The Labour and Socialist Convention held at Leeds on 3 June 1917 was held expressly “to follow Russia”. It adopted four resolutions, the most celebrated of which called for the establishment of what have been termed “extra-Parliamentary Soviets with sovereign powers”. It was described shortly afterwards as “the most spectacular piece of utter folly for which [the Socialist left] during the whole war-period, was responsible – which is saying not a little”. A contemporary journal held that many of the ILP men had become “avowed Syndicalists or Bolsheviks”; and the King, in conversation with Will Thorne after the latter's visit to Russia on behalf of the government, expressed some concern about what had taken place. He “seemed greatly disturbed at the famous Leeds Conference”, Thorne recorded. Thome's reply, however, had “seemed to relieve his mind”. F. W. Jowett, a member of the group which issued invitations to the Convention, referred to it to the end of his life as the “highest point of revolutionary fervour he had seen in this country”.

The labor historians Perlman and Taft provide us with an acceptable, if general, introduction to the National Civic Federation:

“The national organization was an outgrowth of the Chicago Civic Federation, organized in 1893, to bring about better relations between capital and labor and to promote the study of civic problems. The Chicago Civic Federation succeeded in averting a number of labor controversies, and in 1900, its chief promoter, Ralph Easley, sought to extend its range of activities. He founded the National Civic Federation, composed of capitalists, labor leaders, and representatives of the public.”

Joseph Rayner Stephens's active participation in the Chartist movement was limited to three months in the autumn of 1838. His Chartist career began in mid-September when he was elected as a delegate to the Convention by the men of Ashton-under-Lyne and had ended before he was arrested at the end of December. During that time he spoke at meetings not only in Lancashire and the West Riding of Yorkshire but also at places as far afield as Carlisle and Norwich. He was elected a delegate to the Convention at Ashton, at the great South Lancashire demonstration, at Stockport, and at Norwich. He was a commanding figure on Chartist platforms, and historians of the movement have devoted a great deal of attention to him. His vivid and forceful language, prominence in the early stages of the agitation, early arrest, and seeming recantation of Chartism all provide choice material for historians, who have been quick to exploit it. By all hands, Stephens is given credit for the part he played in arousing the working men of the North of England and for fostering in them a sense of identity to which the Chartists could appeal. This was a fundamentally important contribution to the development of the Chartist movement. But historians have not clearly raised two important questions about Stephens's role in the movement. First, did Stephens think when he was participating in the movement that its immediate goal – enactment of the People's Charter – was worth-while? Timing is important here for many historians have noted that he renounced the movement between the time of his arrest in December, 1838 and his trial in August, 1839. Second, did his impact on the agitation extend beyond arousing the men of the North? These questions are related, for his skepticism about Chartist goals helped to shape his impact on the movement.

During the Directory the Journal des hommes litres de tous les pays was a major spokesman for the repubhcans and its pages reflect the difficulties that the Babouvist Conspiracy created for them. Although the newspaper gave a sympathetic hearing to Babouvist ideas, it was aware that the conspiracy weakened the republican movement and favored the royalists and the moderates. One discovers in the columns of the Journal the interests, goals, and strategy of the Jacobins rather than merely the programs and rationale of the “unregenerated terrorists” of the Extreme Left. Accordingly, this newspaper is an important source on the problems and the objectives of French republicans from 1795 to 1800. After a brief description of the editorial staff and the circulation of the daily, this article will deal with its attitude towards the Babouvists and its major tendencies during the First Directory, the phase of this regime which ended with the coup d'état of 18 Fructidor Year V (September 4, 1797).