chapter twelve Flashcards
define levellers
predominately London based pressure group that sought poltical economic and social reform
levellers demands
extension of the franchise
written constitution
frequent elections
religious freedom
reform of the law
elected local gov
economic reform
levellers methods
petitions
the large petition 10-14 march 1647
petition signed by 40k oct 1648
womens petition may 1649
levellers methods
processions
leveller ‘ Gainsborough’s funeral nov 1648
leveller ‘ lockyers funeral April 1649
levellers methods
pamphlets
agreement of the people oct 1647
lilburnes Englands new chains discovered feb 1649
Richard overtones the hunting of the foxes march 1649
levellers methods
newspaper
the moderate July 1648-sept 1649
the levellers methods show
how politics in this period moved beyond the control of the traditional PN and onto the streets of LDN
lilburne with other leading levellers produced
nearly 250 pamphlets between 1645 and 1649
levellers did not have the backing of the army so instead exploited
the concerns of lower army ranks as the army leaders continued to negotiate with Charles
lower ranks were afraid of being sold short
October 1647
the case of the army truly stated circulate within the army attacking army leadership this cause the NMA
to take the levellers as a serious threat
held the putney and Whitehall debates to discuss w the levellers their written manifesto
putney debates
nov 1647
the general council of army met with representatives of the levellers to debate how England should be governed
the debates came to focus on
the levellers ideas for the extension of the franchise which proceed an argument between ireton and wildman
putney debates ended 5 nov 1647
clash between ireton and leveller sympathiser rainsborough over the army leaders attempts to settle with the king
ireton and cromwells argument undermined by Charles escape from haptonncourt in
nov 1647
Charles escape
second civil war
his negotiation with Scots
lower rank officers reunited after putney and Whitehall debates
new military threat
what did the agreement of the people oct 1647 propose
all who wanted to be citizens of the state had to sign the document as agreement
according to the agreement where did sovereignty lie
resides in the people rather than king or parliament , making parliament more representative and answerable to the people MAIN PROPOSAL
what were other proposals in this agreement
mps elected in proportion to the population of the constituency
parliaments elected biennially
parliament to consist of 1 chamber/house
in short term what did levellers emphasise
emphasised to ireton that he needed to keep their demands in mind if and when the army going to deal with parliament and the king
the army leaders need to work with the levellers and their desire to debate the settlement this led to
Whitehall debates 1648
cromwell and ireton reinforced their control over army by
payment of troops by parliament , prevented levellers causing more discontent in ranks
ireton and army manipulated levellers though Whitehall debates …
the levellers had little influence on Army leaders
tried to keep therm quiet till army killed the king
Whitehall debates
1648-1649
during dec 1648 and jan 1649
execution of the king
levellers met with the general council mainly led by ireton to debate the first agreement of the people at Whitehall debates
levellers wanted a new constitution post regicide regime failed to agree which showed
the clear differnce between leveller leadership and army grandees
levellers and officers drew up an agreement of the people second , dec 1648 , differed on
extent of religious freedom
levellers also denounced
rump parliament and its narrow representative nature
after king , army grandees nowhere to deal with
the leveller leadership
repression of the levellers began
march 1649
lilburne and leading levellers arrested
levellers continued propaganda war however against
rump parliament
and army
in the hunting of the foxes a form of propaganda cromwell was attacked as
a hypocrite
levellers third agreement 1649 was an attempt to …
- what was the result
inspire an army mutiny
- response was limited and quickly crushed by cromwell and Fairfax at burford may 1649
what played part in limiting the success of the levellers
determination of rump parliament
and army leadership
rump had money to pay army
- prevented unrest in troops
lilburne was acquitted at his trial in
September 1649
leveller influence in army over and any threat they posed to the state
what did the diggers believe in
total social and political equality
1652 digger Winstanley produced a pamphlet called the law freedom in a platform arguing that
every freeman shall have a freedom in the earth to plant to build or fetch from the storehouses anything he wants and shall enjoy the fruits of his labours without restraint from any
the diggers influence
diggers had less influence then then levellers
small following
only lasted around a year before being destroyed by Fairfax and NMA
dominated by one person = Winstanley
diggers significance can be found in the path they laid for future radicals
in establishment of their communes the diggers provide an example of early com 200 yrs before Karl Marx
started a radical Christian movement which aims to eliminate poverty and injustice
in their communes lived in harmony with nature forerunners of the environmental movement
repression of then diggers
march 1649
a digger group had occupied a waste ground at st Georges Hill
believed in common ownership of all land
those who owned the land hostile
after a year due to hostility commune collapsed
other short lived digger communities in kent leicster notts
what is millenarianism
a key strand in English puritanism and influenced movements such as the levellers and the diggers
what are fifth monarchists
formal emergence of millenarians
campaigned for religious poltical and economic and social reform
the term fifth monarchists derives from
the book of Daniel in the bible
Daniel had a vision of a kingdom that would last forever
before the fifth monarchists there wasn’t a millenarian centred political group that was big enough to pose a real threat to the state
fifth monarchists in the troops of the NMA key leader was
colonel Thomas Harrison
both diggers and levellers were
crushed by the NMA
1633 fifth monarchists were
close to poltical power by the influence of Thomas Harrison and establishment of nominated assembly
