Unit 3: 17th Century England: Revolution or Civil War?
In this unit, we study the English Revolution, or rather several waves of revolutionary events between 1640 and 1688, which became an important inspiration for Enlightenment thinkers and for revolutionaries in America and France. The English Revolution was incomplete because it established a constitutional monarchy and not a republic. We analyze the differences between civil war and revolution, the political and symbolic significance of beheading the king, and the tremendously-influential documents the English revolutionaries produced.

Completing this unit should take you approximately 8 hours.
- Upon successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
  
  provide a concise historical narrative of revolutionary events in England between 1640 and 1688;
  
  explain differences between revolution and civil war;
  
  critically evaluate the English Bill of Rights; and
  
  describe the distribution of political power in a constitutional monarchy.
- 3.1: Origins of the English Revolution
  - Origins of the English Revolution Page
    
    Watch this lecture and make a list of long-term causes of the English Revolution. Pay particular attention to the ways in which religion and politics were in conflict in seventeenth-century England.
- 3.2: Revolutionary Events
  - Union County College: Harold Damerow's "Glorious Revolution" URL
    
    Read this essay and timeline. Make your own list of events which were most important.
  - Steven Kreis' "The English Civil War" URL
    
    Read this lecture. What were the most important sources of conflict between the Parliament and the Monarchy? What were the most important turning points of the English Civil War?
  - The English Revolution Page
    
    Watch this lecture and focus on the chronology of the English Revolution, the political gains of each phase of revolutionary activity, and the distinctions O'Brien draws between revolution and civil war.
  - University of Wisconsin: Johann Sommerville's "The Protectorate of Oliver Cromwell, 1653–8" URL
    
    Read this page, which provides a chronological overview of the Protectorate.
  - University of Virginia: Kevin A. Creed's "The Pamphleteers Protestant Champion: Viewing Oliver Cromwell through the Media of his Day" URL
    
    Read this page, which analyzes Oliver Cromwell's leadership in its historical context. After you finish reading write a paragraph that summarizes Kevin A. Creed's argument, and provides your evaluation of his essay. You may wish to consider the following questions: do you find the argument compelling? What evidence is used in this essay? How does this essay help you better understand Cromwell's role in seventeenth-century English history?
  - Edward Vallance's "The Glorious Revolution" URL
    
    Read this document to better understand the causes and consequences of the so-called "Glorious Revolution".
- 3.3: Revolutionary Ideas: Government, Citizens' Rights, and the Relationship of Religion and the State
  - Yale University: "The English Bill of Rights of 1689" URL
    
    Read this document, focusing on the kinds of rights guaranteed for the citizens. Write a paragraph about ways in which this document helps to explain the difference between a traditional monarchy and a constitutional monarchy.
  - Locke: Equality, Freedom, Property and the Right to Dissent Page
    
    Watch this lecture, which links the Revolutionary experience in England and John Locke's two Treatises on Government. Focus on the second half of the lecture (starting with minute 19) and be sure you can discuss the logic of Locke's thinking about the powers and role of government in modern societies. Try to summarize Locke's ideology in a few sentences.
  - John Locke's "A Letter Concerning Toleration" URL
    
    Read this 1689 document to understand how Locke sees the relationship between politics and religion. Where does he draw the boundaries of tolerance? How does he justify this choice?
- 3.4: Analyses and Interpretations
  - Keith Lindley's review of John Coffey's "Persecution and Toleration in Protestant England 1558–1689" URL
    
    Read this essay. What interpretations of the relationship between religion and the English state does the article describe? Do you find its argument convincing? Why, or why not?
  - The Marxists Archive: Christopher Hill's "The English Revolution 1640" URL
    
    Read this essay. As you read focus on the following questions: what are the most important features of a Marxist interpretation of revolutionary change? How does Christopher Hill characterize the causes and the outcomes of the English Revolution?
  - Jane Bates' "The Importance of the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights" URL
    
    Read this essay. It analyzes the various traditions that influenced the writing of the US Constitution, and mentions the English Bill of Rights among the most important influences. How does the analysis provided here compare with your own reading of the English Bill of Rights? What are the most important ways in which this document paved the way for the Constitution of the United States?
- Unit 3 Assessment
  - Unit 3 Assessment Quiz
    
    Receive a grade
    
    Take this assessment to see how well you understood this unit.
    
    This assessment does not count towards your grade. It is just for practice!
    
    You will see the correct answers when you submit your answers. Use this to help you study for the final exam!
    
    You can take this assessment as many times as you want, whenever you want.

Unit 3: 17th Century England: Revolution or Civil War?

3.1: Origins of the English Revolution

3.2: Revolutionary Events

3.3: Revolutionary Ideas: Government, Citizens' Rights, and the Relationship of Religion and the State

3.4: Analyses and Interpretations

Unit 3 Assessment