The Shortest-Way With the Dissenters

"The Shortest-Way With the Dissenters" was a satirical pamphlet written by Daniel Defoe in 1702. Defoe, a Dissenter himself, ironically adopted the voice of High-Church Tories to argue for harsh measures against Protestant Dissenters. His aim was to expose and discredit the extreme anti-Dissenter arguments by exaggerating them to an absurd degree.1

However, the satire was misunderstood. Both Dissenters and High Churchmen took the pamphlet seriously and were angered when Defoe's true intentions were revealed. This led to his prosecution for seditious libel, resulting in a fine and a sentence to stand in the pillory. Despite the personal consequences, the pamphlet was highly successful in highlighting the divisive religious and political climate of the era.12