It helped that his father had been Prime Minister, and that he (the Younger) was an excellent speaker, he was thus very easy to rally behind. He was charismatic and had a familiar name and a lot connections. Remember that in the 18th century there was no adolescence, there was childhood and adulthood. It wasn't uncommon for twelve and thirteen year olds to be hung on the gallows as men, By fifteen or sixteen young men were seen as a grown adults who should be able to take care of themselves, most had already started serious work around twelve years of age . Twenty-four was young, but it was more like how "thirty" is seen today