ABSTRACT
The French Revolution let the genie out of the bottle. After 1789 it was impossible to keep political debate within a privileged circle of propertied interests. Though the British radicals of the 1790s had clear policies, based essentially on government elected without duress by all adult males, what they were was much more important than what they said. Eccentric aristocrats had advocated male suffrage before the revolution and no one had thought of locking them up. However, when shoemakers and metal-workers took the same line they challenged the whole structure of society and their arrogant presumption in calling upon the 'Rights of Man' left few in doubt that they determined to take a share in political decisions. The Revolution engendered a true ideological debate in Britain. In addition to radicalizing important sections of the lower orders, it produced a powerful conservative reaction. This reaction amounted to substantially more than the mere imposition of patrician values on an ignorant population. During the 1790s popular conservatism vied with popular radicalism for supremacy with contending versions of patriotism the main battleground.
