This introductory essay, firstly, offers a comparative, historical perspective on the transformation of petitioning into a vehicle for mass popular politics across North America and Western Europe during the “long” nineteenth century (1780–1914). While petitions were well established as an instrument of state in many early modern states, from the late eighteenth century a new type of mass, public, collective petitioning, based on established or invoked rights, emerged on an unprecedented scale in many countries. Mass petitioning underpinned the nascent repertoires of collective action pioneered by social movements. At the same time, the reception of petitions was institutionalized by political authorities, particularly legislatures elected under limited suffrage, as a potential source of legitimation. Secondly, the introduction suggests why people petitioned, and continued to petition, when their campaigns were often unsuccessful in achieving immediate results. The answer lies in the manifold advantages of petitioning in enabling political organization, mobilization, identity formation, citizenship, political change, and the forming of networks with elite political actors. By shaping an emerging field examining petitioning and petitions, raising awareness of petitions as sources and the methodologies to exploit them, and addressing broad questions of interest to historians and social scientists, this special issue hopes to stimulate further research and contribute to a rich dialogue in the years to come.

中文翻译：

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简介：漫长的十九世纪（1780-1914）请愿的转变

这篇介绍性文章首先提供了一个比较的历史视角，探讨在“漫长”的 19 世纪（1780-1914 年）期间请愿转变为北美和西欧大众大众政治的工具。虽然请愿在许多现代早期国家已被确立为一种国家工具，但从 18 世纪后期开始，一种基于既定或援引权利的新型群众、公共、集体请愿在许多国家以前所未有的规模出现。群众上访为社会运动开创的集体行动的新生曲目提供了基础。与此同时，接受请愿被政治当局制度化，特别是在有限选举权下选举产生的立法机构，作为合法化的潜在来源。其次，导言说明了为什么人们请愿并继续请愿，而他们的运动往往无法立即取得成果。答案在于请愿在促成政治组织、动员、身份形成、公民身份、政治变革以及与精英政治行为者形成网络方面的多重优势。通过塑造一个审查请愿和请愿的新兴领域，提高对请愿作为来源和利用它们的方法的认识，并解决历史学家和社会科学家感兴趣的广泛问题，本期特刊希望激发进一步的研究并促进在未来的岁月。答案在于请愿在促成政治组织、动员、身份形成、公民身份、政治变革以及与精英政治行为者形成网络方面的多重优势。通过塑造一个审查请愿和请愿的新兴领域，提高对请愿作为来源和利用它们的方法的认识，并解决历史学家和社会科学家感兴趣的广泛问题，本期特刊希望激发进一步的研究并促进在未来的岁月。答案在于请愿在促成政治组织、动员、身份形成、公民身份、政治变革以及与精英政治行为者形成网络方面的多重优势。通过塑造一个审查请愿和请愿的新兴领域，提高对请愿作为来源和利用它们的方法的认识，并解决历史学家和社会科学家感兴趣的广泛问题，本期特刊希望激发进一步的研究并促进在未来的岁月。