Editing William Pitt the Younger (section)

== Early political career (1780–1783)==
===Member of Parliament===
During the general elections of September 1780, at the age of 21, Pitt contested the [[Cambridge University (UK Parliament constituency)|University of Cambridge seat]], but lost, coming bottom of the poll of the five candidates.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=William Pitt, the Younger: Historical importance |author-first1=Arthur C.V.D. |author-last1=Aspinall|encyclopedia=Britannica Online Encyclopedia |url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/462151/William-Pitt-the-Younger/5744/Historical-importance |access-date=23 April 2010}}</ref><ref>Alter 'Pitt' Volume 1 (2024) ''pp''48-9</ref> Pitt had campaigned on his own merit, not as part of any group or with prominent backers. He explained to a friend that 'I do not wish to be thought inlisted [sic] in any party or to call myself anything but the Independent Whig, which in words is hardly a distinction, as every one alike pretends to it.'<ref>Alter 'Pitt' Volume 1 (2024) ''p'' 48</ref> intent on entering Parliament, Pitt secured the patronage of [[James Lowther, 1st Earl of Lonsdale|James Lowther]], later 1st Earl Lowther, with the help of his university friend, [[Charles Manners, 4th Duke of Rutland]]. Lowther effectively controlled the [[pocket borough]] of [[Appleby (UK Parliament constituency)|Appleby]]; a by-election in that constituency sent Pitt to the [[House of Commons of Great Britain|House of Commons]] in January 1781.<ref>{{cite web |website=10 Downing Street – PMs in history |title=William Pitt 'The Younger' 1783–1801 and 1804-6 Tory |url=http://www.number10.gov.uk/output/Page161.asp |access-date=23 April 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080807175552/http://www.number10.gov.uk/output/Page161.asp |archive-date=7 August 2008}}</ref> Pitt's entry into parliament is somewhat ironic as he later railed against the very same [[Rotten and pocket boroughs|pocket and rotten boroughs]] that had given him his seat.{{sfn|Hague|2005|p=89}}

In Parliament, the youthful Pitt cast aside his tendency to be withdrawn in public, emerging as a noted debater right from his [[maiden speech]].{{sfn|Hague|2005|pp=62-65}} Pitt's first speech made a dramatic impression. Sir John Sinclair, member of Parliament for Lostwithiel, thought that Pitt's first speech was never surpassed and ‘rarely equalled by any ever delivered in that assembly.’ When Pitt resumed his seat after finishing speaking there was thunderous applause. Sinclair noted that there was ‘utter astonishment … by an audience accustomed to the most splendid efforts of eloquence.’<ref>Alter 'Pitt' Volume 1 (2024) ''p'' 50</ref> Pitt originally aligned himself with prominent [[Whigs (British political party)|Whigs]] such as [[Charles James Fox]]. With the Whigs, Pitt denounced the continuation of the [[American War of Independence]], as his father strongly had. Instead he proposed that the prime minister, [[Lord North]], make peace with the rebellious American colonies. Pitt also supported parliamentary reform measures, including a proposal that would have checked electoral corruption. He renewed his friendship with William Wilberforce, now [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|MP]] for [[Kingston upon Hull|Hull]], with whom he frequently met in the gallery of the House of Commons.{{sfn|Hague|2005|p=71}}

=== Chancellorship ===
After Lord North's ministry collapsed in 1782, the Whig [[Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham]], was appointed prime minister. Pitt was offered the minor post of [[Lord High Treasurer of Ireland|Vice-Treasurer of Ireland]], but he refused, considering the post overly subordinate. Lord Rockingham died only three months after coming to power; he was succeeded by another Whig, [[William Petty, 2nd Earl of Shelburne]]. Many Whigs who had formed a part of the Rockingham ministry, including Fox, now refused to serve under Lord Shelburne, the new prime minister. Pitt, however, was comfortable with Shelburne, and thus joined his government; he was appointed [[Chancellor of the Exchequer]].{{sfn|Hague|2005|p=99}}

Fox, who became Pitt's lifelong political rival, then joined a coalition with Lord North, with whom he collaborated to bring about the defeat of the Shelburne administration. When Lord Shelburne resigned in 1783, King [[George III]], who despised Fox, offered to appoint Pitt to the office of prime minister. But Pitt wisely declined, for he knew he would be incapable of securing the support of the House of Commons. The [[Fox–North coalition]] rose to power in a government nominally headed by [[William Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland]].{{sfn|Hague|2005|p=124}}

Pitt, who had been stripped of his post as Chancellor of the Exchequer, joined the [[Political opposition|Opposition]]. He raised the issue of parliamentary reform in order to strain the uneasy Fox–North coalition, which included both supporters and detractors of reform. He did not advocate an expansion of the electoral franchise, but he did seek to address bribery and rotten boroughs. Though his proposal failed, many reformers in Parliament came to regard him as their leader, instead of Charles James Fox.

=== Effects of the American War of Independence ===
Losing the war and the [[Thirteen Colonies]] was a shock to the British system. The war revealed the limitations of Britain's [[fiscal-military state]] when it had powerful enemies and no allies, depended on extended and vulnerable transatlantic lines of communication, and was faced for the first time since the 17th century by both Protestant and Catholic foes. The defeat heightened dissension and escalated political antagonism to the king's ministers. Inside parliament, the primary concern changed from fears of an over-mighty monarch to the issues of representation, parliamentary reform, and government retrenchment. Reformers sought to destroy what they saw as widespread [[institutional corruption]]. The result was a crisis from 1776 to 1783. The peace in 1783 left France financially prostrate, while the British economy boomed due to the return of American business. That crisis ended in 1784 as a result of the king's shrewdness in outwitting Fox{{explain|date=September 2023}} and renewed confidence in the system engendered by the leadership of Pitt. Historians conclude that the loss of the American colonies enabled Britain to deal with the [[French Revolution]] with more unity and organisation than would otherwise have been the case.{{sfn|Black|2006|p=}}{{page needed|date=January 2021}} Britain turned towards Asia, the Pacific, and later Africa with subsequent exploration leading to the rise of the [[Second British Empire]].{{sfn|Canny|1998|p=92}}