Prologue Sec 3 Democracy Develops in England I. Reforms in ... · Prologue Sec 3 Democracy Develops in England I. Reforms in Medieval England A. Reforms • William, duke of Normandy,

Prologue Sec 3 Democracy Develops in England

I. Reforms in Medieval England A. Reforms

• William, duke of Normandy, Claimed the English throne & thus ended feudalism, created a central govt. thus beginning the early developments of democracy

• William’s descendant Henry II ruled from 1154-1189 and continued with reforms

B. Juries and Common Law

1. Henry created a jury trial where a judge would ask 12 men in the community facts about the case; people preferred this over duels

2. Legal decisions became precedents to use for future cases, known as common law

3. Common Law- customs & principles established over time

C. The Magna Carta

1. King John’s poor leadership led to the creation of the Magna Carta which were written demands made by the nobles guaranteeing certain traditional political rights

2. Its main purpose was to enforce that monarchs had no right to rule in any way they please

3. They had to govern according to law

C. The Magna Carta 3. Process of Law- stated that the king could not punish without

just cause

4. King could not levy taxes w/o the consent of Parliament-England’s national legislature

D. Model Parliament

1. They voted on taxes, reforms, & consolidate laws

2. It was broken up into 2 sections- Nobles-House of Lords, & commoners-House of Commons

II. Parliament Grows Stronger A. Conflict With the Monarch

1. Conflict began because Parliament viewed itself as a partner with the Monarch

2. Monarchs believed in the 1600s that their power came from god known as divine right

A. Conflict With the Monarch 3. King James I, a Stuart, ignored Parliaments power & thus

started a civil war

4. People also accused him of tyranny

B. Parliament Overthrows the King

1. King Charles signed the Petition of Right which went against theories of absolute monarchies

2. King Charles then reneged and caused a civil war-Royalist vs. Antiroyalist

3. Antiroyalist led by Puritan Oliver Cromwell won and executed King Charles

III. Establishment of Constitutional Monarchy

1. In 1653 Cromwell dissolved Parliament and created a government called the Protectorate

2. Basically it was a military dictatorship where he had all the power like a king

A. Restoration

• 1. His son Richard succeeded him but was weak & resigned his power & Parliament was restored in 1660

• 2. Parliament regained its original power & continued to limit the powers of the monarch

• 3. Example-Habeas Corpus-authorities cannot detain person unjustly-in use in the U.S.

B. Glorious Revolution

1. Basically forced King James out of office and gave the throne to his Protestant daughter Mary & her husband William of Orange (ruler from the Netherlands

B. Glorious Revolution 2. Parliament now had the right to pick the king & hold most of

the power

3. This is a constitutional Monarchy where the powers of the ruler are controlled by the constitution & laws of the country

C. Bill of Rights

1. Bill of Rights- formal summary of rights & liberties believed essential to people

2. Bill of Rights would also be used as grievances by the American colonist