-
I. England and the Emergence of Constitutional Monarchy
England vs. King
- a. England: king vs. Parliament for governing
- i. Struggle complicated by religious controversy
- 1. Victory of parliamentà foundation of constitutional monarchy by end of 17th
-
I. England and the Emergence of Constitutional Monarchy
King James I and Parliament
- a. King James I and Parliament
- i. Death of Queen Elizabeth in 1603à Tudor dynasty extinctà Stuart line with King James VI of Scotland (son of Mary, queen of Scots)à became James I of England
- ii. Knew little about laws, customs, and institutions of England
- 1. Adopted divine rights of kings, which alienated Parliament, which were used to cooperation of monarch and Parliament for ruling England under Tudors
- a. Parliament not happy and refused James’ requests for additional monies needed to pay for costly government
-
I. England and the Emergence of Constitutional Monarchy
Parliament also alienated
- 1. Parliament also alienated by James’ religious policy
- a. Puritans wanted James to eliminate the Episcopal system of church organization used in the Church of England in favor of Presbyterian model
- i. James refused because he saw that Anglican Church, with bishops appointed by crown, supported monarchical authority
-
I. England and the Emergence of Constitutional Monarchy
Puritan opposition
- 1. Puritans opposed
- a. Many of England’s gentry (well landowners below nobility) were Puritans and formed important part of House of Commons (lower house of Parliament) and held positions like justice of peace and sheriffs= shouldn’t have alienated them
-
I. England and the Emergence of Constitutional Monarchy
Charles I
- a. Charles I and the Move Towards Revolution
- i. Conflict during James’ reign increased in Charles I reign
- 1. 1628: Parliament passed the Petition of Right, which the king was supposed to accept before being granted any tax revenues
- a. Petition prohibited taxation without Parliament’s consent, arbitrary imprisonment, the quartering of soldiers in private houses, and the declaration of martial law in peacetime
- i. Initially accepted, but later reneged on agreement because it limited his power
-
I. England and the Emergence of Constitutional Monarchy
1629
- i. because it limited his power
- 2. 1629: Charles decided that since he couldn’t work with Parliament, he would not allow it to meet
- 3. 1629-1640: Charles= personal rule ,which forced him to find ways to collect taxes without Parliament’s help
- a. Tax called ship money, a levy on seacoast towns to pay for coastal defense, used to finance other government operations besides defense
- i. Aroused opposition from middle class merchants and landed gentry, who objected to this tax without Parliament’s consent
-
I. England and the Emergence of Constitutional Monarchy
King's religious policy
- i. King’s religious policy= disastrous
- 1. His marriage to Henrietta Maria, the Catholic sister of King Louis XIII of France, aroused suspicions about the king’s own religious inclinations
- 2. Efforts of Charles and William Laud, the archbishop of Canterbury, introduced more ritual into the Anglican Church= struck Puritans as return to Catholic poperyà grievances
-
I. England and the Emergence of Constitutional Monarchy
Charles would've survived
- a. Charles would’ve survived unscathed if he could have avoided calling Parliament, which alone could provide a focus for the many cries of discontent throughout the land
- i. But when king and Archbishop Laud tried to impose the Anglican Book of Common Prayer on Scottish Presbyterian Church, the Scots rebelled against king
- 1. Financially strapped and unable to raise troops for defense against Scots, king called Parliament
- a. Parliament= revenge
-
I. England and the Emergence of Constitutional Monarchy
Parliament's First Session
- i. Parliament’s first Session (Long Parliament 1640-1660)
- 1. Limited royal authority
- a. Abolished arbitrary courts, abolition of king-imposed taxes, like ship one, and passage of the Triennial Act, which specified that Parliament must meet once every three years, with or without king’s consent
-
I. England and the Emergence of Constitutional Monarchy
Parliament happy?
- i. Some of Parliament happy; others not and wanted more change, such as eliminating bishops in the Anglican Church
- 1. When king tried to take advantage of the split by arresting some members of the more radical faction in Parliamnnet, a large group in Parliament led by John Pym and fellow Puritans thought king went too farà civil war
-
I. England and the Emergence of Constitutional Monarchy
Civil war in England
- i. Parliament victorious in first phase of English Civil War (1642-1646)
- 1. Success due to creation of New Model Army
- a. Composed of extreme Puritals called Independents, who believed they were doing battle for the Lord
- i. Oliver Cromwell a leader
- 2. Ended with capture of King Charles I in 1646
-
I. England and the Emergence of Constitutional Monarchy
Civil War in England--> Split
- 1. Split in parliamentary forces
- a. Presbyterians wanted to disband army and restore Charles I with Presbyterian state church
- b. The army, made of radical Independents opposed the Presbyterians, marched on London in 1647 and began negotiations with king
-
I. England and the Emergence of Constitutional Monarchy
Civil War in England--> Charles takes advatage
- 1. Charles took advantage of this division to flee and seek help from Scotsà Cromwell and army led second civil warà Cromwell won and captured king and determined to achieve victory for army’s POV
- a. Presybterian members of Parliament purged, elaving a Rump Parliament of 53 members of the House of Commons who tried and condemned the king on a charge of treason and adjudged that he should be put to death
- i. Jan 30, 1649: Charles beheaded
- 1. Revolution won; monarchy destroyed
-
I. England and the Emergence of Constitutional Monarchy
Cromwell and New Government
- i. Rump Parliament abolished monarchy and House of Lords after beheading and proclaimed England a republic
- ii. Not easy for him
- 1. Commander in chief of army= had to crush Catholic uprising in Ireland and uprising in Scotland by son of Charles I
-
I. England and the Emergence of Constitutional Monarchy
Cromwell and Gov faced Opposition
- i. Faced opposition at home, especially from more radically minded groups who took advantage of upheaval in England to push their agendas
- 1. Levellers= wanted freedom of speech, religion, and demoncratic republic (right to vote for male householders over 21), annual Parliaments, equality of sexes, government programs for poor
- a. Cromewll said only people of property had right to participate in affairs of the state, and he warned to destroy them, which he did, smashing them
-
I. England and the Emergence of Constitutional Monarchy
Cromwell and New Gov. Also found it difficult and Army
- i. Also found it difficult to work with Rump Parliament during dealing with Levellers and dispersed it
- 1. Destroyed both king and Parliament
- ii. Army= new government when it drew up the Instrument of Government, England’s first and only written constitution
- 1. Executive power= Lord Protector
- 2. Legislative power= reconstituted Parliament
- 3. New system failed
- a. Cronwell couldn’t work with Parliament, especially when members questioned his authority and wanted a Presbyterian state church
-
I. England and the Emergence of Constitutional Monarchy
1655 Cromwell
- i. 1655: Cromwell dissolved Parliament and divided country into eleven regions, each ruled by a major general who served as military governor
- 1. To meet cost of military government, he levied 10% land tax on all former Royalists
- a. Unable to create a constitutional basis for a working government, he resorted to military force to maintain the rule of the Independents, using worse policies than Charles I
-
I. England and the Emergence of Constitutional Monarchy
Death in 1658
- 1. 18 months of failure led the military establishment to decide that arbitrary rule was no longer feasible and restablished the monarchy in Charles II, eldest son of Charles I
- a. Ended England’s time of troubles
-
I. England and the Emergence of Constitutional Monarchy
Restoring the Monarchy
- a. Restoring the Monarchy
- i. 11 years of exile, Charles II returned
- ii. Didn’t mean work of English Revolution was undone
- 1. Parliamnet= most of power
- a. Role in government acknowledged, necessity to consent taxes accepted, arbitray courts abolished
-
I. England and the Emergence of Constitutional Monarchy
Religious probs
- i. Religious problem during reign
- 1. After restoring monarchy, a new Parliament (Cavalier) met in 1661 and restored the Anglican Churcha s official church of England
- 2. Laws passed to force everyone, esp. Catholics and Puritan Dissenters, to conform to the Anglican Church
- a. Charles liked Catholcism and brother, the heir, was Catholic
- i. Charles issued Declaration of Indulgence, which suspended the laws that Parliament had passed against Catholics and Puritans
- 1. Parliament wasn’t happy and wanted suspension of declaration
- a. Passed Test Act of 1673, specifying that only Anglicans could hold military and civil offices
-
I. England and the Emergence of Constitutional Monarchy
Assassination plot
- i. Catholic plot to assassinate King Charles and place Janes on the throne caused Parliament’s attempt to pass a bill barring James from throne= fail
- 1. Debate over billà political groupings of the Whigs (wanted to exclude James and get Protestant king with toleration of Dissenters) and Tories (supported the king, despite dislike of James as Catholic because they believed that Parliament should not tampwer with succession)
- 2. Charles dismissed Parliament to stop their efforts, relying on French subsidies
- 3. Death led to James
-
I. England and the Emergence of Constitutional Monarchy
James II
- 1. New constitutional crisis for England
- 2. Attempted to further Catholic interestsà religion an issue between king and Parliament
- 3. Contrary to Test Act, he named Catholics to high positions in government, army, navy, and universities
- 4. 1687: new Declaration of Indugence, which suspended all laws barring Catholics and Dissenters from office
- a. Rebellion didn’t occur because Protestant daughters Mary and Anne would soon succeed throne
- i. However, June 10 bore a son to Jame’s Catholic second wifeà hereditary
-
I. England and the Emergence of Constitutional Monarchy
Glorious Rev
- i. Seven prominent English noblemen invited William of Orange, husband of James’ daughter Mary, to invade England
- 1. William= hated Louis XIV and welcomed chance to fiht France with English resources
- a. William and Mary raised an army and invaded England while James, his son, and wife fled to Franceà England on Glorious Revolution over who should be monarch
-
I. England and the Emergence of Constitutional Monarchy
1688: revolution
- 1. Revolution Settlement= William and Mary are monarchs
- 2. Jan 1689, the Convention Parliament asserted that James had tried to subvert the constitution by breaking the contract between king and people and declared throne of England vacantà given and accepted by William and Mary along with provisions of a declaration of rights, later enacted into the Bill of Rights in 1689
-
I. England and the Emergence of Constitutional Monarchy
Bill of Rights
- a. Bill of Rights affirmed Parliament’s right to make laws and levy taxes and made it impossible for kings to oppose or do without Parliament by stipulating that standing armies could be raised only with consent of Parliament
- i. Both elections and debates of Parliament had to be free= king cant interfere
- ii. Rights of citizens to petition the sovereign, keep arms, have a jury trial, and not be subject to excessive bail confirmed
- b. Bill of Rights helped fashion a system of government based on rule of law and freely elected Parliamentà constitutional monarchy
-
I. England and the Emergence of Constitutional Monarchy
Bill of Rights didn't solve
- i. Bill of Rights didn’t solve religious questions
- 1. Toleration Act of 1689 granted Puritan Dissenters the right of free public worship (excluded Catholics), though they didn’t have full civil and political equality since the Test Act was not repealed
- a. Didn’t mean full religious freedom and equality, but marked departure in English history: few people would ever be persecuted for religion
-
I. England and the Emergence of Constitutional Monarchy
Glorious Rev
- i. Glorious Revolution= end of 17th century struggle between king and Parliament
- 1. By deposing one king and establishing another, Parliament demolished the divine right theory of kingship and confirmed its right to participate in the government
- 2. Didn’t have complete control of government, but had role in state affairs
-
I. England and the Emergence of Constitutional Monarchy
Responses to Revolution
- a. Responses to Revoluition
- i. Thomas Hobbes
- 1. Lived during English Civil War, alarmed by upheavals
- 2. Elaborated topic of state’s claim to absolute authority over its subjects in a treatise on political thought called Leviathan
-
I. England and the Emergence of Constitutional Monarchy
Thomas Hobbes Leviathan
- a. In state of nature, before society was organized, human life was solitary and poor
- i. Humans guided by animalistic instincts and a ruthless struggle for self preservation rather than reason and morals
- 1. To save themselves fro destruction, people formed a commonwealth (that great Leviathan)
- a. Placed power in hands of sovereign authority (single ruler) who was executor, legislator, and judge with unlimited power
- i. Subjects could now rebel and if did, must be suppressed
-
I. England and the Emergence of Constitutional Monarchy
John Locke
- 1. Viewd political power not absolute
- 2. Two Treatises of Government
- a. State of nature before organized society
- i. Humans in state of equality and freedom, not war, with certain natural rights to life, liberty, and property
- ii. Not all was wall in state of nature
- 1. Since no judge to state of nature, people found it hard to protect rightsà government to ensure protection of rights
-
I. England and the Emergence of Constitutional Monarchy
John Locke: Two Treatises of Government: Mutual Obligations
- a. Mutual obligations:
- i. Government protects rights of people while people act reasonably towards government
- ii. If broken, people can form a new government
- b. Community of people was landholding aristocracy who were represented in Parliament, not landless
|
|
