= Charles James Fox = '''Charles James Fox''' was a [[UnitedKingdom/WhigParty|Whig]] politician and a member of the [[UnitedKingdom/Parliament|Parliament]] in [[UnitedKingdom/Democratization|Great Britain]]. <> ---- == History == Charles was a younger son of [[UnitedKingdom/HenryFox|Henry Fox]]. Fox entered [[UnitedKingdom/Parliament|Parliament]] in 1768 for Midhurst, a [[EnglandInTheAgeOfTheAmericanRevolution|pocket borough]]. He had two brief appointments to the [[UnitedKingdom/Admiralty|board of Admiralty]] in the 1770s, both of which he resigned from in protest against the [[UnitedKingdom/FrederickNorth|North]] government. He served in the brief government of [[UnitedKingdom/CharlesWatsonWentworth|Watson-Wentworth]], who died within a few months. Fox refused to continue under [[UnitedKingdom/WilliamPetty|Petty]], so he formed a coalition with North and forced a government onto [[UnitedKingdom/GeorgeIII|George III]]. While the coalition would disintegrate within a year, neither could the minority [[UnitedKingdom/WilliamPittII|Pitt]] government effectively govern, until new elections in 1784 handed him a solid majority. Fox was a vocal supporter of the [[France/Democratization#French_Revolution|French Revolution]] and the [[France/Jacobins|Jacobins]]. As the [[WorldHistory/NapoleonicWars|Napooleonic Wars]] carried on, these positions became politically poisonous, and Fox was increasingly sidelined from politics. In early 1806, Fox was appointed to [[UnitedKingdom/WilliamGrenville|Grenville's]] '''Ministry of All the Talents'''. His failure to negotiate peace with Bonaparte shattered his public image. Fox died in office in September 1806. ---- == Policies == Fox was a notable critic of [[UnitedKingdom/FrederickNorth|North]], [[UnitedKingdom/GeorgeIII|George III]], and the [[UnitedStates/Democratization#Revolutionary_War|American Revolutionary War]]. He argued that the true aims of the war were to establish an absolute monarchy. He was caught in an embarrassing position during the '''Regency Crisis'''. While he was well known to oppose the powers of George III, he was also an ally of [[UnitedKingdom/GeorgeIV|George, prince of Wales]]. In 1788, George III was incapacitated by severe mental illness, and had to be restrained. Fox tried to argue in Parliament that the prince of Wales had a natural right to declare a permanent regency. Fox was a leading critic of [[UnitedKingdom/WilliamPittII|Pitt's]] wartime security acts. These included the '''Habeas Corpus Suspension Act''', the '''Seditious Meetings Act''', and the '''Treasonable Practices Act'''. Even from the opposition, he pressed for legislation to restore civil liberties. He found a notable success in the '''Libel Act''', restoring the role of juries in libel trials. In contrast, his '''Roman Catholic Relief Act''' did not pass. He publicly supported the [[France/Democratization#French_Revolution|French Revolution]], specifically of the [[France/Jacobins|Jacobins]]. He initially expressed opposition to [[France/NapoleonBonaparte|Bonaparte]] for his seizure of power, but eventually rationalized it as necessary. In the last months of his life, Fox introduced legislation to ban the slave trade. He believed that [[France/NapoleonBonaparte|Napoleonic France]] fundamentally wanted peace, but was forced to wage aggressive war to secure itself geopolitically against the inherently hostile monarchies surrounding it. ---- CategoryRicottone