Skip to main content

Research Repository

Advanced Search

The Evolution of Petitioning in Europe and North America, 1850-2000

Huzzey, Richard; Miller, Henry

Authors

Henry Miller



Contributors

Richard Huzzey
Editor

Maartje Janse
Editor

Henry Miller
Editor

Joris Oddens
Editor

Brodie Waddell
Editor

Abstract

Petitioning was a ubiquitous practice in 20th-century North America and Europe, but has often appeared invisible to historians and social scientists, or is only cited incidentally in classic studies. This neglect stems from the trend, evident across many polities, away from petitioning national legislatures, where petitions were frequently recorded as part of formal institutional ‘petitions systems’, to petitioners appealing to other authorities, which were often unrecorded. Petitioning also mutated and was partly subsumed into related forms, such as referendums triggered by signatures, or mass letter writing to political leaders and representatives. Even so, petitions were evident in a diverse range of different contexts – within protest movements, within authoritarian and autocratic regimes, and during wartime – testifying to their ubiquity and significance across many polities. The proliferation of international institutions such as the League of Nations and the United Nations provided a further avenue for petitioners, particularly stateless peoples, refugees, and peoples seeking national self-determination or independence from colonial rule. High-profile attempts to bring together civil society and citizens across borders behind global petitions, such as Jubilee 2000, provide another example of the importance of petitioning for the modern repertoire of campaigning within democratic societies.

Citation

Huzzey, R., & Miller, H. The Evolution of Petitioning in Europe and North America, 1850-2000. In R. Huzzey, M. Janse, H. Miller, J. Oddens, & B. Waddell (Eds.), Petitions and Petitioning in Europe and North America: From the Late Medieval Period to the Present (194-215). British Academy. https://doi.org/10.5871/bacad/9780197267721.003.0013

Deposit Date Nov 20, 2023
Publisher British Academy
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Pages 194-215
Book Title Petitions and Petitioning in Europe and North America: From the Late Medieval Period to the Present
Chapter Number 10
ISBN 9780197267721
DOI https://doi.org/10.5871/bacad/9780197267721.003.0013
Public URL https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1944736
Publisher URL https://global.oup.com/academic/product/petitions-and-petitioning-in-europe-and-north-america-9780197267721
Contract Date Nov 20, 2023