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Powerpoint presentation
Vindiciae Contra Tyrannos
John Locke’s Two Treatises on Civil Government
The Petition of Right (1628)
The Westminster Confession of Faith
Martin van Gelderen’s The Dutch Revolt is a collection of five documents from the period 1570-1590 that show the development of Dutch constitutionalism during the revolt against Spain.
Conrad Russell’s The Causes of the English Civil War is the most reliable treatment of the period; beware Lawrence Stone, Christopher Hill, and other Marxists.
Tim Harris is an outstanding historian of the later Stuart period; his Restoration is a good overview of the reign of Charles II. For a more partisan take, see Hilaire Belloc’s pro-Catholic biographies of Charles II and James II.
Transcript of the Putney Debates

Constitutionalism – Quiz

The anonymous work Vindiciae Contra Tyrannos developed a resistance theory first hinted at in the writings of ____________. ()
__________________ was cited in the lecture as an example of a Roman Catholic constitutionalist theorist.
__________________ successfully rebelled against Spanish rule in the 16th and 17th centuries and created a worldwide commercial empire with a constitutional government.
King ______________ of England weakened the nobility by giving government positions to talented commoners.
The Personal Rule of ______________ led to many tensions in England concerning government revenues and religion.
The two sides in the English Civil War are called the ________________ and _____________.
During the Interregnum in England, ___________________ dominated the government but did not attempt to become king in name.
Identify at least two radical religious sects that surfaced during the Interregnum.
Identify two radical political groups that surfaced during the Interregnum.
What appeared to many as a reemerging royal absolutism in England in the Restoration period was ended by the _________________ in 1688.

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