Chapter 12 - Social divisions: political and religious radicalism, the Levellers and Millenarians Flashcards
What were the Levellers?
How did they develop?
Who led them?
> London-based pressure group wanting economic, polit & social reform
developed from stress of Civil war
led by John Lilbourne
What were the key leveller demands?
9 points - get as many as you can :)
> extension of the franchise (right to vote) to all men
written constitution (agreement of the people)
house of command as legislature (removing power of HoL + monarch)
frequent elections
redistribution of seats
religious freedom
reform of the law
elected local gov
economic reform
What were 4 key methods of the levellers?
> Petitions
Processions
Pamphlets
Newspaper
How did Levellers influence army and society April - Nov 1647?
(3 points)
> realised w/o backing army levellers had no way to influence post-war settlement
made use of army adjutators movement + exploited lower ranks
levellers denounced leading army officers (esp. Cromwell + Ireton) for selling army short (circulated pamphlet 1647 called the case of the army truly stated)
When were the Putney debates?
What were they in response to?
What were they?
Late Oct - early Nov 1647
> army leaders response to Leveller threat
> General council of army met with adjutators + reps of Levellers to debate future government of country. Focuse on lev ideas for extension of the franchise
When was the first Agreement of the people?
What was it?
What did it mean?
October 1647
> Leveller manifesto proposing all who wanted to be citizen of the state had to sign document of agreement
> meant sovereignty would remain with the people not King/Parl (made Parl more answerable to the people)
What were the main proposals of the Agreement of the people?
3 points
> MP’s elected in proposition to population of constituencies
parliaments elected biennially
parliament consisting of one chamber/house
What was a short term leveller success?
What was the bigger significance of the pUtney debates?
> made Ireton realise he needed to keep their demands in mind when army dealt with Parl and King / work with the Levellers
showed effects of revolution on people = gave civilian groups a voice
When / how did the Putney debates end?
5 November 1648
> clash between Ireton + leveller sympathiser Rainsborough over army leader attempts to settle with king
> also undermined by Charels escape from Hampton Court 11 Nov 1647
Position fo army for second civil war?
> Lower and higher rank officers united and Crom / Ireton reinforced control of army by paying troops (prevented levellers causing further discontent in lower ranks)
When were the Whitehall debates?
December 1648 - Jan 1649
