Editing Debate (section)

=== Emergence of debating societies ===
[[File:IsaacCruikshank-DebatingSoc.jpg|thumb|upright=1.15|''Debate Tonight: Whether a man's wig should be dressed with honey or mustard!'', a 1795 cartoon satirizing the content of debates]]
[[Trinity College Dublin]] boasts two of Europe's oldest debating societies: [[The Hist]] in 1770, inspired by a debating club created by [[Edmund Burke]] in 1747, and [[The Phil]], founded in 1683. The [[Cogers|Society of Cogers]] was founded in London in 1755 and still operates today. [[London Debating Societies|Debating societies]] had emerged in [[London]] in the early 18th century, and soon became a prominent societal fixture of life in London.<ref name="Mary Thale 1999">Mary Thale, "The Case of the British Inquisition: Money and Women in Mid-Eighteenth-Century London Debating Societies", ''Albion'' 31, no. 1 (Spring 1999).</ref> Although debating societies had existed in London since at least 1740, they were exclusive and secretive societies. However, by the mid-18th century, London fostered a vibrant debating society culture, largely due to increased membership from London's growing middle class.<ref name="Mary Thale 1999"/> The topics debated covered a broad spectrum, and debating societies allowed participants from all genders and social backgrounds, making them an example of the enlarged [[public sphere]] of the [[Age of Enlightenment]].<ref>Mary Thale, "London Debating Societies in the 1790s", ''The Historical Journal'' 32, no. 1 (March 1989): 58–59.</ref> Debating societies were a phenomenon associated with the simultaneous rise of the [[public sphere]].<ref>James Van Horn Melton, ''The Rise of the Public in Enlightenment Europe'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001).</ref> A sphere of discussion, separate from traditional authorities and accessible to all people, acted as a platform for criticism and the development of new ideas and philosophy.<ref>Thomas Munck, ''The Enlightenment: A Comparative Social History 1721–1794'' (New York: Oxford University Press, 2000).{{ISBN?}}</ref>

[[John Henley (clergyman)|John Henley]], a clergyman,<ref>Donna T. Andrew, "Popular Culture and Public Debate" in ''The Historical Journal'', Vol. 39, Issue 02 (Cambridge University Press, June 1996), p. 406.</ref> founded an Oratory in 1726 with the principal aim of "reforming the manner in which public presentations should be performed".<ref name=goring>Goring, P. (2005), ''The Rhetoric of Sensibility in Eighteenth-Century Culture''</ref>{{rp|63}} He extensively utilized the print industry to advertise the events of his Oratory, establishing it as a ubiquitous part of the London public sphere. Henley also played a crucial role in shaping the space of the debating club; he introduced two platforms to his room in the [[District of Newport|Newport district]] of London for the staging of debates and organized the entrances to facilitate the collection of admission fees. These modifications were further carried out when Henley relocated his enterprise to [[Lincoln's Inn Fields]]. With the public now willing to pay for entertainment, Henley capitalized on the growing [[commercialization]] of British society.<ref name=goring />{{rp|65–66}} By the 1770s, debating societies had become a firmly established part of London society.<ref name="ReferenceA">Andrew, "Popular Culture and Public Debate", 409.</ref>

The year 1785 was pivotal: The ''[[Morning Chronicle]]'' announced on March 26:<ref>Andrew, ''London Debating Societies,'' 82.</ref>

{{blockquote|The Rage for public debate now shows itself in all quarters of the metropolis. Exclusive of the oratorical assemblies at Carlisle House, Freemasons Hall, the Forum, Spring Gardens, the Casino, the Mitre Tavern, and other polite places of debating ''rendezvous'', we hear that new Schools of Eloquence are preparing to be opened in St. Giles, Clare-Market, Hockley in the Hole, Whitechapel, Rag-Fair, Duke's Place, Billingsgate, and the Back of the Borough.}}

[[File:Married-state-ca1780.jpg|thumb|upright=0.7|left|Many subjects were debated in the [[London Debating Societies]] of the 18th century. This is a cover to a [[panegyric]] on marriage and family life, {{Circa|1780}}.]]

In 1780, 35 distinct societies advertised and hosted debates accommodating between 650 and 1200 individuals.<ref>Andrew, Introduction to ''London Debating Societies,'' ix; Thale, "London Debating Societies in the 1790s", 59; Munck, ''The Enlightenment,'' 72.</ref> The topic for debate was introduced by a president or moderator, who then moderated the discussion. Speakers were allotted specific time frames to present their arguments, and, following the debate, a vote was conducted to reach a conclusion or to adjourn the topic for further deliberation.<ref>Thale, "London Debating Societies in the 1790s", 60.</ref> Speakers were prohibited from slandering or insulting other speakers or straying from the designated topic, underscoring the premium placed on politeness by late 18th-century debaters.<ref name="ReferenceA" />