Samuel Johnson (18 September 1709 [O.S. 7 September] – 13 December 1784), a British intellectual, wrote dozens of essays that defined his views on the politics of his time.
Political writings
Johnson was known as a staunch Tory or was thought not to be active within politics; his political writings were subsequently disregarded and neglected. Boswell's Life of Samuel Johnson is partly to blame. Boswell did not meet Johnson until later in life and was unable to discuss how politics affected Johnson during his early years. Two periods, Robert Walpole's control over British Parliament and the Seven Years' War, were Johnson's most active periods and are the source for much of his early writings. Although Boswell was present with Johnson during the 1770s and described four major pamphlets written by Johnson, he neglected to discuss them because he is more interested in their travels to Scotland. That is compounded by the fact that Boswell held an opinion contradictory to two of the pamphlets, The False Alarm and Taxation No Tyranny, and so he attacked Johnson's views...
Andy Wootton
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