom that they desired. John Wilkes was closely linked to freedoms of press and speech in colonial America through his legal challenges and libel charges for his criticism of King George III. Consequently, he represented more reason for the colonies to distance themselves from a monarchy perceived to be tyrannical and authoritarian. In fact, Americans would drink toasts in Wilkes’ name and American newspapers reported on his affairs as much as they reported on colonial political leaders. The Boston Gazette even published one of Wilkes’ speeches. Additionally, many speeches by William Pitt and Edmund Burke were republished in colonial newspapers as apparent champions of the revolutionary cause. In 1768, crowds in Charleston decorated a tree and fired rockets in honour of Wilkes.

So great was Wilkes’ influence that he caused a constitutional dispute between South Carolina and Britain in the early 1700s about the colony financially supporting Wilkes’ political campaigns in Britain. Some historians even argue that Wilkes’ campaign for liberty had a direct influence on the specific protection of the press granted by the First Amendment subsequent to the Revolution. Certainly, the rights secured after the Revolution in the United States were derivative of radical Whig thought from England which had been unable to secure their own revolution at home. However, recent scholarship has challenged the perception that Wilkes supported the Revolution, with evidence that he was loyal to the king and the monarchy, and not in fact a revolutionary himself despite his support of their personal liberties.