The Long Parliament
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?- Created by: jenna howes
- Created on: 13-05-13 15:12
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The Long Parliament
The First Session
The fall of Strafford
- Pym tried to get him impeached on 11th November 1640 but Lords refused due to lack of evidence
- In 1641 Pym launched an Act of Attainder (an act of parliament) as that needed no evidence, but had to be signed by Commons, Lords and the King to execute Strafford
- The London Mob (puritan apprentice protestors) put pressure on Lords to pass the Attainder, they signed it, assuming Charles wouldn't
- But Charles had little choice as he needed money, so he signed it
- Strafford, Thomas Wentworth, was executed May 12th in front of 10,000
Why was he hated?
- Active role in Thorough and helped the King rule alone
- Accused of bringing a R/C army over from Ireland to support Charles' personal rule and establish military absolutism
- He changed sides from parliament to court after the death of Buckingham
Significance
- The future of Ireland was now in question as Strafford had reigned them in and now they had no firm leader to make them conform
- Many MPs did not like the use of the London Mob or the Act of Attainder and they thought it was unjust of Pym
- Bedford called it "a rock on which we should all be split"
Root and Branch Petition
- December 1640
- Wanted to eliminate all catholic elements hence root and branch
- called for the abolition of bishops
- most MPs hated laudian reforms but didn't want a presbyterian system either
- Pym knew this was controversial and was likely to split his anti-court consensus
- he gave it to a committee to discuss - Assembly of the Divines
Demolition of Personal Rule
- Ship Money was declared illegal
- The boundaries of forests were put back to how they were in 1623 under James
- Distraint of Knighthood became illegal
- May 1641 - Trinnial Act which said parliament must be called once every three years
- May 1641 - Act against forcible Dissolution - only parliament could close themselves down (only for this parliament)
- Court of Wards abolished
Death of Bedford
- May 1641, Bedford = Francis Russell
- 'man with a foot in both camps'
- he was seen as the last hope of a compromise between Charles and parliament
- he was arranging for pym to became chancellor of the exchequer
- only he could have built a 'government of national confidence'
10 Propositions
- Demands by parliament such as the right to control Charles' ministers
- More radical than any previous reforms
- Never officially passed
- A six week recess of parliament undermined the issue
- It encroached on Charles' prerogative
- Pym tried to convince MPs they were 'defensive' demands so they were generally accepted
The Summer of 1641
- Most MPs were happy with the first session of parliament
- there was still a fear of a catholic conspiracy
- some MPs began to dislike Pyms use of the London Mob but he was still uniting commons
- questions arose like the future of the church and the role of parliament in crown affairs
- Most MPs just wanted a balanced constitution
- the…
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