Aim: What were the goals of the English Revolutions?

Aim: What were the goals of the English Revolutions?

Rock-a-bye baby

In the treetops

When the wind blows the cradle will rock

When the bough breaks the cradle will fall

And down will come baby, cradle and all

“The state of monarchy is the supremest thing on earth. For kings are not only

God’s lieutenants on earth, and sit upon God’s throne, but even by God Himself

are called gods….”

-- King James I of England, speaking to Parliament

“Negative” vs. “Positive” Rights

• NEGATIVE RIGHTS• Freedom from

oppression by government

• Freedom of speech • Freedom of religion • Right to bear arms

• POSITIVE RIGHTS• Right to choose your

own government • Right to a job • Right to housing • Right to healthcare

“The Rights of Englishmen”: Magna Carta, 12th century

Trial by Jury

Right to face your accuser in court

Speedy trial

• No taxation without the consent of Parliament (later: representation)

NEGATIVE RIGHTS

What were the rights of “free-born Englishmen?”

“What did the common Englishman’s “birthright” consist in? … Freedom from absolutism, freedom from arbitrary arrest, trial by jury, equality before the law, the freedom of the home from arbitrary entrance and search…. the Englishman was not prepared to be “pushed around”…. The stance of the common Englishman was not so much democratic, in any positive sense, as anti-absolutist. He felt himself to be an individualist, with few affirmative rights, but protected by the laws against the intrusions of arbitrary power. …He claimed few rights except that of being left alone.”

Rise of the English Bourgeoisie (Merchant Capitalism) leads to class and religious struggle with King and nobility

• Represented in the English Parliament• Conflicts between Parliament and the king

over taxation (power) and religion• English Civil War

– What should be the goals of this war?– Who will fight against the King?

Grandees vs. Levelers

• What kind of government will replace absolutism?

• What kind of Revolution should we have?

• What kind of Rights should be granted, and to who?

• What “stream” of the Enlightenment does each group seem to favor?

The Glorious Revolution: triumph of the English bourgeoisie

• James II - a Catholic, tries to rule as an Absolutist

• When James has a son…

• Parliament invites his daughter Mary, and her husband William, king of the Netherlands (both Protestants), to rule England - The Glorious Revolution (1689)

• William signs the English Bill of Rights

Rock-a-bye baby

In the treetops

When the wind blows the cradle will rock

When the bough breaks the cradle will fall

And down will come baby, cradle and all

The wind blows William and Mary to England

James II and his Catholic baby flee to France

The Glorious Revolution: 1689

Two similarities to watch for in all the revolutions we look at:

An emerging social class (the bourgeoisie) needs help from the common people to make their revolution victorious, and promises them rights and freedoms

After the revolution is won, the new ruling class limits the promised rights of the common people