Ms. Susan M. PojerHorace Greeley H. S.

Chappaqua, NY

EnglishConstitutional

Monarchy

Why Was England Willing To Accept a Constitutional

Monarchy?1) Background history: events that created the framework to make a constitutional monarchy possible in England

2) The Early Stuarts: the reigns of James I and Charles I

3) The Civil War: Charles I loses his crown4) The Interregnum: Cromwell leads the Puritan

Republic5) The Restoration: the reigns of Charles II and James

II6) The Glorious Revolution: England becomes a

constitutional monarchy

Background

(1215-1603)

Magna Carta, 12151) King John I forced to accept it2) A list of demands made by the

nobility3) Created a CONTRACT between the

king and the aristocracy4) Established principles which

limited the power of the king: Established basic legal rights. The king must ask for popular

consent for taxes. Accused must have jury trial.

Model Parliament, 12951) King Edward I brought his

military leaders and nobility together as a Parliament to ask their consent to new taxes

2) Established the principle of parliamentary “power of the purse.”

3) A radical new idea for any monarch to ask for anything!

The Elizabethan“Bargain”1) Parliament:

1)Would have the power to tax

2)Can debate and amend disputed bills

2) The Monarch:1)Had the royal

perogative [right/choice] on foreign policy

TheEarly Stuarts(1603-1649)

The Stuart Monarchy

James I [r. 1603-1625]

1) Problems he faced:

1) Large royal debt

2) He wasn’t English

3) Believed in divine right of kings

4) Pro-Catholic sympathies

5) Needed money, but didn’t want to consult Parliament

Gunpowder Plot, 16051) An attempt by some provincial

Catholics to kill King James I and most of the Protestant aristocracy

2) Blow up the House of Lords during the state opening of Parliament

Guy Fawkes

King James Bible, 1611

Charles I [r. 1625-1649]Protestants Problems withCharles I:1) Pro-ceremonies and

rituals2) Uniformity of church

services imposed by a church court

1) Anglican Book of Common Prayer for both England AND Scotland.

3) Seen as too pro-Catholic

Charles I & Parliament

1) Constantly at war with Spain and France Always need £, but how to get it??

2) Usually Parliament would give Charles £ from taxes to fund his wars

3) Periodically, Parliament would deny funds In return, Charles would dissolve Parliament and try

to rule England without it find funds in other ways Forced “loans,” selling aristocratic titles, etc.

The “Short” Parliament1) Scots rebelled over

Charles and Archbishop William Laud’s Anglican Book of Common Prayer – 1640

2) Charles also needs money for war with France

3) Calls Parliament into session in 1640

4) Charles dismissed Parliament after three weeks – the Short Parliament

Charles I by Van Dyck (1633)

The “Long” Parliament

1) The Scots victory at the Battle of Newburn leads Charles to reconvene Parliament - in session from 1640 to 1660 – the Long Parliament

2) Charles enters the House of Commons to end the session and arrest 5 MPs unsuccessful

3) Charles heads north to form an army!

The Civil War

(1642-1649)

Civil War (1642-1649)

Royalists(Cavaliers)

Parliamentarians(Roundheads)

a House of Lordsa N & W Englanda Aristocracya Large landownersa Church officialsa More rural

† House of Commons† S & E England† Puritans† Merchants† Townspeople† More urban

The English Civil War: 1642-1645

The Interregnum(1649-1660)

Regicide Beheading of Charles I, 1649

The Puritan Commonwealth [1649-1653]

† Cromwell rules with the Rump Parliament.

† Constitutional Republic Created a constitution

Instrument of Government An executive [Cromwell] A Council of State annually

elected the committee of Parliament.

No monarch.† Europe is appalled other

nations don’t recognize it.

Rebels within a Rebellion: Levellers† John Lilburne was their leader.† One of the first libertarians in

the world.† The Agreement of the People

was their political manifesto. Abolish corruption within

the Parliament &judicial process.

Toleration ofreligious differences.

Laws written inthe vernacular.

Universal suffrage as a “natural right.”

Rebels within a Rebellion: Diggers† Agrarian “communists” led by

Gerrard Winstanley and William Everard seen as the “true Levellers.”

† With Charles I gone, they felt that land should now be distributed to the poor.

† Food prices had reached record highs in the 1640s.

† They alarmed the Commonwealth government and angered the local landowners who wanted to claim confiscated aristocratic lands for themselves.

Cromwell Dissolves the “Rump” Parliament in 1653

Ulster Plantation: 1609-1660

% Of Land Owned by Catholics in Ireland

[in green]

Cromwell—Lord Protector or King??

1)England longs for an end to martial law!2)Cromwell dies in 1658 and his son, Richard,

takes over, but is weak and lasts for only two years.

The Restoration(1660-1688)

Parliament could no more exist without the Crown than the Crown without Parliament. This was the most important lesson of the

English Civil War!

King Charles II [r. 1660-1685]1) Talents:

1) Had charm, poise, & political skills [unlike his father!] – realized that he could not repeat mistakes made by his father

2) Actions:1) Restored the theaters and

reopened the pubs and brothels closed during the Restoration

3) Beliefs:a Had secret Catholic sympathies

and favored religious toleration

King Charles II [r. 1660-1685]1) 1661 “Cavalier” Parliament [filled with

Royalists]1)Disbanded the Puritan army2)Pardoned most Puritan rebels3)Restored the authority of the Church of England

2) 1662 Clarendon Code [Act of Uniformity]1)All clergy & church officials had to conform to

the Anglican Book of Common Prayer2) It forbade “non-conformists” to worship

publicly, teach their faith, or attend English universities

Great London Plague, 1665

Great London Fire, 1666

Charles II’s Foreign Policy1665 – 1667: Second Anglo-Dutch

War

1) To Charles II, Louis XIV is an ideal ally against the Dutch

2) 1670 Treaty of Dover

King Charles II [r. 1660-1685]

a 1673 Test Act Parliament excluded all but Anglicans from

civilian and military positions.[to the Anglican gentry, the Puritans were considered “radicals” and the Catholics were seen as “traitors!”]

a 1679 Habeas Corpus Act Any unjustly imprisoned persons could obtain

a writ of habeas corpus compelling the govt. to explain why he had lost his liberty.

King James II [r. 1685-1688]

1) Was a bigoted convert to Catholicism without any of Charles II’s shrewdness or ability to compromise

2) Alienated even the Tories

3) Provoked the revolution that Charles II had succeeded in avoiding!

The Glorious

Revolution1688

The “Glorious” Revolution: 1688Whig & Tory leaders offered the throne jointly to JamesII’s daughter Mary [raised a Protestant] & her husband,William of Orange.

1)He was a vigorous enemy of Louis XIV2)He was seen as a champion of the Protestant

cause

English Bill of Rights [1689]1) It settled all of the

major issues between King & Parliament

2) It served as a model for the U. S. Bill of Rights

3) It also formed a base for the steady expansion of civil liberties in the 18th and early 19th centuries in England

The Seesaw of King & Parliament:

1603-1689