The Rump Parliament (1649-53)

What is the Rump Parliament?

It was a Parliament for MPs that remained after the Pride’s purges on 6th December 1648.

When was the Rump Parliament created and when did it disband?

6th December 1648 - 20th April 1653.

What are the key features of the Rump Parliament?

• They had 210 members.

• They had supporters of religious independents who did not want an established church.

• Majority of the members were from the Gentry.

• ¼ of them were regicides.

Who had the power of the Rump Parliament?

• The New Model Army.

• The Council of State.

Why did Cromwell have a desire for a Godly government?

• There was a lack of prior planning behind the revolutionary act of establishing the commonwealth.

• Many Rump Mps were anxious to ensure stability and to calm conservative fears.

• The army and its radical sympathisers imagined a greater social transformation to accompany the political changes.

Why did the Rump need to survive?

• It had a priority of restoring normality.

• Their focus was not on radical religious experiments or policies that would radicalise people.

What did Cromwell want from the Rump?

He wanted to use them to emphasise the parliamentary nature of regime instead of a military approach of the army.

What was Cromwell motivated by in the Rump Parliament?

• “heal and settle”

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How did the Rump try to broaden its appeal?

• They reached out to former MPs who have purged.

• It was being relatively conservative.

• It kept the army out of politics.

• It imposed the Oath of Engagement in 1650.

What is the Oath of Engagement?

It was an oath imposed on men over the age of 18 that would make them loyal and faithful to the Commonwealth.

Why was there a lack of support for the regime?

• It faced threats from Royalists and Levellers after Charles I’s execution.

• The army did not interfere directly in politics which could not survive without military support.

• The military support made it harder for the government to gain confidence and support of the traditional ruling class.

• The army was expensive to maintain and too radical in its politics.

What threats did the Rump get?

• After the Levellers revival in 1649, they asked for representative and accountable parliament to meet every 2 years, reform a law and religious toleration.

• Royalists gave threats about the military to prepare for the Third Civil War.

What was Cromwell’s response to the threats from the Royalists?

He had to engage in military conflicts against their armies in Scotland, Ireland and England.

Which key groups were against the Rump Parliament?

• Diggers

• Levellers

• Ranters

• Fifth Monarchists

• Quakers

Who were the Diggers?

• They called themselves the “True levellers”.

• They are a radical group that advocated for agrarian socialism.

• They wanted to see the abolition of private property.

What did Cromwell say about the Diggers?

“you must cut these people in pieces or they will cut you in pieces”

What was the suppression of the Diggers like?

• They set up a colony at St Georges Hill in April 1649 which enraged local property owners.

• They were forbidden to speak and were found guilty of being Ranters.

Who were the Levellers?

• A radical group that advocated for social and constitutional reforms during the English Civil War. 

• They wanted elections.

What was the suppression of the Levellers like?

• They released the “England’s New Chains Discovered” pamphlet which opposed Cromwell for betraying the revolution.

• The pamphlet would attract soldiers and citizens to unite in rejection of the Grandees, the Council and the Rump Parliament.

What is the name of the pamphlet that the Levellers released?

“England’s New Chains Discovered”

Why did the Levellers fail?

• They lacked a clear strategy and were reluctant to use force to pursue their aims.

• MPs were alienated by many petitions because they contained democratic ideas that threatened their own interest.

• Their failure was guaranteed after the political revolution after King Charles I’s execution wasn’t able to develop.

What democratic ideas threatened the interest of the public in the petitions?

• Demands for elections.

• Male suffrage.

When did Cromwell dissolve the Rump?

April 1658.

Why was the Rump Parliament dissolved?

• A need for a new government that could promote reforms in church and the state.

• Failure to reform.

• It was not pursuing “godly reform”.

• They agreed to publish a bill declaring an election,