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The Magna Carta

The Magna Carta. … presented their demands to him in written form as the Magna Carta (Great Charter). Served as the major source of traditional English respect for individual rights & liberties… served as a contract between the king & nobles of England

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The Magna Carta

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  1. The Magna Carta …presented their demands to him in written form as the Magna Carta (Great Charter). • Served as the major source of traditional English respect for individual rights & liberties… • served as a contract between the king & nobles of England • It implied the idea that monarchs had to govern according to common law not divine law

  2. England from 1603-1688 • James I 1603-1625 • Charles I 1625-1649 • Civil War 1642-1649 • Oliver Cromwell 1649-1658 • Richard Cromwell 1658-1660 • Charles II 1660-1685 • James II 1685- 1688 • William & Mary 1689

  3. England • Ultimate victory of Constitutionalism over Absolutism

  4. James I 1603-1625 • Also James VI of Scotland • Great Grandson of Henry VII • Divine Right of Kings • “King is from God and the Law is from the King” • England is the most prominent example of resistance to Absolute Monarchy and the development of Constitutional Monarchy

  5. James’ Problems • Clashed with Puritans who wished to “purify” the Anglican Church • Parliament resented James’ Divine Right philosophy • Puritans were a powerful group in the Parliament • Parliament controlled legitimate means to raise taxes • Trew Law of Free Monarchy

  6. Charles I (1600-1649) Charles I becomes king after James dies in 1625. Also believed in divine right monarchy and just as conservative on religious issues. Charles I was forced by Parliament to accept the Petition of Right passed by Parliament in 1628 The Petition of Right stated that the King could not: impose cruel and unusual punishments on prisoners impose military rule during peacetime require homeowners to shelter troops without consent obtain taxes, gifts, or loans without the consent of Parliament. 6

  7. Charles I, son of James I • Believed in Divine Right • Still squabbled with Parliament and Puritans • Had financial problems • Demanded forced loans from his subjects • Quartered troops in private homes at owners expense Ship Money Tax 1634

  8. Petition cont. • Charles actually ruled without calling another parliament from 1629-1640

  9. CI’s religious policies were unpopular • Forced Puritans to conform to the Church of England • Charles I relaxed restrictions against Roman Catholics • 1637 Archbishop of Canterbury, William Laud, tried to force Anglicanism on Scotland • Charles had to summon Parliament in 1640 to raise money for war preparation against the Scots.

  10. Short Parliament 1640-1640 • Led by John Pym, Parliament refused even to consider funds for war until the King agreed to address Parliament’s grievances. • The King in response immediately dissolved the Parliament • When the Scottish army defeated the English at the battle of Newburn, Charles reconvened Parliament.

  11. Long Parliament • Laud tried and later executed • No new taxes without consent of Parliament • Parliament called at least every three years (triennial act) • December 1641 Parliament presents Charles I with the Grand Remonstrance- a list of grievances against the crown

  12. Civil War • Puritans vs. Roundheads • In January 1642, the King invaded Parliament with his soldiers • Pym and the other leaders had been warned and they escaped

  13. Parliament vs. the King • Two factors led to Parliaments victory over the King: • Parliaments alliance with Scotland, John Pym persuaded Parliament to accept the terms of the Solemn League and Covenant. This agreement committed Parliament to a Presbyterian system of Church government. • The reorganization of the Parliamentary army under Oliver Cromwell-Independent

  14. Victory over the King • Cromwell’s New Model Army won a decisive victory over the King at the battle of Naesby 1645.

  15. 2nd Civil War • In December 1648, Colonel Thomas Pride of the New Model Army barred the Presbyterians from the Parliament. • After Pride’s Purge only a rump of 50 Independents remained in Parliament • After a trial by a special court, the Rump Parliament executed Charles-and abolished the Monarchy, the House of Lords and the Anglican Church

  16. Interregnum 1649 Charles and his Cavaliers are defeated by Puritan forces led by Oliver Cromwell Beginning of period known as the Interregnum. Charles is beheaded, monarchy is abolished, House of Lords is abolished and England is proclaimed to be a republic ruled by Parliament. 16

  17. Republic 1649-1653 • Cromwell ruled a Puritan Republic • During this time Cromwell’s army conquered Ireland and Scotland • During this time OC also passed the first Navigation Acts

  18. Protectorate 1653-1660 • In 1653 the HOC considered disbanding Cromwell’s expensive army, Cromwell responded by marching in and disbanding Parliament. He ruled thereafter as Lord Protector. • Cromwell was as intolerant of Anglicans as Charles had been of Puritans. The English people resented his puritanical laws. • By 1658 the English were ready to end their Puritan/republican experiment and bring back the monarchy

  19. Cromwell and the Republic Cromwell soon finds Parliament inconvenient, dispersed it, and created a military dictatorship He instituted puritan social policies in England censored the press, closed the theaters and outlawed sports. Dancing and drinking were considered socially unacceptable. When Cromwell dies in 1658, a majority in England are ready to end the Puritan experiment Charles II, son of the slain Charles I, is invited in 1660 to take the throne and return England to monarchy. 19

  20. Restoration The restoration of Charles II did not immediately solve problems that had caused the civil war. Still had to work out state attitude toward religion and role of Monarch. MAP Monarchy, Anglican Church, Parliament 20

  21. Declaration of Breda 1660 • Declaration from Charles II of England in which he promised a general pardon for crimes committed during the English Civil War and the Interregnum for all those who recognized Charles II as the rightful King. • Also promised religious toleration • The Declaration was written in response to a secret message sent by George Monck who was effectively in control of England in 1660. • The Parliament passed a resolution that “gov’t ought to be by King, Lords and Commons”

  22. Clarendon Code • The name given to a series of laws passed by the restored Parliament that persecuted dissenters. • Anglicans dominated the restored Cavalier Parliament. • Out of a fear of social revolution, The Anglicans passed four acts that created the two worlds Anglicansim and non-conformity.

  23. Clarendon Code • Corporation Act 1661- limited municipal office to Anglican Royalists • The Act of Uniformity 1662- reinforced the prayerbook of Elizabeth I. • The Conventicle Act 1664 penalized anyone who attended a dissenters congregation. • The Five mile Act 1665 attempted to force dissenters out of towns where they ministered. The act forbade them to teach.

  24. Treaty of Dover 1670 • In 165 England became involved in a war with the Dutch. The war did not go well, and in 1667 the Dutch fleet defeated the English Navy. Charles II feared the weakened England was now likely to be invaded by the French. • Charles II, afraid of a French invasion, sent his sister Henrietta to talk to Louis XIV.

  25. Treaty of Dover • Henrietta told Louis XIV that Charles II wanted England and France to become allies. • Louis XIV indicated that he was willing to help Charles II but he demanded that Charles become a Catholic.

  26. Treaty of Dover • In 1670 Charles II and Louis XIV signed the treaty of Dover. • In the treaty, Louis XIV agreed to pay Charles II an annual pension. • Charles would get more money when he announced to the English people he had become Catholic. • Louis also promised 6,000 troops to protect Charles II if the English rose against him.

  27. Treaty of Dover • Charles II agreed to help the French in there war with the Dutch. (L XIV’s War against the Dutch 1672-1678 ended by the treaty of Nimwegen).

  28. Declaration of Indulgence 1672 • Charles II’s attempt to extend religious liberty to Protestant non-conformists and Roman Catholics

  29. Test Act 1673 • A series of English penal laws that served as a religious test for public office and imposed various civil disabilities on Roman Catholics and non-conformists • I do declare that I do believe there is not any transubstantiation in the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper, or in the elements of the bread and wine, at or after the consecration thereof by any person whatever.

  30. Popish Plot • The Popish Plot was a fictitious conspiracy concocted by Titus Oates that gripped England, Wales and Scotland in Anti-Catholic hysteria between 1678 and 1681.[1] Oates alleged that there existed an extensive Catholic conspiracy to assassinate Charles II, accusations that led to the execution of at least 15 men and precipitated the Exclusion Bill Crisis. Eventually Oates' intricate web of accusations fell apart, leading to his arrest and conviction for perjury.

  31. Exclusion Crisis • The Exclusion Crisis ran from 1678 through 1681 in the reign of Charles II of England. The Exclusion Bill sought to exclude the king's brother and heir presumptive, James, Duke of York, from the thrones of England, Scotland and Ireland because he was Roman Catholic. The Tories were opposed to this exclusion while the "Country Party", who were soon to become known as the Whigs, supported it.

  32. James II 1685 Charles II dies without an heir and the crown passes to brother, James II, He is Catholic. Parliament is strongly Protestant. James II passes Declaration of Indulgence 1687 Suspended all laws excluding Catholics and Puritans from office. Parliament does nothing. Why does James’ second marriage and birth of a son change things? 32

  33. Glorious Revolution James II Protestant Daughter Mary is married to William of Orange (Dutch). 1688 Group of prominent English noblemen invited them to invade England and take the throne. James flees and England has another revolution with almost no bloodshed. “Glorious Revolution” 33

  34. Bill of Rights 1689 Parliament offered the throne to William and Mary as joint Monarchs on the condition that they accept the Bill of Rights. Terms of Bill of Rights affirmed Parliament’s right to make laws and levy taxes standing armies could be raised only with the consent of parliament citizens have right to petition government, keep arms, have a jury trial and not be subject to excessive bail. 34

  35. Act of Settlement 1701 • The Act of Settlement provided that the throne would pass to the Electress Sophia of Hanover – a granddaughter of James VI of Scotland and I of England, niece of Charles I of Scotland and England – and her Protestant descendants who had not married a Roman Catholic; those who were Roman Catholic, and those who married a Roman Catholic, were barred from ascending the throne "for ever". Eight further provisions of the act would only come into effect upon the death of both William and Anne: • The monarch "shall join in communion with the Church of England." This was another provision to avoid a Roman Catholic monarch. Along with James II's perceived despotism, his religion was the main cause of the Glorious Revolution of 1688, and the previous linked religious and succession problems solved by the joint monarchy of William and Mary.

  36. Act of Union 1707 • The Acts of Union were two Parliamentary Acts - the Union with Scotland Act passed in 1706 by the Parliament of England, and the Union with England Act passed in 1707 by the Parliament of Scotland - which put into effect the terms of the Treaty of Union that had been agreed on 22 July 1706, following negotiation between commissioners representing the parliaments of the two countries. The Acts joined the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland (previously separate states, with separate legislatures but with the same monarch) into a single, united kingdom named "Great Britain".

  37. The Birth of Modern Political Theory 1651-1789

  38. Some basic questions of political philosophy • What is the origin of government? • What is the purpose of government? • What legitimates the power and authority of government? • What is the best form of government?

  39. Overview & Background: the Experience of England in the 17th Century • English political tradition • The Magna Carta (1215) • Parliament • Common Law • The English Civil War (1642-49) • Charles I vs. Parliament • Influence on Thomas Hobbes • Leviathan (1651) • The Glorious Revolution (1688) • James II vs. Parliament • Influence on John Locke • Second Treatise of Civil Government (1690)

  40. Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan (1651) • Wanted to construct a “science of politics” based on an indisputable principle • This principle must be based on the strongest element in human nature • The strongest element was passion, not reason • The strongest passion is fear of violent death • This fear gives rise to the natural right of self-preservation • The natural right of self-preservation is the basis of Hobbes’ thought Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679)

  41. Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan (1651) • In a state of nature there is a war of every man against every man • “No arts, no letters, and which is worst of all, continual fear and danger of violent death, and the life of man solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.” • To secure peace men make contracts establishing a sovereign power who is not subject to civil law since by its will it creates the law • Of the three forms of sovereignty (monarchy, aristocracy, and democracy), monarchy is the most effective in securing peace Leviathan (1651)

  42. Thomas Hobbes (1588 –1679) • English philosopher • Wrote Leviathan – life began in a state of nature • Man is inherently selfish and aggressive • Left on own, chaos and conflict would rule • Citizens need law and to follow a sovereign to avoid chaos

  43. John Locke, Second Treatise of Civil Government (1690) • The state of nature is not a state of perpetual war; • All men are free and equal; no man by nature is sovereign over another man • The law of nature, revealed by reason, governs the state of nature • Natural rights include the right to Life, Liberty, and Estate (property) John Locke (1632-1704)

  44. John Locke (1632 – 1704) • English philosopher • Believed that over time people would join together to benefit from cooperation • Through a Social Contract, sovereignty would remain with the people

  45. John Locke, Second Treatise of Civil Government (1690) • No one ought to harm another in his life, liberty, or property; if anyone does harm another, the one he harms has the right to punish him • Through a social contract, people create a government to protect their natural rights of life, liberty, and property • The best form of government to protect natural rights is a government of limited powers (constitutionalism) • If a government breaks the social contract, the people have the right to dissolve it Two Treatises of Civil Government (1690)

  46. New Government in England • Constitutional monarchy- • where laws limited the ruler’s power • King ruling with Parliament • In 1689 Parliament drafted the Bill of Rights • No suspending of Parliament’s laws • No levying of taxes without a specific grant from Parliament • No interfering with freedom of speech in Parliament • No penalty for a citizen who petitions the king about grievances

  47. Challenges in 17th Century 17th Century an age of many conflicts and crises Many causes: religious and state-centered warfare social unrest and widespread peasant revolts. Challenge to European governments: How to maintain order and give the nation sufficient power to compete internationally? 47

  48. Absolutism Most common response of European governments: seek more power to deal with the problems strengthen the king. European Rulers tried to attain absolute power and build absolutist states. Monarchs regulated religious sects Abolished many liberties long held by certain areas, groups or provinces. Created new state bureaucracies. Tried to eliminate control by nobles and traditional representative bodies, such as parliaments. Absolutism meant that monarchs were claiming absolute power; Divine Right of Kings. 48

  49. Road to Louis XIV Louis XIV’s consolidation of absolute power was a process that started with grandfather, Henry IV-(ruled 1593-1610) Issued Edict of Nantes- granted religious liberties to Catholics and Protestants. Protestant king who became Catholic -“Paris is worth a mass.” Ended religious wars in France. 49

  50. Cardinal Richelieu • First, punished Huguenots • Tear down fortified walls in their cities. • Second, weaken nobles power • Goal: Make France strongest state in Europe • Hapsburgs would be in his way (Thirty Years War) • Three Musketeers

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