Constitutional Monarchy in England Chapter 20 Section 2 Constitutional Monarchy in England

The Restoration and the Glorious Revolution The reign of Charles II is called the Restoration, because of the restoration back to a monarchy and a rebirth of English culture {Charles continued Cromwell’s overseas commercial policies, which led to another war with the Dutch} England won New Amsterdam in North America and renamed it New York Charles II was cautious with Parliament, so much so that he backed down on several policies he wanted enforced if Parliament disagreed such as seeking increased toleration to Catholicism and wanting to form an alliance between England and France Charles was cautious for good reason, his father was executed and he was exiled because of Parliament

Scotland, Charles II silver 1/16 of a dollar. Now worth about $180.00

Political Parties Develop Charles II and his wife Catherine had no children. His younger Catholic brother James was to succeed him. {Two political parties formed when Parliament divided over the succession of a Catholic king} Tories believed that James had a hereditary right to the throne {Whigs supported a strong Parliament and opposed a Catholic} ruler like James When Charles II died in 1685, his Catholic brother James II took the throne

King James II actually had 15 children total between his two wives King James II actually had 15 children total between his two wives. His first wife, Lady Anne Hyde, gave him 4 daughters and 4 sons, none of which lived more than the age of 3. His second wife, Mary of Modena, gave him 5 daughters and 2 sons, one of which died at one month old. James’ only surviving son became the James Prince of Wales and lived to a ripe old age of 78.

The Glorious Revolution James II like his father, Charles I, believed in an absolute monarchy, antagonizing both the Whigs and the Tories James, concerned about his daughters Mary and Anne, who were both Protestant, inheriting the throne, remarried a Catholic woman and had a son who would inherit the throne Both the Whigs and the Tories then asked James II to step down and invited his daughter Mary and her husband William of Orange to replace her father on the throne. When they landed in England, James fled to France. From that point on, the couple was known as William III and Mary II This transfer of power was known as the Glorious Revolution

The Inauguration of King Charles III and Queen Mary II

Changes in English Government The English Civil war and the events that followed led to changes in the government Philosopher, {Thomas Hobbes was an anarchist and believed that people gave up their rights in exchange for order} Another philosopher, {John Locke, disagreed. He believed people’s rights should be protected by a government} and that protecting those rights should be the government’s reason for existing Thus a rulers claim to absolute power contradicted the natural order because people could not willingly surrender their fundamental natural rights

Thomas Hobbes John Locke

Habeas Corpus Act and Declaration of Rights Following the ideas of Locke, Parliament began to set up laws to prevent absolute rule In 1679, they set up the Habeas Corpus Act to protect individuals against unfair arrest and imprisonment They also formalized the Declaration of Rights and called it the English Bill of Rights which declared that Parliaments would choose the king and the king would have to consult with them on all decisions. The Bill of Rights also gave citizens the right to petition the government for relief of injustice. Also no citizen could be forced to face cruel and unusual punishment

Toleration Act and Act of Settlement In 1689, Parliament passed the Toleration Act. It granted some religious freedoms to Protestants who were not members of the Anglican Church. However the Act did not extend to Catholics and Jews In 1701, Parliament passed the Act of Settlement to keep Catholics off the throne. The act stated that should William III die with no heir, Mary’s sister Anne would inherit the throne Should Anne have no children, the throne would go to another Protestant granddaughter of James I, Sophia of Hanover

Anne Sophia of Hanover

Parliamentary Rule By 1700, England was still a monarchy but Parliament held most of the power During this time two important government institutions developed, the cabinet and the office of the prime minister The cabinet was a group of parliamentary leaders to be the king’s officers of state In 1707 English and Scottish Parliament passed the Act of Union, which united the two kingdoms into one kingdom known as Great Britain. The Scottish Parliament was dissolved and the Scots joined the English houses of Lords and Commons The union proved to be beneficial for the economy and trade

Continued…. Queen Anne did succeed King William. She had 17 children but none survived her The granddaughter of James I, Sophia of Hanover, also had died. So her son George became King George I of Great Britain until he died in 1727 Both George I and his son George II were born in Germany and were not accustomed to English rule and laws George II relied heavily on his cabinet ministers, especially Sir Robert Walpole Walpole strengthened the economy and helped to stabilize the British political scene Walpole is considered to be the first prime minister, or first minister

King George I King George II

Constitutional Monarchy From 1721 to 1742, led by Walpole, the Whigs controlled the House of Commons Under the rule of the Hanoverian monarchs {the prime minister was the real head of government in a limited constitutional monarchy} {In a limited constitutional monarchy, the monarchy remained as Britain's head of state but has to consult with Parliament} This system has changed very little since then and other countries who want to get out of a full monarchy have used the limited constitutional monarchy as an example

Review Questions What did Charles do that led to another war with the Dutch? What did the two political parties in Parliament divided over? What did the Whigs support? What did Thomas Hobbes believe that people gave up their rights in exchange for? John Locke, disagreed. He believed people’s rights should be protected by who? Under the rule of the Hanoverian monarchs the who was the real head of government in a limited constitutional monarchy