Question

Make the answers for these questions short:
A.) Why is the English Bill of Rights considered a seminal document?
B.) Why is Wilberforce’s 1789 Abolition Speech considered a seminal document?
C.) What main ideas or themes do both of these documents share?
D.) What effect did the specific details of the slave trade in Wilberforce’s speech have on his audience?

Answer 1

A.) The English Bill of Rights is considered seminal because it established fundamental principles of parliamentary democracy and individual rights, influencing future constitutional frameworks.

B.) Wilberforce’s 1789 Abolition Speech is seminal because it galvanized public opinion against slavery and laid the groundwork for the abolitionist movement.

C.) Both documents share themes of human rights, individual liberty, and the moral responsibility of government.

D.) The specific details of the slave trade in Wilberforce’s speech evoked strong emotional reactions, fostering a sense of urgency and moral outrage in his audience.