William IV: 1st paragraph

As King William IV acceded to the British throne in June 1830, England was at the crossroads that would determine "whether the method of political and social change . . . would be by violence and revolution or by peaceful progress through Parliamentary channels." A crucial reform bill loomed perilously on the political horizon, and William IV’s parliamentary leadership would face no greater test. This paper will reveal William IV’s impact on the 1832 Reform Bill by examining his correspondence; his attitudes toward the Bill (and reform in general); his relationships with the Bill’s opponents and proponents; the conditions that led to reform; examining the Bill itself; and of course from William IV’s background and private utterances as well as his public approval.