War, Peace, Politics and Reform - document from the Enoch Wood scrapbook

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Date:3rd of February 1813

Description:To the Inhabitants of the Staffordshire Potteries

This probing document contains anti-war, pro-Reform propoganda in the form of a series of questions posed to the reader.

War

The Potteries were feeling the effects of years of war and trade embargos with France and the US.

Trade had been decimated by various government decisions, including the act of going to war and the imposition of various trade restrictions.

Those in government are accused of making money in times of war. At the same time, those who relied on trade were suffering.

Readers are told that the only way to achieve recovery in trade is to elect leaders who have a desire to bring about peace.

Politics and Reform

Standing in the way of these changes was the political system itself and those in control of it.

This document questions the legitimacy of decisions made by a legislature that was not representative of the people.

The Parliament of the time was made up of wealthy landowners, often representing large areas with small populations.

Growing industrial areas with large populations such as Sheffield, Manchester and the Potteries were not fairly represented.

Recent Successes

The author of the document points to recent changes made by successful petitioning and urges the people to petition for reform of the electoral system.

About this document

This document was produced by Albutt and Gibbs Printers in Hanley. It was collected by local industrialist Enoch Wood and is now among the collections at Stoke-on-Trent Museums.

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