What's the right government for England?

A government and it’s citizens are bound by a social contract. However, people had conflicting views on what this social contract entailed. Hobbes believed that the government should be a monarchy and that the people must give up some of their rights to the monarch. 

 

On the other hand, Locke believed the terms of the social contract entailed the protection of citizens’ life, liberty, and property. If the government denies it’s people this, the people have the right to rebel. He believed in a constitutional state. 

Hobbes monarchy can be seen in Charles II. Everything was going well with Charles until people saw he had Catholic tendencies, especially when he made his deal with Catholic, French King Louis XIV for money. The biggest problem however was that Charles II did not have an heir, only bastard children. Therefore, the people knew Charles’ brother, James, would be king and he was a devout Catholic. James II believed in religious freedom for all. The only problem with this problem was that it gave religious freedom to Catholics, who protestant England did not like. James II also had a son, therefore ensuring a Catholic dynasty, which once again the Protestants did not like. 

                     

Charles and James ruled with a cabal, or a cabinet, whose leader is now considered the prime minister. 



After the Glorious Revolution, William and Mary from Scotland were placed on the throne. It was the only successful invasion of England since William the Conqueror. If the Protestant Reformation had not been a failure, then the Glorious Revolution would not have happened. Everyone would have been protestant and there would not be Catholic conflict within the country, which is why people feared James II’s Catholic dynasty. 

What was more revolutionary: the English Civil War or Glorious Revolution?
The Glorious Revolution was more revolutionary because the English Civil War changed England only temporarily when Oliver Cromwell was placed in power. On the other hand, the Glorious Revolution changed the way England was structured through the creation of the Bill of Rights. The Bill of Rights enumerated the role of Parliament and the power it had, the power the monarch, and the rights of the people. This social contract made England a constitutionalist state, making England what it is today.