Glorious+Revolution+-+The+English+Bill+of+Rights

Nick Cooper njcooper94@aol.com Luke Councell lhcouncell@gmail.com Jordan Crawford crawford313@comcast.net media type="custom" key="4952877" In 1215 King John signed the Magna Carta, signifying that the Crown was not above the law. Such parliaments however, were only devices used by the King, having power limited to approve taxes and offer advice. Further attempts by Parliament to assert itself were resisted by Stuart monarchs. King Charles I dissolved Parliament in 1629 and ruled for 11 years without it. In 1640 he was forced to recall parliament in which a dispute turned civil war lead to his execution in 1649 Until 1689, the democracy of England had no formal, written consitution. Instead their 'constitution' was a series of laws and treaties passed over several centuries. Those who supported the rights of the crown were called tories, and those who supported the restricting of royal powers were called whigs. They became the conservative and liberal political parties of today.
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In 1688 Queen Mary and her husband William ascended to the throne. The Bill of Rights formalised Parliaments decision making authority, ensuring that laws could only br made or repealed by Parliament, and not by the Crown alone.

"The development of parliamentary democracy in Britain." Study Unit. __History Study Center__. ProQuest LLC. 11 Nov. 2009 .

After king Charles I died, his brother James II ascended to the throne. James was a commited catholic who dreamed of reinstating Catholicism and returning power to the monarch. The Test Act stated that all those seeking military or civil posts toa ccept the Anglican Church and its teachings. Following two rebellions he felt like a pretty big deal and started his campaign against the Test Act. He appointed Catholics loyalists to key state and university positions. Issued a Decalration of Indulgence that ended penal laws against catholics, and followed suit with a Second Declaration of Indulgence which furthered pro-Catholic policy, which lead to the unrest among his bishops and the alienation of whig and tories in Parliament. Everybody thought this was a terrible King, like super dumb, so a group of whig/tory parliamentaries approached the Dutch king William of Orange, who was married to James II's daughter, Mary, a Protestant. William agreed to take the Crown of England, to gain English resources for his battle against the girly king Louis XIV of Frenchy. Armed with a measly 14,000 troops, William of Apple tool on James II force of almost double that. James obviously is a bad king because he lost. James tried to flee and the Convention of Parliament decided that his action was an abdication, so William and Mary could take the throne. ( 2008). Glorius Revolution. In //Encylopedia of World History// (Vol. 3, pp. 150). New York: Facts on File.

"Bill of Rights." __The Encyclopedia of British History.__ Abingdon/Cambridge: Helicon, 2007. __History Study Center__. ProQuest LLC. 11 Nov. 2009 . The Declaration of Rights was presented on Feburary 13,1688 to William and Mary. The Bill of Rights was passed by Parliament in December of 1689. It enshrined the ancient rights of all the British people. Includes full text.

"Britain's Unwritten Constitution." __The Encyclopedia of British History.__ Abingdon/Cambridge: Helicon, 2007. __History Study Center__. ProQuest LLC. 11 Nov. 2009 . Britain, unlike most countries, has never had a written set of rules to govern its democracy. The British constitution was settled in 1688 by a division of power between the king and Parliament. The doctrine of parliamentary sovereignty is at the core of the Bill of Rights. The Bill of Rights was the product of decades of struggle between monarchs and the Parliament. According to parliamentary sovereignty, Paliament is the only source of political authority and can create or remove laws at its leisure. There are no laws that can bind Parliament and it denies society the guarantee of certain fundamental rights. Without formal chaks and balances, Parliament often ends up being dominated by the government. This government is known as the Crown in Parliament, which means that the government is run without need of a monarch. It can do anything a monarch would normally have the decision of, such as calling for war and signing peace treaties and alliances. The UK government should be seen as a limited monarchy.

English Bill of Rights. (2008, April 3). //New World Encyclopedia//. Retrieved 00:16, November 26, 2009 from []. The 1689 Bill of Rights is mainly a statement of positive rights that the authors considered that the people of a free, democratic society ought to have. It talks about the subject's right to bear arms in defense and their right to petition to their monarch. It also puts some constitutional requirements where the action taken by the ruler must be approved by Parliament on the table. It is in this way that differs from the United States Bill of Rights, though many elements are present in both of the two documents. This is also partially due to the traditions of an uncodified constitution in the UK. It incorporates the equality of men and women and that the king is not above the law, but subject to it, in its text. The Bill still favored the Protestant religion, despite the talk of equality. The English Bill of Rights was agreed upon by William and Mary on December 16, 1689. It ended up being similar to the Claim of Right, which gave William and Mary the rule of Scotland on April 11, 1689.

The Provisions of the English Bill of Rights include: - Freedom from royal interference with the law. Though the sovereign remains the fount of justice, he or she cannot unilaterally establish new courts or act as a judge. - Freedom from taxation by Royal Prerogative. The agreement of parliament became necessary for the implementation of any new taxes. - Freedom to petition the Monarch. - Freedom from the standing army during a time of peace. The agreement of parliament became necessary before the army could be moved against the populace when not at war. - Freedom for Protestants to bear arms for their own defence, as suitable to their class and as allowed by law. - Freedom to elect members of parliament without interference from the sovereign. - Freedom of speech and debates; or proceedings in Parliament ought not to be impeached or questioned in any court or place out of Parliament.

The main purpose of the English Bill of Rights was to ensure certain freedoms and a Protestant political supremacy. It also was an inspiration of the United States Bill of Rights.

//Bill of rights 1689//. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_Bill_of_Rights