Portland State University PDXScholar Dissertations and Theses Dissertations and Theses 11-1-1994 British Aristocratic Women and Their Role in Politics, 1760-1860 Nancy Ann Henderson Portland State University Follow this and additional works at: https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/open_access_etds Part of the History Commons Let us know how access to this document benefits ou.y Recommended Citation Henderson, Nancy Ann, "British Aristocratic Women and Their Role in Politics, 1760-1860" (1994). Dissertations and Theses. Paper 4799. https://doi.org/10.15760/etd.6682 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations and Theses by an authorized administrator of PDXScholar. Please contact us if we can make this document more accessible: [email protected]. THESIS APPROVAL The abstract and thesis of Nancy Ann Henderson for the Master of Arts in History were presented November 1, 1994, and accepted by the thesis committee and the department. COMMITTEE APPROVALS: Ann/~ikel, Chair David Joe_,~on susan Karant- unn .. r Christine Thompson Representative of the Office of Graduate Studies DEPARTMENT APPROVAL: David John,s6nJ Chair Departmen~ off History ******************************************************** ACCEPTED FOR PORTLAND STATE UNIVERSITY BY THE LIBRARY b on/Z..&&e~42¢.- /9'9<f ABSTRACT An abstract of the thesis of Nancy Ann Henderson for the Master of Arts in History presented November, 1, 1994. Title: British Aristocratic Women and Their Role in Politics, 1760-1860. British aristocratic women exerted political influence and power during the century beginning with the accession of George III. They expressed their political power through the four roles of social patron, patronage distributor, political advisor, and political patron/electioneer. British aristocratic women were able, trained, and expected to play these roles. Politics could not have existed without these women. The source of their political influence was the close interconnection of politics and society. In this small, inter-connected society, women could and did influence politics. Political decisions, especially for the Whigs, were not made in the halls of government with which we are so familiar, but in the halls of the homes of the social/political elite. However, this close interconnection can make women's political influence difficult to assess and understand for our twentieth century experience. Sources for this thesis are readily available. Contemporary, primary sources are abundant. This was the age 2 of letter and diary writing. There is, however, a dearth of modern works concerning the political activities of aristocratic women. Most modern works rarely mention women. Other problems with sources include the inappropriate feminization of the time period and the filtering of this period through modern, not contemporary, points of view. Separate spheres is the most common and most inappropriate feminist issue raised by historians. This doctrine is not valid for aristocratic women of this time. The material I present in this thesis is not new. The sources, both contemporary and modern, have been available to historians for some time. By changing our rigid definition of politics by enlarging it to include the broader areas of political activities such as social patron, patronage distributor, political advisor, and political/electioneer, we can see British aristocratic women in a new light, revealing political power and influence. BRITISH ARISTOCRATIC WOMEN AND THEIR ROLE IN POLITICS, 1760-1860 by NANCY ANN HENDERSON A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS in HISTORY Portland State University 1994 TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION ............................ 1 II POLITICAL HOSTESS ...................... 29 III PATRONAGE DISPENSER .................... 76 IV POLITICAL ADVISOR ...................... 99 V ELECTORAL INFLUENCE ................... 148 VI CONCLUSION ............................ 209 REFERENCES ..................................... 214 APPENDIX A BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES ................. 250 APPENDIX B GENEALOGICAL CHART OF THE GRAND WHIGGERY ........................... 299 CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION British aristocratic women exerted political influence and power during the century beginning with the accession of George III. They expressed their political power through the four roles of social patron, patronage distributor, political advisor, and political patron/electioneer. British aristocratic women were able, trained, and expected to play these roles. Politics could not have existed without these women. The source of their political influence was the close interconnection of politics and society. A close examination of the way politics worked during this time period reveals the political power of aristocratic women. This was not the age of the professional politician, nor of professional politics. There was a small number of peers who controlled both society and politics. The smallness of the ruling class and the limited franchise made political control a family affair. Primogeniture and a surplus of well-born but comparatively poor younger sons demanded a political and social system to support them. 1 2 In this small, inter-connected society, women could and did influence politics. Political decisions, especially for the Whigs, were not made in the halls of government with which we are so familiar, but in the halls of the homes of the social/political elite. To study the politics of this time without recognizing its close relationship with society is poor scholarship. However, this close interconnection can make women's political influence difficult to assess and understand from our twentieth century experience. So it is important to define political activities of British aristocratic women in this eighteenth - nineteenth century context, not from a late nineteenth or twentieth century one. The political power and influence that British aristocratic women exerted stemmed from their vital role in this political/social structure. Political activity defined in its most narrow sense is electoral politics. By this definition women of this time could not be a part of the electoral process because they could not vote. There are two dangers in having such a narrow definition of political activity. First, it eliminates women from political consideration, it directs the study of women and politics to the struggle for suffrage, and it ignores all other political activities of women. Second, the narrow definition of politics denies a complete understanding of politics as a whole in this time period. Women were active 3 and played a vital role in politics, including elections, without having the vote. Judith Lewis, through her research on childbearing and the aristocracy, was "struck by the heady, highly political atmosphere in which women lived. For many, political discussion and political activity were the intellectual mainstay of life. "2 We need to expand the definition of politics and political activity to reflect more accurately the political activity of both men and women of the time. D. Easton, a popular twentieth century political theorist, proposed a expanded and more appropriate definition of politics which is valid for our century and the two earlier ones. "People may be said to be participating in political life when their activity relates in some way to the making and execution of policy for society" . 3 Politics is the process of the authoritative allocation of values in a society. It includes "voting, candidates, party activism, pressure group membership, and extra-institutional informal activity of any kind aimed at influencing the policy makers. 114 By this definition, with the exception of the first two items listed, women did participate in and were a vital component of politics. This was a long time period to discuss thoroughly. It included four monarchs and one regent, numerous prime ministers, endless political parties and factions, wars with America and France, and the Industrial Revolution with its 4 continuing social unrest. While long, the period does have its own unity. 1760 and the ascension to the throne of George III marked a turning point in the political and social history of Britain. With George III came the rise to power of the Tories which forced the Whigs to develop a non-court political power structure, one that had women at its foundation. Perhaps the passing of the 1832 Reform Bill would have been a suitable cutoff date for this thesis. However, instead of bringing about the end of aristocratic influence, it instead brought about the revival of the aristocratic led Whig party with women at its heart. Instead of 1832, I cut off discussion around the death of Emily, Lady Cowper/Palmerston. She was perhaps the last politically influential aristocratic woman of the type described in this thesis. I see the political activities of women as part of a continuum of political activities stretching over the centuries. In this one hundred years alone, we can trace the political power and influence through four generations of Spencer women and two generations of Lamb women. 5 This thesis focuses on British women. For the most part I have focused on English women, mainly those based around London, the center of the socio-political nexus. However, I have included two Scottish women, the Duchess of Gordon and the Countess of Sutherland, both of whom were politically active in both countries. With the exception of 5