Radical political ideas, including the Levellers and the Diggers

Question 1

Levellers origins lie in the..

Answer 1

Growing religious radicalism of the army and Parliament.

Question 2

Who were the leaders of Levellers?

Answer 2

John Lilburne, William Walwyn, William Overton

Question 3

What was Levellers methods to get ideas across?

Answer 3

Writing Pamphlets and debates

Question 4

Ideas and demands of Levellers?

Answer 4

1- House of Commons should be the central body in the political system
2- Abolish House of Lords
3- Universal male suffrage
4- New constitution
5- Equality before the law and religious freedoms
6- Locally elected judges and officials to staff local courts

Question 5

who did the Levellers believe should not be able to vote?

Answer 5

women, the poor who receive poor relief and servants should be able to vote.

Question 6

The Levellers were certainly political radicals, but were they socially revolutionary?

Answer 6

They argued for reform to the legal system and wanted local courts to be staffed by locally elected judges and officials, as well as calling for an end to imprisonment for debt. They did not advocate bringing women into the voting franchise, and some Levellers even suggested servants and those receiving poor relief should not be able to vote.

Question 7

Why were leveller short-lived group?

Answer 7

Seen as too radical by majority. Even within army ideeas did not have huge impact. Levellers leaders imprisoned in 1649 and Rump crushed movements.

Suffered from disagreements between leaders which meant a lack of a consistent, cohesive message

Lack of national support, to only due to radical ideas but also had little to offer to majority of rural poor.

Question 8

How did the levellers have a longer-term importance?

Answer 8

Their ideas influenced later movements for greater demoncracy.
Did have the effect of creating conservatism e.g in the army. Cromwell an others - felt revellers challenged their gentry status in society.

Question 9

Why did Levellers believe in freedom of religion, immunity from conscription and equality before the law?

Answer 9

Believed men had natural/freeborn rights which had been violated by the royalists. No one had any right to interfere in native rights which included freedom of religion, immunity from conscription and equality before the law.

Question 10

What limited Leveller influence and threat during Republican Rule?

Answer 10

• Determination of the Rump and army leadership to quell the Levellers
• The Rump had money to pay the army which prevented unrest among the troops and limited Leveller influence

Question 11

Who was the leader of the Diggers?

Answer 11

Gerrard Winstanley

Question 12

When did Digger communities emerge?

Answer 12

1646 and 1650

Question 13

what did diggers stand for?

Answer 13

The Diggers had developed modern ideas about society, which they believed

• should consist of common ownership of the means of production,
• compulsory education for both boys and girls,
• abolition of the monarchy
• abolition House of Lords

Question 14

Digger believed all ppl are equal and they demonstrated this through..

Answer 14

not removing their hats in front of important ppl = so seen as disrespect

leaders of the group were interviewed by the leader of the New Model Army, Thomas Fairfax. They refused to remove their hats in his presence

Question 15

Were the diggers revolutionary?

Answer 15

Their message was relevant to rural communities, as they advocated setting up agricultural communities for the poor commons.
E.g Surrey 1649 - Diggers began to dig vegetables on the common land and became a small community = aims to liberate ppl from poverty and injustice

Not very successful in the long term because their communes repeatedly faced angry opposition + views on land ownership were seen too radical so were disliked by farmers and landowners. Brought cases against Diggers and forced them to leave.

Question 16

Why did Levellers cause political instability according to some

Answer 16

They divided the army and alienating political elite. However the regicide, the crushing of the leveller muting at Burford May1649 indicated that the NMA officers had no intention of letting levellers seize the political initiative at their expense.

Question 17

dIGGERS called themselves

Answer 17

True levellers - diggers developed similar, earlier ideas from radical movements. due to the freedom of these years.

Question 18

Did the leveller and Diggers really have sig impact on political direction of years 1648-1660

Answer 18

it could be argued that neither as Blasphemy Act 1650 severly restricted the activites of radical groups such Diggers.

Levellers movements effectively ended by the end of 1649 as mutiny at Burford in May 1649.

Question 19

How successful were the Levellers?

Answer 19

Levellers were the most successful revolutionary group of the age and, although their existence was short-lived (the leaders were imprisoned in 1649 and the Rump Parliament crushed the movement), the ideas that they promoted influenced later democratic movements.

however, they are also responsible for encouraging conservatism in others.

Cromwell and the other leaders of the Rump were not socially radical, and it would not be beneficial to them to support a group that would threaten their privileged status as members of the gentry

Another limit to their success was due to disagreements between individual leaders. Different pamphleteers would include rival proposals in their publications, and they lacked a cohesive, consistent message. National support for the movement was also relatively minor, as much of what they offered was of no interest to the majority of the rural poor.

Question 20

Were the diggers revolutionary?

Answer 20

The ideas of the Diggers were more revolutionary than those of the Levellers, and it is for this reason that they received less attention and support. Their message was relevant to rural communities, as they advocated setting up agricultural communities, but their communes repeatedly faced angry opposition from local farmers and landowners. In many ways, they were too revolutionary for the 17th century