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Rational Dissent and the Rhetoric of Educational Philanthropy in the Dissenting Academies of Lancashire, Hackney and Exeter

Abstract Between 1750 and 1800, England's Rational Dissenters founded four collegiate academies in the towns of Warrington, Manchester, Hackney, and Exeter. Although Rational Dissent arose from the theologically heterodox wings of Protestant Dissent, academy organizers intended their academies to be non-denominational and thus limited their dependence on the financial support of any single congregation or charitable foundation. Consequently, these Dissenters had to undertake ongoing fund-raising campaigns, for which they adopted strategies similar to those of eighteenth-century voluntary hospitals and charity schools. For the academies in Warrington and Manchester, in particular, attempts to attract a diverse community of supporters involved considerable challenges. This article assesses the educational rhetoric employed by the Rational Dissenters, arguing that it served both social and intellectual goals related to the Dissenters' desire for mainstream acceptance. In effect, Rational Dissenters created an ideology of education and philanthropy that transcended regional interests and spoke to a national audience. They used sermons and annual reports, in particular, to inform the public of their activities, while also defending the broad importance of a liberal education and displaying the loyalty of the Dissenting community to the British nation.