The Nature and Degree of Feminine Influence on English Politics from 1702 to 1737, As Exemplified Ey Five Women
THE NATURE AND DEGREE OF FEMININE INFLUENCE ON ENGLISH POLITICS FROM 1702 TO 1737, AS EXEMPLIFIED EY FIVE WOMEN APPROVED: Ma j or essor Minor Professor airman of tne Depart^sfisr^ of History Dr^Vrv nf t-hp. firadilates School iS -sj ' Wilson, Edwina L., The Nature and Degree of Feminine Influence on English Politics from 1702 to 1737 as Exempli- fied by Five Women. Master of Science (History), December, 1971, 160 pp., bibliography, 143 titles. This inves tig-ation is concerned with the amount of in- fluence which w omen had on English politics at the close of the seventeenth century and during the early eighteenth century. Gener ally, it is assumed that women played a negligible part in politics until the twentieth century; ci critical study of the Augustan period, however, shovrs this to be an invalid assumption. Women were, during that period, elevated to positions of leadership and ascendancy unparal- leled until the twentieth century. The most significant sources for this study for the period dealing with the reign of Queen Anne include the Private Correspondence of Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough? Memoirs of Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough; An Account of the Conduct of the Dowager Duchess of Marlborough; and the extensive writings of Jonathan Swift. Abel Boyer's The History of Queen Anne was also valuable. For the period which covered the reign of George I, the most important sources were Lady Cowper1s Diary and The Letters of Mary Kortle^/ Montagu. Lord Hervey's Memoirs, The Diar£ of the First Earl cf Eqmort., and the Manuscripts cf ths of Carlisle, which have been published by the Historical Kanu- - scripts Commission, were the roost important sources for the period dealing with the court of George II.
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