Jonathan Swift's Political Stands

Paper Summary:

The paper tries to determine Swift's political stance by looking at his personal goals as reflected in his writings. The paper further inspects his religious and political writings and tries to determine if he adhered to the Tory or Whig vision of church and state. The paper concludes with an examination of the reason and driving force behind Swift's political behavior and how it affected his writings.

From the Paper:

"To put it simply, party politics in England during the 18th century were practiced in two different camps - Tory and Whig. Globally, the differences of opinion between the two were based on three key topics - (1) the origin of government, (2) the position of the Church in society and (3) the role England was to play in Europe. Thus, the Tories were the high-church party, which upheld the divine rights of kings, defended Anglican orthodoxy and negotiated the peace treaty of Utrecht that ended the Spanish War. The Whigs were the low-church party, supported the theory of contract between rulers and ruled, and decried the Utrecht treaty, which they attempted to block through their majority in the House of Lords. The early ministry of William III was predominantly Tory but it was gradually replaced by the Whigs. Later on, Queen Anne dismissed some Whig ministers, replaced them with Tories and created new Tory peers in order to stop the War of the Spanish Succession. From 1714 on, the Whigs gained in influence and the governments of Walpole and Pelham called themselves "Whigs". However, during the period 1714 - 1760 the Tories retained a considerable presence in the Commons."

Sample of Sources Used:

• W. A. Speck, "Principles to Practice: Swift and Party Politics", The World of Jonathan Swift (ed. Brian Vickers), Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1968, pg. 69
• Jonathan Swift, Correspondence. Edited by Harold Williams. 5 volumes. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1963-65, support CD-ROM
• ---------, "A discourse of the contests and dissensions between the nobles and commons in Athens and Rome" (1701), The Battle of the Books and Other Shorter Pieces (ed. David Price), Project Gutenberg electronic edition by David Price (www.gutenberg.org), 2004, pg. 56
• ---------, For The Examiner No. 16 (Nov. 9 to Nov. 16), The Prose Works of Jonathan Swift, Volume IX - Contributions to The Tatler, The Examiner, The Spectator, and The Intelligencer (ed. Temple Scott), New York: Macmillan Co., Project Gutenberg electronic edition by G. Graustein (www.gutenberg.org), 2004, pg. 50
• ---------, "On brotherly love", The Works of Jonathan Swift, Volume IV: Swift's Writings on Religion and the Church (Volume II), Bohn's Standard Library (ed. Temple Scott), Project Gutenberg electronic edition by Terry Gilliland (www.gutenberg.org), 2004, pg. 286

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