James Mill was born in Scotland in 1773 to a shoemaker. It was his mother's goal that Mill rise above his social status. Through her social connections, he met Sir John Stuart, who became a mentor and benefactor to young Mill, housing him and helping finance Mill's education at the University of Edinburgh. Mill first studied philosophy at the university and was especially interested in Greek philosophy. In 1798, he graduated as a licensed preacher but had little success in this career. He took up tutoring instead soon after.

In 1802, Mill traveled to London with John Stuart and began working as a journalist for the Anti-Jacobin Review. The following year he began working for the Literary Journal. In 1805, he married Harriet Burrow and began writing for the St. James Chronicle. A year later, his son John Stuart Mill was born, followed by eight other children.

Throughout the next few years...