What Was The Galvanizing Force In The English Revolution

Despite the vastly varying circumstances surrounding the English, French, and Russian revolutions, the theme of strong in ideologies unifies the three. In the English Revolution the power of Puritanism galvanized the people of England to rise up and usurp the Monarchy which had lead the country for centuries. For the French Enlightenment principles such as Nationalism and Equality motivated the people to overthrow the ancient Bourbon Monarchs. In Russia the ideological catalyst which sparked the revolution was Lenin’s Communism. Lenin adapted Communism for the Russian people, and created a powerful ideology which the masses could support and unify under, thus fueling the Revolution. Despite the difference in philosophies supporting the three
Puritanism unified the new rising gentry class against James I who favored Catholicism. James I sought to bring the Anglican Church closer to the Catholic Church in prayer and practices. The Puritans resented James I’s new religious policies, which forced them to challenge the King’s power first through Parliament, then through war. “Won only because (of) Puritanism, the strongest religious passion of the hour, had supplied the fighting force” (Sherman 12) Puritanism was the primary galvanizing force in the English Revolution. The English people’s devout faith would not allow their king to alter their religion, and kept revolutionary efforts undivided. “Puritism burst the legal bounds and, coupled with militarism, overthrew law and Parliament as well as King” (Sherman 12). Puritism pushed the English people to war. Because the Puritans were people whose faith dictated their lives, allowing a King to forcibly alter their faith was unacceptable, and defending Puritan religion became the reason for
Enlightened ideologies spread through the French people. Ideas such as natural rights, democracy, and equality caused the people to oppose the ancient, conservative monarchy. Early in the French Revolution the National Assembly was established, and the Assembly wrote “The Declaration of the Rights of Man”, which outlined the Enlightened principles which caused and fueled the French Revolution. “No document better summarized the ideas underlying the French Revolution than The Declaration of the Rights of Man” (Sherman 59). The Declaration of the Rights of Man articulated the feeling of the people as they sought to overthrow an ancient regime. From the first line of the text the “The Declaration of the Rights of Man” emphasises secular, enlightened, democratic philosophies. The National Assembly, a ruling body, defined themselves in the Declaration as “The representatives of the French people”, not messengers from a divine power or a monarch. The idea of a governing body being a group of representatives for the people stem from the Enlightenment. The National Assembly did not claim their power came from a divine source or heritage, the Assembly states that it is simply a representation of the people. The National Assembly also stated the importance of equality and natural rights two fundamental principles of the enlightenment. The Declaration said that “Men are born