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6 unusual facts about John Thelwall


Habeas Corpus Suspension Act 1794

The next day another radical, John Thelwall, was arrested and the Prime Minister, William Pitt, appointed a Secret Committee of the House of Commons to examine the confiscated papers of the London Societies.

John Thelwall

In 1794 he, Horne Tooke and Thomas Hardy were tried for treason following lectures protesting the arrest of other political activists.

In 1795, after prime minister William Pitt the Younger's Gagging Acts (the Treason Act and Seditious Meetings Act) received royal assent, Thelwall's lectures had a shift in theme, from contemporary political comment to the history of Rome in order to dodge censorship.

Claeys, Gregory (ed.), The Politics of English Jacobinism Writings of John Thelwall, Penn State Press, 2001 ISBN 0-271-01347-8

Seditious Meetings Act 1795

One of the most famous preachers in the period was John Thelwall, who interpreted the "Two Acts" as a violence against him and his teachings.

The Deserted Village

Political radicals, such as Thomas Spence and John Thelwall quoted The Deserted Village in their own works, as did a number of other writers.



see also