March of Intellect

A set of sketches by John Abernethy satirising the March of Intellect, 1829.
March of Intellect by William Heath.
March of Intellect N°2 by William Heath.
March of Intellect by Robert Seymour.

The March of Intellect, or the 'March of mind', was the subject of heated debate in early nineteenth-century England, one side welcoming the progress of society towards greater, and more widespread, knowledge and understanding, the other deprecating the modern mania for progress and for new-fangled ideas.

The 'March' debate was seen by Mary Dorothy George as a public reflection of the changes in British society associated with industrialisation, democracy and shifting social statuses – changes welcomed by some and not by others.[1]

  1. ^ M. Dorothy George, Hogarth to Cruikshank (London 1967) p. 177