James Burgh

James Burgh (1714–1775) was a British Whig politician whose book Political Disquisitions set out an early case for free speech and universal suffrage: in it, he writes, "All lawful authority, legislative, and executive, originates from the people." He has been judged "one of England's foremost propagandists for radical reform".

Burgh also ran a dissenting academy and wrote on subjects such as educational reform. His widow acted as fairy godmother to early feminist Mary Wollstonecraft, then a young and unpublished schoolmistress, who titled her first book Thoughts on the Education of Daughters (1787). The title alludes to Burgh's Thoughts on Education (1747) which in turn alludes to John Locke's 1693 work, Some Thoughts Concerning Education.

Burgh was born and raised in Madderty, Scotland. His father was a minister of the parish in the Church of Scotland. Burgh was raised a Presbyterian, which strongly contributed to his fight for moral issues. He attended St. Andrews University with the intention of studying for the ministry. An illness prevented him from completing his degree and he entered the linen trade. Failure at that sent him to England in the early 1740s. For a short time he was a printer's helper and then in 1746 he became an assistant master (teacher) in an academy just north of London. The next year, he became master (principal) of his own academy in Stoke Newington. In 1750, he moved his school to nearby Newington Green, and ran it there for 19 years.

In 1754, Burgh's The Dignity of Human Nature was published. This is his first major publication, and one that bears a striking resemblance to Benjamin Franklin's Poor Richard's Almanac. In 1761, Burgh wrote The Art of Speaking, an educational book focusing on oratory. In 1766, he wrote the first volume of Crito, a collection of essays on religious toleration, contemporary politics, and educational theories. The second volume followed a year later. This is his first work that included a strong emphasis on politics.

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