English Constitutional History

English constitutional history is a product of generations of the English people dealing with feudalism. Their feudal past, as was the case with the Continental Europeans, was based on the Great Chain of Being where everyone knew their place in God’s kingdom. The disruption of this hierarchical system will take generations to work itself out. The Seventeenth century English confronted the upsurge and audacity of the parliamentarians to challenge royal authority. The result being the English Civil War. The disruption of this hierarchy will eventually result in Parliamentary Supremacy. The Crown eventually reduced to a ceremonial role. Important English philosophers emerged during this time—Thomas Hobbes and John Locke. Sir Edward Coke also played an important role in demanding the common law and judicial review resided within the power of the judges. With the rise of Parliament, any question of establishing the power of judicial review in England was over. The British refused to allow their judges to serve as the final arbiters of the law. Any natural rights would need to be agreed and cleared by Parliament. With the execution of Charles I, England began its long march of Parliamentary rule. The English Civil War and later the Glorious Revolution established a power sharing system between Crown and Parliament. The British do not have a written constitution but a layering of generations of law that identifies important markers or turning points in their history. The English Civil War did not only disrupt the Great Chain of Being but opened up the way for the gentry and bourgeoisie to enter English history. John Locke was able to develop his philosophy of natural rights, individualism and property protection. What in modern times are referred to as liberal rights or liberalism. The American Declaration of Independence drew from John Locke’s political philosophy of the need for the protection of “life, liberty, and property.” The phrasing was slightly altered in Declaration of Independence to read the securing of “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” Thomas Hobbes drew a different lesson. The security of people is paramount. Only a strong sovereign can guarantee the peace. Any weaking of the sovereign brings death and destruction. What became clear is the Colonial Americans drew from the Western Civilization, and British history in particular, a way of life that was antithetical to the existing Civilization on this side of the Atlantic. That is, if Western Civilization was to implant itself on this side of the Atlantic, the lands and natives of North America will have to be cleared out.