http://worldcat.org/entity/work/id/2054649633

Papers of Charles Bradlaugh

"Charles Bradlaugh was one of the most prominent secularists of the nineteenth century, a man who advocated his cause in print, in speeches, in Parliament, and through co-founding the National Secular Society. He also championed other controversial causes such as Indian Home Rule, and access to birth control. Bradlaugh had a staggering work ethic, caused in no small part by his perpetual shortage of funds, in 1867 Bradlaugh was editing the National Reformer, working as a legal and financial agent, serving as a Member of the Council of the National Reform League, and fighting a legal battle against the Securities System; however, he still found time to help the Fenians draft their Manifesto. Raised in an impecunious household in Bethnal Green, London, Bradlaugh's formal education was sporadic and became even more so once he was barred from Sunday School for questioning inconsistencies between chapters in The Bible. His informal education as a resident of the radicalised East End of London led him to freethought and the ostracization he experienced after being barred from Sunday School pushed him into residency in the houses of freethinkers. Another lasting influence on Bradlaugh came when a lack of funds forced him to enlist in the army for three years; serving in Ireland during the Great Famine, he witnessed crushing poverty and had to guard the police while they evicted at least one starving family. These experiences do appear to have influenced Bradlaugh's later campaigning on market tolls and their impact upon food distribution, as he referenced Ireland while delivering a speech on Market Rights and Tolls, with regard to food, in Parliament on the 22nd April 1887. Bradlaugh taking his seat in Parliament was a groundbreaking achievement, as he was the MP who fought for the introduction of a secular Oath for five years so that he could be sworn-in, and, with the continued support of a Northampton Electorate who re-elected him in each of the four by-elections during those five years, he was finally permitted to take his seat in 1886. During the years in which he was an elected Member of Parliament, but not able to be sworn-in, he was active in Parliament on sufferance rather than being given the full rights of an elected Member and Bradlaugh once spent a night locked in the Palace of Westminster's clock tower for refusing to withdraw from the House when ordered to. Hypatia Bradlaugh Bonner, the only one of Bradlaugh's children to outlive her father, was an active campaigner in her own right and when she wasn't collating or protecting Bradlaugh's written legacy, Bonner gave speeches and campaigned in her own right. Many of the writings published here were conserved due to Bonner's efforts and her correspondence reveals much about her as well as her father. Bonner campaigned actively against the Boer War and campaigned for peace during the arms race prior to the First World War. An accomplished orator, Bonner also conveyed her anti-war message through a number of speeches; reports of these speeches are included in the group of documents 'Articles by and About Bradlaugh and Bonner' published here."--Collection metadata page.

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