Robert Walpole’s Whig Supremacy Under Robert Walpole’s leadership, Britain achieved political stability for the first time in more than three decades. When Walpole was brought into office in 1721 by King George I after the Earl Stanhope died and the Earl of Sunderland resigned, he made great efforts to unite and bring more of the Whig party into the government. His goal was to bring peace to the nation. In the period before Walpole’s Whig Supremacy, King George I wanted to bring more of the Whig party into government positions and so removed exiting members of the Tory party from the government. This unsurprisingly led to backlash from the Tories and Jacobite plotters who were rumored to be negotiating with Tory leaders. Walpole was earlier removed from office by the Tories, but came back to office during this time. The Tories were alienated and so more became Jacobite plotters.
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In September of 1715, John Erskine, the Earl of Mar, proclaimed James III & VIII (the Old Pretender) the rightful King of England and Scotland and led a Jacobite rebellion. The rebellion failed and The Whigs and the Hanoverian monarchy of George I then viewed Tories as irredeemable Jacobites who must be prevented from attaining power at all costs. And so King George I put four Whig ministers in the government include two radicals, the Earl of Sunderland and the Earl Stanhope, and two moderates, Lord Townshend and Robert Walpole. But conflicts over policy between the radical Whigs and moderate Whigs began. The moderates, Lord Townshend and Robert Walpole, leave office and let the radicals, the Earl of Sunderland and the Earl Stanhope, lead from 1717 to 1721. Under the radical Whigs rule in 1720, Britain suffers a financial meltdown and economic crisis. The influence peddling and public corruption of the Stanhope-Sunderland ministry were exposed, when parliamentary and newspaper investigations into the South Sea Company’s dealings and practices were launched. In 1721, the Earl Stanhope suffers a stroke and dies. Later in 1721, the Earl of Sunderland resigned from the ministry. King George I has no choice but to put Lord Townshend and Robert Walpole back into office as the prime ministers with Walpole in charge of domestic affairs and Lord Townshend conducting foreign affairs. Walpole took control of the government, he acted vigorously to prevent the Earl of Sunderland from being investigated and punished. This pleased King George I, united the moderates and radicals of the Whig Party together in the face of the crisis, and prevented the further exposure of public corruption. His government worked to manage the financial crisis. In 1722, the Earl of Sunderland died and Walpole became the undisputed chief minister of domestic affairs and developed a good working relationship with King George I. The British government was alerted to Jacobite invasion and insurrection plots by the Regent of France and the Atterbury Plot was exposed. Walpole used this to his advantage to break up Jacobite leadership and downgrade the Tory party further. In 1723, the Black Act is passed by Parliament. This measure gave the government extensive powers for the discovery and punishment of crime, thus allowing for brutal punishment of offenses such as trespassing on private property and public lands. Walpole’s government
In September of 1715, John Erskine, the Earl of Mar, proclaimed James III & VIII (the Old Pretender) the rightful King of England and Scotland and led a Jacobite rebellion. The rebellion failed and The Whigs and the Hanoverian monarchy of George I then viewed Tories as irredeemable Jacobites who must be prevented from attaining power at all costs. And so King George I put four Whig ministers in the government include two radicals, the Earl of Sunderland and the Earl Stanhope, and two moderates, Lord Townshend and Robert Walpole. But conflicts over policy between the radical Whigs and moderate Whigs began. The moderates, Lord Townshend and Robert Walpole, leave office and let the radicals, the Earl of Sunderland and the Earl Stanhope, lead from 1717 to 1721. Under the radical Whigs rule in 1720, Britain suffers a financial meltdown and economic crisis. The influence peddling and public corruption of the Stanhope-Sunderland ministry were exposed, when parliamentary and newspaper investigations into the South Sea Company’s dealings and practices were launched. In 1721, the Earl Stanhope suffers a stroke and dies. Later in 1721, the Earl of Sunderland resigned from the ministry. King George I has no choice but to put Lord Townshend and Robert Walpole back into office as the prime ministers with Walpole in charge of domestic affairs and Lord Townshend conducting foreign affairs. Walpole took control of the government, he acted vigorously to prevent the Earl of Sunderland from being investigated and punished. This pleased King George I, united the moderates and radicals of the Whig Party together in the face of the crisis, and prevented the further exposure of public corruption. His government worked to manage the financial crisis. In 1722, the Earl of Sunderland died and Walpole became the undisputed chief minister of domestic affairs and developed a good working relationship with King George I. The British government was alerted to Jacobite invasion and insurrection plots by the Regent of France and the Atterbury Plot was exposed. Walpole used this to his advantage to break up Jacobite leadership and downgrade the Tory party further. In 1723, the Black Act is passed by Parliament. This measure gave the government extensive powers for the discovery and punishment of crime, thus allowing for brutal punishment of offenses such as trespassing on private property and public lands. Walpole’s government