Constitutionalism in England

1603-1689

Things to think about…

• What is the difference between a revolt and a revolution?

• How was the English Civil War part of the Age of Religious Wars?

• How were trends revealed by the new monarchies realized in the English experience?

• How much power did the monarchy and Parliament have?

• What was restored when Charles II took the throne? What was not restored?

Constitutionalism

• A government limited by law

• Can be a monarchy or a republic

• Not necessarily democratic

• England (Great Britain) and Netherlands

17th Century England• Divine Right of Kings

– Secular and Religious Power in the Monarchy– Disputes- Monarchy v. Parliament

• War, Taxes and Religion– Demand for More Rights - Petition of Right

• Power of Religious Strife– English Civil War

• Puritans v. Church of England – Oliver Cromwell v. King Charles I

» Roundheads v. Cavaliers• Age of Intolerance- Military Dictatorship

– Oliver Cromwell- Military Dictator• Restoration-

– Protestantism v. Catholicism Part II– Demand for more Rights (Writ of Habeas Corpus)– Fear of Religion??? (power of Catholicism)

• Glorious Revolution– Power of Parliament v. King– English Bill of Rights

James (Stuart) I (England) 1603-1625

• Son of Mary, Queen of Scots

• Early in Term- Gunpowder “Catholic Plot” Guy Fawkes!

• Protestant (Church of England)– Church of England was Very “Catholic”

• Rose to the throne on the Death of Elizabeth, who was childless

• Major Accomplishment- King James Bible– Written in English, it is the dominant English language Bible to this day

– Book of Sports! (alienates Puritans)

• Argued with Parliament - Hated to ask Parliament for Money for Wars (he felt above that type of thing)

• Duke of Buckingham – lover?– Salary = 30,000 pounds

– Artisan = 300 pounds

James I and the Puritans

• Wife Anne is Catholic• Puritans

– Dislike sports– James writes a Book of

Sports

• Initially tried to line up a marriage w/Spain

• King James Bible- Puritans demanded changes, ultimately led to commission

King of Scotland

James I of England was

also James VI of Scotland

(Presbyterian)

• Edinburgh Castle

Charles I (Stuart) 1625- 1649 (Tried and Beheaded)

• Son of James I• Saw himself as placed on earth to be King by God

-Problems led to laws limiting the Kings rights

-Dispute caused the English Civil War (1642-1649)

-Charles Tried and Executed 1649- Family escaped to France

Charles I (r. 1625-1649)

• Son of James I• Catholic sympathies

(wife French-Catholic)• Unpopular ruler

– Arrested opponents, quartered troops

• Finances– Forced loans

Charles I and Parliament

• Parliament– Parliament had gained power through the

Reformation – sanctioning King Henry VIII’s divorce and remarriage

– Charles called it in 1628 to fund 30 Years War– Petition of Right – need Parliament to raise

taxes, can be no forced loans, habeus corpus, no quartering troops

• Accepted by Charles I, but ignored

– Dissolved 1629 – Charles ruled alone

Petition of RightIdeas that later became part

of the US Constitution

• The King May Not– Imprison people without due

Cause (6th Amend. US Const.– No taxation without

Representation (Decl. of Indep.)– No Quartering of Troops in

Houses (3rd Amend. US Const.– No Martial Law in Peacetime (US

Constitution

Charles without Parliament

• “Ship money” – tax applied throughout England, not just port cities

• Archbishop William Laud– High church practices

(Catholic-like)– Barred Puritans– Imposed Episcopal system

and Book of Common Prayer on Scotland, so the Scots rebelled

Charles and Parliament Fight!

• Charles fought Wars with Spain and France– Wars Cost the Government LOTS of money- (Iraq has cost

the US over 500 Billion Dollars !!!!)

• How does Government pay for Wars!!! Taxes!• Charles thought he was too BIG for Parliament but

needed Parliament for $$$ (to authorize taxes)• Parliament struck a deal with Charles-

– They’d give him Money if he protected their rights Petition of Right

• Afterward Charles made sure Parliament didn’t meet for the next 11 years (1629-1640)

Charles and Parliament

• Needed to raise funds for war with Scotland• Short Parliament – agreed only if terms met, dissolved,

Scots won a battle, need new Parliament• Short Parliament (1640)- dissolved• Long Parliament (1640-1660?) Charles in Hampton

Court– Divided religiously: made up of Anglicans and Puritans– Grand Remonstrance-> fails-> Parliament authorizes military– Earl Sheffield Executed– Laud imprisoned and executed– Abolished Court of the Star Chamber and “ship money”– Triennial Act – Parliament must meet every 3 years

Charles fought with Puritans , Irish Catholics and Presbyterians

• Puritans- Puritans sought to PURIfy the Church of England of anything that seemed Roman Catholic

• Charles alienated(upset) Puritans by picking William Laud (Archbishop)

• Upset Scots- Presbyterians- demanded they follow the Church of England’s rituals

• James and Charles establishing settlements “Plantations” in Ireland

English Civil War1642-1649

• Cromwell’s New Model Army v. King’s Forces• 100s of Thousands Died• Cromwell later alienated Parliament-

– Military Control despite Parliament’s Protest

• Puritans majority of Cromwell’s Army• Nobles and Church Officials majority of Kings

Army• Charles I- Tried and Executed• Cromwell Wins!

Civil War

• Irish rebelled (earlier there were Scot rebellions->Bishop’s War

• January 1642 – Parliament divided, so King invaded

• Charles left London to raise an army - Cavaliers

• Parliament raised an army – – Roundheads– led by Oliver Cromwell’s

New Model Army• Rump Parliament?• King captured (twice)

Cavaliers and Roundheads

• Cavaliers- Kings Forces

• Roundheads (due to their Haircuts (similar to Jim Carey in “dumb and dumber)

The Warrant to Execute of Charles I

Execution of Charles I

• Rump Parliament (1648-49)– Made up of extremist

Puritans- NO SCOTS– Tried and executed

Charles I for treason– Abolished the

monarchy– England became a

republic (commonwealth)

It ain’t over till it’s Over

• Constant Shifting alliances– Charles II allies w/Scots, but quickly defeated– Irish uprising put down by Cromwell- Beginning of 300

years of problems!• Levellers – Radicalized Soldiers

– Rioted against enclosure who 'levelled' fences erected by landlords around former common lands.

– Supported extension of voting rights, – abolition of censorship, – disestablishment of the Church of England. – 'the poorest he that is in England hath a life to live as

the greatest”!

The Interregnum (1649-1660)

• Puritan republic• Military dictatorship led by Oliver Cromwell

– Conquered Ireland and Scotland – created Great Britain

– Army was expensive – Parliament tried to stop it – Cromwell invaded and disbanded Parliament (1653) – created the Protectorate and he was Lord Protector

– Prohibited drunkenness, sport, dancing, theaters

Thomas Hobbes

Political Writer and Philosophe

• 1651 Wrote Leviathan (political book)– Leaders are given Power by the People (Social

Contract)– Life is NASTY, BRUTISH AND SHORT

• Therefore, Leaders need to be incredibly Powerful• If two people, individually go out to hunt a deer, they are more

likely to kill each other than work together to capture a deer

– Hobbes saw people at their worst- He lived in a very bloody and murderous time (English Civil War)

• He saw little cooperation and lots of competition amongst people

All Powerful MonarchLeviathan- Sea Monster

Cromwell ran a strict ship

• Ran a Strict Govt.– Believed in Religious Liberty (people can choose their religion)

• Allowed Jews to return to England (thrown out in the 14th Century)

• People could practice various religions, except Catholics, Episcopalians and Quakers!

– Raised Taxes w/out Parliament– Disbanded Parliament, created his own government– Imprisoned people w/out Trial– Fought and defeated Irish Catholics (IC supported by French)– Strict social laws in London (no dancing, theatre etc…)– His Son, Richard, took over the Protectorate on Oliver’s death– Skirmishes w/Dutch

Richard Cromwell• 1658 -Took over from his

Father, Oliver

• Lord Protector

• Unable to effectively rule- Parliament forced him out (1660)

Charles II (1660-1685)and the

Interregnum->Restoration -

• Charles II (fought briefly w/Cromwell) and his brother James lived in France– They secretly agreed to become Catholic

(deal with French King, Louis XIV who was secretly giving him money- Charles Mom was Louis’ Aunt)

• Parliament brought back Charles II and restored his family to the Throne- Restoration

The Restoration

• Charles II (r. 1660-1685)– Restored monarchy and imposed Anglicanism– Treaty of Dover

• Fought w/Holland- established alliances w/France

• Catholic sympathies– Secret agreement with Louis XIV

• James (brother) openly Catholic

Charles II as a Ruler

• Reasonable ruler, sought to give more religious liberty– Upset Parliament, that didn’t like Catholicism (Test

Act 1673)• Arts flourished- Drama and Comedy, John Milton

wrote Paradise Lost• Law providing for Habeas Corpus (see US

Constitution) Passed by Parliament– People could no longer be placed in Jail and not given

a trial• Charles dies w/out an heir (childless)- always a

problem

Charles II• Division in Parliament

– Whigs – exclude James– Tories – right of succession

• Corn Laws (Navigation Acts->Mercantilism)– Passed w/Parliament

• Skirmishes w/Dutch• Died 1685 – (converted to

Catholicism on death bed)

James II (1685-1688)

• Brother of Charles II

• Whigs and Tories combine to oust James II from power

• His 1st daughter, Mary, (Protestant) living in the Netherlands with her husband, William, is brought over to rule. (William and Mary, the school in Va. Is named for them.)

(what American city was named for James II??? Hint: Before he was James II he was the Duke of __ ___ ___ ___). Because there was already a city with the same name in England this American city’s name begins with the word “New”)

James II (r. 1685-1688) (Catholic)

• Alienated Parliament– Ignored Test Act and

appointed Catholics– Suspended law at will– Parliament feared

Louis XIV-like England

• James re-married and produced a male heir

A Catholic on the Throne is Dangerous!

• James was Catholic, but when made King his oldest child was Protestant

• Has another child (a son) while King- This Child is Catholic– Causes Fear that Catholicism will be restored

• James appointed Catholics to high office- Upset Parliament

• Like Charles I he suspends Parliament from meeting-> Demands for James removal

GLORIOUS REVOLUTION

1688

• Little Bloodshed during the removal of James II– “GLORIOUS REVOLUTION”– Main bloodshed is in Ireland- where Irish Catholics are

overwhelmingly defeated.• William and Mary- will have less power than James II

and his brother Charles IIJohn Locke writes the English Bill of Rights.

This places more limits on the power of the King and Queen

• Winners – Parliament and Protestantism• Losers- Monarchy, Catholicism, Irish and James II

John Locke Political Writer and

Philosophe• Optimistic about Man and Society

– In his life he experienced a revolution where few people died.

– Society did not need an Absolute Monarch, the best government is a limited Government.

• Essays on Government (1690)– Government is subject to the People (Social Contract)– People have Natural Rights- Include Life and Liberty– Government should protect Life, Liberty and Property– Power of Government should be LIMITED– Revolution is justified if Government fails to properly

Govern

• Wrote the English Bill of Rights (also called the Declaration of Rights)

New Laws

• Bill of Rights– Limited powers of monarchy – call Parliament every 3

years– Guaranteed civil liberties– No Catholics to throne– Toleration of all (except Catholics and anti-

Trinitarians)– No standing army in peace-time

• Act of Settlement- Throne to Hanover family of Germany->German Speaking

English (Bill of Rights) 1688Declaration of Rights

• King can’t suspend the laws of Parliament (see Declaration of Independence)

• Parliament had to meet frequently (US Constitution)• Elections should be free and fair (US Constitution)• Debates in parliament should be subject to freedom of speech

(US Constitution• No Taxes without approval of Parliament (see US Constitution)• No Standing Army without approval of Parliament (See US

Constitution)• No excessive Bail (see US 8th Amendment)(These and other laws provide the foundation for the USDeclaration of Independence and the US Constitution)

Tower of London-Where the Kings and Queens

lived

Today, the crown jewels are kept there

William and Mary

• Parliament invited William (of Orange) and Mary (Protestant daughter of James) to take throne

Act of Settlement passed 1701- lead to Hanover Throne

http://www.britroyals.com/stuart.htm

• One of the most famous books in English History. • Why man must endure such suffering and pain

John Milton

Paradise Lost

St. Paul’s Cathedralbuilt after the Great Fire of 1666

Christopher Wren

The English Emblem at Buckingham Palace (built in the

18C)