Disingergrstion Of The Political Nation Part 2

Question 1

Name the 6 religious groups in the 1640s

Answer 1

Anglicans

Quakers

Anabaptists

Antinominans

Seekers

Ranters

Question 2

Who were anglicans

Answer 2

Regarded as Royalist faith

Parl took steps to destroy it by abolishing bishops and replacing the Elizabethan book of common prayer with a Presbyterian doctrine of worship

But in many parishes the Elizabethan prayer book continued to be used

Question 3

Who were quakers

Answer 3

1647- George fox began preaching that every man was enlightened by the divine light of Christ

It was the duty of every person to follow their inner light

The quakers rejected formal church services, ministers, creeds and the taking of oaths

They got their name from the ‘trembling’ they experienced during meetings, when moved by the Holy Spirit

Question 4

Who were anabaptists

Answer 4

Believe in adult baptism - radical

17th century - seen as insult to be called this

People recalled 1530 German - group of anabaptists seized control - terror

1646 Edsworth, a Presbyterian minister, reported an incident as Yately - soldiers went to church - pissed in the font - went to s gentlemen’s stable and got horse - baptised it

Question 5

Who were antinominans

Answer 5

Offshoot of Calvinism that criticised the constant searching of your life for signs that you were the elect

Played down idea of predestination and w it’s importance of obeying the moral laws of the church, in order to emphasise God’s ability to transform the elect

Never more than a tiny handful of individuals

Believed as you were saved, nothing was a sin

Question 6

Who were seekers

Answer 6

People who tried various churches and found them all dissapointed

They were widely regarded as sceptics and atheists

Question 7

Explain breiefly - who were ranters

Answer 7

A small sect that received a huge amount of popularity

They took Calvinist belief of predestination to the extreme: if a person was of the Elect, then they would do no sin. People were therefore free to do whatever they wanted

The renters denied sinfulness of swearing, fornication and adultry

They believed god existed in all things
But that God could be conscious of his Godhead and this gave to all a new and equal dignity

Challenged hierarchy

1 broadsheet described the trial of various ranters at the old Bailey. One care was that of a journeyman shoemaker in St Martins.

Anti-ranter broadsheet
‘Ranters….gathered together near the Soho…they stripped themselves quite naked’

Some historians- was no ranter sect. Some say ranters were just created by religious conservatives projecting fear about further of religion. Some say ranters exist

Question 8

How did the leveller movement begin

Answer 8

Amongst London apprentices and artisans 1645 but it only became important when leveller ideas spread in new model army

The levellers also attempted to spread their ideas amongst the people at large through a series of pamphlets

Question 9

What rights did levellers advocate

Answer 9

I signed Parliament was accountable to people as a whole - shown in 1647 pamphlet

Regular parl, stripping king and HOL of veto powers and widening franchise to financially independent adult men
Not servants etc as they would listen to masters as no secret ballot.
No women - legally and financially dependent on husband

Religious freedom

Freedom of arrest without cause

Due process of law

No tax or legislation except by the consent of the governed

Wanted rights framed in written constitution

Want a more representative parliament

Question 10

What were the army grandees response to levellers

Answer 10

Cromwell and Ireton - after franchise should be more representative

However they thought only men w a permanent stake in country - land or trading capital - could be trusted to vote responsibly

Question 11

Now did levellers sustain their claims and response to this

Answer 11

Common law and magma carta
‘Freeborn English men’

Overton called magma carts a ‘beggarly thing’ and many levellers complained of a ‘Norman yoke’ imposes on the free English people by the Norman conquorors in 1066

Question 12

Who did levellers represent

Answer 12

Aspirations of working people who suffered under the persecution of kings, landowners and priestly class, and they spoke for those who experienced the hardships of poverty and deprivation

They developed and campaigned first w Cromwell - then against him for a political and constitutional settlement of the civil war which would embody principles of political freedom

Question 13

Levellers on freedom of speech

Answer 13

The levellers found spokesmen and campaigners in Lilburne, Overton etc

They were brilliant pamphlateers enjoying a short lived freedom to print, publish and circulate their views at a time when censorship was temporarily in abeyance, and printing presses newly cheap and easy to set up

They developed their own traditions of free discussion and vigorous petitioning and used them to formulate and advance their demands

Question 14

Levellers

The agreement of the people

Answer 14

1649 May

All men of 21+ (not servants etc) vote

Replace monarchy and HOL with a single representative chamber (house of commons)

Religious toleration

Question 15

How did the leveller movement end

Answer 15

1650- crushed

Question 16

Who’s involved in the Putney debates

8

Answer 16

Cromwell

Ireton

Rainsborough

Sexby

Everald

Wildman

Petty

Clarke

Question 17

How was Cromwell part of the Putney debate

Answer 17

One of the leaders of the parliamentary army

Cromwell chaired the general council for several days of the putney debates

He sided with Ireton during the debates about RIGHt to vote

Question 18

How was ireton part of Putney debates

Answer 18

A leading figure in NMA and a member of Parliament, ireton was the most defiant speaker in favour of maintaining the existing rules regarding the RIGJT to vote

Question 19

How was rainsborough part of the Putney debates

Answer 19

Colonel of a NMA foot regiment, Rainsborough was one of the leading speakers proposing an extension of the number of Englishmen who were allowed to vote

Question 20

How was sexby part of the Putney debates

Answer 20

Leading agitator

Outspoken critic of Cromwell and Ireton during debates

Spoke in defence of common soldier, and when attacking those who wished the voting rights to remain as they were - said - do you not think it is a sad and miserable condition that we have fought all this time for nothing

Question 21

How was Everard part of the Putney debates

Answer 21

Agitator

Main point of contact between the agitators and member of the general council in the days leading up to the debates

Question 22

How was wildman part of the Putney debates

Answer 22

One of 2 civilians

Most likely - author - agreement of the people - leveller pamphlet which called for the law to be applied to all men regardless of status and for freedom of religious expression

Immediately following debates, Wildman became v involved in the leveller movement in London

Question 23

How was petty part of the Putney debates

Answer 23

Another civilian

Recorded as condemning the power of the king to veto bills passed by parliament which would prevent them from becoming law

He later accepted a compromise position on the extension of the right to vote, which allowed all men except apprentices, servants and beggars

Question 24

How was Clarke part of the Putney debates

Answer 24

Clarke was 24- sat among Putney sciblling speeches down

15 years later - monarchy restored - Clarke wrote up debates from his shorthand notes

Question 25

Overview -

What were the Putney debates

Answer 25

Series of discussions between factions of the new model army and the levellers concerning a new constitution for England

The debates were held at the church of st Mary the virgin Putney Surrey in October and November 1647

Question 26

Explain grandees and radicals during the Putney debates

What did the radicals criticise the grandees on

And response

Answer 26

1647 summer
Attempts by grandees - Cromwell and Oregon to negotiate settlement with king after first civil war - lost support of military and civilian radicals

Levellers criticises ireton for (pleasing) in his negotiations with king and parliament - and accused grandees of betraying interests of the common soldiers and people of England

October 1647- 5 of most radical cavalry regiments elected new Agitators - known as the ‘New Agents’ to represent their views

The new agents issued a political manifesto: the case of the armie truly states and endorsed the constitutional proposals drafted by civillian levellers in the agreement of the people

Question 27

What did radicals want after the first civil war

Answer 27

Constitution based upon manhood suffrage (one man one vote)

Biennial parliaments

Reorganisation of parliamentary constituencies

Authority was to be vested in the HOC rather than the king and lords.
Certain “native rights” were declared too valuable to be interfered with for all English men: freedom on conscience, freedom from impressment into the armed forces and equality before the law

Question 28

Grandees response to radical demands for Putney debates

Answer 28

Grandees responded by inviting the new agents and their civilian supporters to debate their proposals before the general council of the army

In a sense of Fairfax, the discussions were chaired by Cromwell

A committee was formed to finalise all the constitutional proposals

Cromwell vetoed demands made by radicals who called for overthrow monarchy - and worked with ireton to moderate the extremism of levellers

Ireton insisted that his own head of proposals covered all the issues raised in the case of the army and the levellers’ agreement with far less radical disruption of society

Question 29

Who was the highest ranking leveller sympathises and who were other leveller spokesmen

Answer 29

Rainsborough highest ranking leveller sympathiser -

calling for parliament to break off negotiations with the king and to force through a new constitution on its own terms

Other leveller spokesmen were Sexby and Allen and civilian Wildman and Petty

Question 30

From wrote the transcription of the Putney debates

Answer 30

Clarke

Question 31

Putney debates on vote

Answer 31

Radicals regarded vote as fundamental to all freeborn English men

Cromwell and Ireton saw manhood suffrage like anarchy. They insisted the vote should be restricted to property owners prompting Sexby etc to ask what ordinary soldiers fought for

Several days argument
Compromise

Levellers agreed servants and alms-takers should be excluded from vote and Grandeed said soldiers who fought for parliament should be given vote

Question 32

Putney debates

What did the army council do about the
Agreement of people

Answer 32

Army council didn’t carry levellers proposal that agreement of people should be adopted into army’s official constitutional programme
BUT
Vote was secured got for a mass meeting at which agreement would be presented to troops

Radicals hoped it would be adopted by popular consent of soldiers, then pressed upon parl and the nation

Question 33

What did Cromwell and ireton do at Putney debates in fear of levellers

Answer 33

Cromwell and Ireton alarmed at extremism of levellers

Fearing collapse of constitutional authority, Cromwell was determined to maintain discipline in the army at all costs

8 Nov he proposed a motion that meeting of army council should temporarily be suspended

Agitators and representative Officers ordered back to their regiments

New committee consisted only of officers was formed to draw up manifesto in name of Fairfax and the army council to be presented to troops in place of the levellers agreement

Demanded every soldier sign declaration of loyalty, both to Fairfax as commander-in-chief and to army council which signifies that they accepted the head of proposals

The proposed general rendezvous was modified to 3 smaller rendezvous- resulting in near mutiny at corkBush field Nov 1647 and the suppression of army radicals

Question 34

Charles escape

Answer 34

Meanwhile the escape of King Charles from Hampton on 11 Nov 1647 had dramatically changed the situation

The new model army closed ranks as a 2nd civil war threatened

The representation of rank and file soldiers on the army council was quietly dropped early in 1648 and never tried again

Question 35

CorkBush field

Answer 35

1647 November

Fairfax arrived, most soldiers in 7 regiments ordered to be there agreed to sign

Radical MP and Leveller agitator Rainsborough fried to present Fairfax w a copy of the agreement of the people but was ignored

Several officers inc major Scott refuses to sign an enc men not to- under arrest

2 regiments turned up w/o orders to do so. They carried copies of the agreement of the people and stuck pieces of paper in their hatbands with the leveller Slogan

Harrison’s regiment of horses arrived first. Fairfax succeeded in talking them around and they signed

Lilburnes regiment of foot arrived later - stoned and wounded one of Fairfax officers when he approached them

With swords drawn/ Cromwell and some officers rode into their ranks and ordered them to take papers from their hats

Cromwell had 8 or 9 of the more truculent of lilburnes troopers arrested. They were tried at an improvised court martial and found guilty of mutiny

3 ringleaders were sentenced to death and Arnald shot on spot as eg

At 2 other rendezvous - heath and Kingston and other regiments ordered to show support for Fairfax which they all agreed to do