Chapter 12: Social tension during the 1640s

• Why did religious and political radicalism develop in the 1640s?

  The outbreak of the civil war, which led to more geographical mobility
• The franchise?

  The right to vote
• What did the Levellers want?

  An extension of the franchise, a written constitution, religious freedom and frequent elections
• Origins of the Levellers?

  They existed because of the economic distress caused by the civil war
• John Lilburne?

  A Puritan who was a leader of the Levellers. He was sent to the Tower in 1646 and he participated in the Whitehall Debates
• Ways in which Levellers spread propaganda?

  Petitions, processions, pamphlets and newspapers
• How many Leveller pamphlets were produced between 1645 and 1649?

  Almost 250
• Where were Leveller politics conducted?

  The street
• How did Levellers support adjutators?

  They denounced the heads of the New Model Army, such as Cromwell and Ireton
• The Case of the Army Truly Stated?

  A Leveller pamphlet that circulated with the New Model Army in October 1647, which claimed that army leadership was being too lenient on Charles
• Why were the Whitehall and Putney debates held?

  To bridge divisions within the New Model Army
• What did the Putney Debates focus on?

  Extending the franchise
• Agreement of the People?

  The Leveller manifesto. It argued that MPs should be elected proportionally and biennially, and that Parliament should only consist of one house
• Impact of the Putney Debates?

  It convinced the leaders of the New Model Army that they would have to work with their soldiers, and it showed how radical religious debates had become
• End of the Putney Debates?

  They ended after a dispute between Ireton and Rainsborough over the king
• What reunited the New Model Army after the debates?

  Charles' escape. The army leaders pacified Levellers by paying the troops with parliamentary money
• How much influence did Levellers have on army leaders?

  Minimal
• Key difference between the second Agreement and the Officers' Agreement?

  The extent to which religious toleration should be permitted
• Leveller opinions on the Rump?

  They disliked it
• Repression of the Levellers?

  Lilburne was arrested in March 1649, and an attempted mutiny was crushed by Cromwell in May 1649
• England's New Chains Discovered?

  Lilburne's proclamation that got him arrested in 1649. He outlined how the leaders of the New Model Army had betrayed the people
• Diggers?

  A group that responded to the civil wars. They came to prominence after Charles' execution in 1649
• Gerrard Winstanley?

  An anti-clerical pamphleteer who led the Digger movement. He occupied St George's Hill in 1649
• Digger beliefs?

  They wanted to establish communes and believed in complete social equality
• Short term impact of the Diggers?

  Limited. They had few followers and their commune only lasted a year
• Long term impact of the Diggers?

  They were an obvious example of direct political action, and they inspired Communism, liberation theology and environmentalism
• Repression of the Diggers?

  The occupation of St George's Hill failed after a year, due to the hostility of the landowners
• Fifth Monarchists?

  A millenarian group formed in 1650, based on the Book of Daniel
• Most prominent Fifth Monarchist?

  Thomas Harrison of the New Model Army
• Did the Levellers, Diggers or Fifth Monarchists fully achieve their goals?

  No. However, they did make long term changes