1640-60 Cromwell Personality (also make a deck of 'rulers')

Question 1

line of arg/thesis

Answer 1

Cromwell’s ‘ideological schizophrenia’- he had aims that were incompatible with MPs as he had competing impulses between conservatism and radicalism.

Question 2

incompatible aims example:

Answer 2

• his emphasis on ‘liberty of conscience’ proved problematic with MPs who mainly wanted religious uniformity
• Cromwell struggled to create an identity between the interests of the nation and those of the Godly which led to mutual bafflement between him and Parl (a main reason for failure of FPP)
• his 4 fundamentals often contradictory- e.g. religious policy not v compatible w/ healing and settling.
  –> Decimation tax on royalists, to enforce a Godly nation, (although only affecting 2,000 people) undermined h+s.

Question 3

general issue with why Cromwell’s aims would not work

Answer 3

Illegitimacy: his authority often not respected, causing parl to fail, but this was a problem he created:
- forcibly dissolved the Rump (April 1653) and essentially made himself king in all but name
- thus, he angered MPs when he tried to dictate their roles (must sit for 5 months, no control of army) using the power he derived himself
–> unpopularity is evidenced in the emergence of the Commonswealthmen who opposed his authority—Plus, to try and gain more support, Cromwell introduced the Oath of Recognition, 1654, to reduce opposition- people required to accept his 4 fundamentals. 100 excluded. the fact cromwell was enforcing this oath sort of contradicts ‘healing and settling’
–> he introduced taxes to support his military control- Major Generals, 1655- not only did this create resentment, but the Decimation Tax needed to support this made royalists angry - shown in defeat of Militia bill (124-88) and led to failure of FPP
–> so much opposition led to failure of FPP because Cromwell and his govt were seen as illegitimate.

Question 4

counterargument for Cromwell to blame

Answer 4

• his successor, Richard Cromwell couldnt deal w/ everything- 3PP failed very quickly, by may 1659
• this shows OC was actually effective at attempting to maintain harmony and reasons for political failure was actually outside of his power and was down to external conditions: individuals/groups (growing opposition from the army and from Haselrig)- e.g. in the Nominated Assembly, the 13 5thM MPs, versus, 18 moderate Rump MPs- conflict over aims for ‘Godly’ nation + religious toleration.

Question 5

Cromwell’s ideological schizophrenia

Answer 5

healing and settling vs godly reformation at the same time: he did not prioritise one of these aims, which led to contradictory actions. e.g.his 4 fundamentals often contradictory- e.g. religious policy not v compatible w/ healing and settling.
–> Decimation tax on royalists, to enforce a Godly nation, (although only affecting 2,000 people) undermined h+s.