How Democracy Grew In England

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How Democracy Grew In England
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Democracy is . .

• A system of government in which citizens

• Vote for their leaders
• Have specific rights and responsibilities

• We get democracy from many sources

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The Ancient Greeks

• In Athens, citizens voting for their leaders
  became common
• Civic virtue became important to many
  philosophers.

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The Ancient Romans

• Developed the rule of law common to all
  citizens throughout the empire
• Developed advanced forms of representative
  government, before evolving in to a dictatorship.

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The Bible

• Hebrew prophets developed the idea of all people
  being equal, created in the image of God.
• The idea caring for the weaker members of society.

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The Magna Carta

• British Document
• King John forced to recognize his power was
  limited by the Barons
• First step toward limited government
• But WHY???

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King John and the Magna Carta
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Could the rich control the king?
Around the picture below, you can read some of
the qualities which medieval people expected
their king to have! Which three are the most
important for a medieval king?
A good judge of character
Rich but not greedy!
A good soldier
Fit and strong
God fearing
Inspiring!
Brave
Hardworking
Wise
Firm but fair!
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King John manages to upset everyone!!
The first king to give up some of his power was
John. He is famous as Prince John in make
believe stories of Robin Hood. In the stories he
is a wicked and foolish prince who taxes the
people of England unfairly. Some historians say
John was just as foolish in real life. Others
say he was simply unlucky! John ruled England
from 1199 to 1216. He faced the following
problems.
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Problem Number 1
He quarrelled with the Pope about how to run the
Church. From 1208 until 1213, the Pope banned
all church services in England and English people
feared that they would all go to HELL! Some
Church leaders blamed John for the trouble.
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Problem Number 2
John went to war twice against the French king.
His army was badly beaten both times. He lost
almost all the land that his father had gained in
France!
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Problem Number 3
John raised taxes in England to pay for the wars.
This upset his BARONS! He ordered them to pay
far more tax than earlier kings had done!
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How did the barons strike back? The Magna Carta
I, King John, accept that I have to govern
according to the law. So I agree 1. Not to
imprison nobles without trial 2. That trials
must be in courts not held in secret by
me 3. To have fair taxation for the
nobles 4. To let freemen travel wherever they
like 5. Not to interfere in Church
matters 6. Not to seize crops without paying for
them . and lot more things too!!
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Think!

• What was so new about Magna Carta for English
  kings?
• At the time, Magna Carta was not designed to help
  everybody. What kind of people were not helped
  by the charter?
• How did the Magna Carta help lead the way for
  Democracy?

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Reign of Charles I

• Believed in Divine Right of Kings like his
  father
• Shy and out of touch
• Tried to raise taxes without consulting
  Parliament
• Then when he asked Parliament
• They refused to give him money
• So he imprisoned some of them
• Used Court of Star Chamber
• Forced to sign Petition of Right
• Promised not to further abuse power
• Did it just to get funds
• But he continued to levy taxes without
  Parliamentary consent

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Charles Further Abuses of Power

• Refused to call Parliament into session for 11
  years
• Though Anglican, he seemed Catholic to many
• Tried to force Anglican ways on Presbyterian
  Scotland
• Revolt broke out in Scotland
• Sent his army to squash rebellion
• His troops were defeated twice by Scots

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Charles Further Abuses of Power (cont.)

• Charles finally called Parliament into session in
  1640
• Purpose raise more money to put down Scottish
  rebellion
• Nicknamed Long Parliament
• It reconvened periodically for 20 years
• Parliament then realized they needed to limit
  kings power

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Path to War

• In 1641, Irish Catholic rebellion broke out
• Parliament wanted to raise an army
• Didnt trust Charles to lead it
• Grand Remonstrance put army under Parliaments
  control
• In protest, Charles led his troops to House of
  Commons
• Neither side backed down
• Civil War broke out in 1642

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English Civil War

• Citizens were divided
• Two sides
• Those loyal to the king
• Royalists or Cavaliers
• Named for Kings Cavalry
• Anglicans, Catholics, and those who
• opposed Parliaments changes
• Those who supported Parliament
• Roundheads
• Named for short haircut of Puritan soldiers wore
• Believed kings power should be limited
• Puritans and non-Anglican Protestants
• Oliver Cromwell was Puritan leader
• Raised New Model Army in 1645

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Events and Outcome of War

• Cromwell defeated Charles at Naseby in 1645
• Charles fled to Scotland
• Scots would hand him back to Parliament
• Royalists surrendered in June 1646
• Cromwell tried to negotiate with Charles
• Become a figurehead
• Give up most of his power
• Charles refused
• Charles later escaped
• Organized supporters in November 1647
• Cromwell forces again crushed kings army
• Recaptured Charles

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Death of the King

• Rump Parliament was formed
• Abolished monarchy
• Abolished House of Lords
• Declared England a Commonwealth
• Appointed special court to try Charles for
  treason
• Court found him guilty
• Sentenced to death
• Charles was executed outside of White Hall in 1649

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Restoration

• Oliver Cromwell died in 1658
• His son, Richard Cromwell, briefly ruled after
  his death
• Parliament invited Charles Is son to be king
• The period when the Stuart dynasty (under Charles
  II) was restored to power is known as the
  Restoration
• Reign of Charles II (1660-1685)
• 1679 Charles II agreed to right to writ of
  habeas corpus to have the body
• From earlier Petition of Right
• Prisoner could demand to be brought before a
  judge to hear charges (could not be held
  indefinitely)

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English Bill of Rights (1689)

• England became a constitutional monarchy
• Monarchs power limited by laws
• William and Mary consented to these changes
• English Bill of Rights
• No taxation without consent of Parliament
• Monarch could not suspend the laws of Parliament
• Freedom of speech for parliamentary debates
• Citizens free to petition the monarch regarding
  grievances