The
Anti-Corn Law League was in effect the resumption of the Anti-Corn Law Association, which had been created in
London[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
in 1836 but did not obtain widespread popularity. The Anti-Corn Law League was founded in
ManchesterManchester is a city and metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. In 2007, the population of the city was estimated to be 458,100...
in 1838.
Richard CobdenRichard Cobden was a British manufacturer and Radical and Liberal statesman, associated with John Bright in the formation of the Anti-Corn Law League as well as with the Cobden-Chevalier Treaty.-Early years:...
and
John BrightJohn Bright PC , Quaker, was a British Radical and Liberal statesman, associated with Richard Cobden in the formation of the Anti-Corn Law League...
were the two principal figures of the movement while George Wilson, the president of the League, was in charge of administrative duties. Joseph Ivimey, the Superintendent Registrar for St Pancras, was an active member and acted as the League's solicitor.
The aim of the league was the abolition of the
corn lawsThe Corn Laws were import tariffs designed to support domestic British corn prices against competition from less expensive foreign imports between 1815 and 1846. The tariffs were introduced by the Importation Act 1815 and repealed by the Importation Act 1846...
, and this was obtained in 1846.
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The
Anti-Corn Law League was in effect the resumption of the Anti-Corn Law Association, which had been created in
London[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
in 1836 but did not obtain widespread popularity. The Anti-Corn Law League was founded in
ManchesterManchester is a city and metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. In 2007, the population of the city was estimated to be 458,100...
in 1838.
Richard CobdenRichard Cobden was a British manufacturer and Radical and Liberal statesman, associated with John Bright in the formation of the Anti-Corn Law League as well as with the Cobden-Chevalier Treaty.-Early years:...
and
John BrightJohn Bright PC , Quaker, was a British Radical and Liberal statesman, associated with Richard Cobden in the formation of the Anti-Corn Law League...
were the two principal figures of the movement while George Wilson, the president of the League, was in charge of administrative duties. Joseph Ivimey, the Superintendent Registrar for St Pancras, was an active member and acted as the League's solicitor.
The aim of the league was the abolition of the
corn lawsThe Corn Laws were import tariffs designed to support domestic British corn prices against competition from less expensive foreign imports between 1815 and 1846. The tariffs were introduced by the Importation Act 1815 and repealed by the Importation Act 1846...
, and this was obtained in 1846. After this was achieved, the league challenged
protectionistProtectionism is the economic policy of restraining trade between states, through methods such as tariffs on imported goods, restrictive quotas, and a variety of other restrictive government regulations designed to discourage imports, and prevent foreign take-over of local markets and companies...
practices in the
United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
. The aim was to establish a fully free-trade economy in order to decrease the price of basic food products (such as bread and agricultural produce), to support the performance of agriculture and industry, and, thus, to weave stronger commercial bonds—supposedly the guarantors of peace—with the other nations.
Further reading
- H. J. Leech (Ed.): The public letters of the Right Hon. John Bright. London: Low, Marston & Co., 1895. Reprint New York, NY: Kraus Reprint, 1969.
- Paul A. Pickering and Alex Tyrrell: The people's bread, a history of the Anti-Corn Law League. London: Leicester University Press, 2000. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-7185-0218-3
External links