Snafui Posted September 27, 2015 Share Posted September 27, 2015 John Bright: Statesman, Orator, Agitator by Bill Cash This man did more for peace and prosperity than some would like you to know: He fought for free trade; established the Corn Laws to eradicate the tariff that led to starvation. He kept England out of the Civil War where they wished to side with the Southern Confederates to have access to cheap cotton; Lincoln died with an article in his pocket that was written by Bright. Lincoln kept a picture of Bright in his office. He fought corrupt land owners in Ireland that bullied the working class into poverty via taxation. He fought against Ireland being its own state--oddly at that time that was a good thing because it would have set them up to be ruled in tyranny. He is still revered in India, known as John Britain; he may have influenced Gandhi to seek a path of peaceful resistance. He fought against the East India Company; if you can recall "Pirates of the Caribbean" that should ring a bell of how brave that would be. He was greatly respected by the Queen that when he came to accept an office she did not require that he kneel as this would be against his religious beliefs. He coined two phrases, one worth noting: "England is the Mother of Parliaments;" and "flog a dead horse." As often as I use the latter I can now note that this is a family saying. Thanks G3-grandfather, I feel like such a slacker... I'm probably a tad bit biased to write a proper review, so this is just some notes on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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