William Gladstone: A Vast Sphere of Lasting Influence Essay example --

Every country has a leader who helps make significant changes toward the betterment of the country and the world. William Gladstone was that leader in Great Britain. Born in 1809, he entered the politics at the age of 22 in 1833. A strong Tory, who felt that any electoral reform would lead to revolution, he eventually became one of the founding members of the Liberal Party in 1859. He would later say that â€Å"I was brought up to distrust and to dislike liberty, and I learned to believe in it. That is the key to all my change† (Wilson 102). As Prime Minister and opposition leader for many years, he championed many reforms and his ministry was â€Å"one of the foremost reforming administrations of the century† (Tompson 287). His ability â€Å"to manage big crowds and to use the power of the crowd as an extra-parliamentary weapon† allowed him to push tough legislation through Parliament and â€Å"his sheer bigness, and grandeur, and moral weightiness was never to be repeated on the political scene† (Wilson 118, 103). William Gladstone was a British statesman who had more influence than Queen Victoria because of Gladstone’s many reforms. Many people believe that Queen Victoria was the most important person because she was the longest reigning monarch. Since monarchs reign for life, just because she lived the longest doesn’t mean that she was the best. The Queen wasn’t popular until later in life. People hated her for her refusal to come out of mourning after the death of her husband and her unenlightened political views. The royal pair had an active role together until 1861 when she went into prolonged mourning and never made public appearances. She emerged in the 1870s to a much-diminished role in the government which was mostly ceremonial. Her power... ...y 2012. . Findling, John E., ed. Events That Changed Great Britain Since 1689. Ed. Frank W. Thackeray. Westport: Greenwood, 2002. 75-80. Print. Kagan, Donald, Steven E. Ozment, and Frank M. Turner. "Great Britain Toward Democracy." The Western Heritage: Since 1300. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2007. 684-87. Print. Olechnowicz, Andrzej. The Monarchy and the British Nation, 1780 to the Present. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2007. Print. Tompson, Richard S. Great Britain: A Reference Guide from the Renaissance to the Present. New York: Facts On File, 2003. Print. "William Ewart Gladstone." Spartacus Educational. Web. 14 May 2012. . Wilson, A. N. "William Ewart Gladstone." Eminent Victorians. London: W.W. Norton &, 1989. 99-132. Print.