Court And Country: The English Civil War

Prior to the American Revolution, thirteen Colonies were founded. Some colonies were founded based on economics, while others were founded on religious freedom. As time went on the Colonies developed different economies. Ihe New England Colonies had manufacturing industries, such as, shipbuilding; Middle colonies had fur exporting and manufacturing industries, such as, iron; Southern Colonies had plantation agriculture. By the eve of the American Revolution, most colonies were royal colonies, under the direct control of the King. According to David Lefer,

“Of course, many other historical prisms offer insight into the Revolution as well. America was divided by regional differences, western land claims, population sizes, gender, age, and
Chapter 1, “Court and Country,” begins with the English Civil War. King Charles I tried to push for Catholicism and establish absolute power. Parliament rebelled and King Charles I was executed. People considered King Charles I a tyrant not a king, because a king would share power between the people. Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector, wiped out resistance, and later, monarchy was restored under, Charles II (Charles I’s son). King Charles II did not do much for England. Then King James II (Charles II’s brother) came to power and tried to do the same thing as Charles I. William of Orange took over with the Parliament’s help and brought capitalism to England. Here is where two parties, Whigs (supported republicanism) and Tories (supported the King) fought in Parliament. Eventually, Whigs won, but split between Country (radicals) and Court (conservatives). The Court Whigs won in Parliament, but although, the Country Whigs never won, but they influenced America (19). Lefer does state that most people believe that Edmund Burke did not establish American conservatism, but the American Founding Fathers did years before(130). Lefer’s argument is invalid, because most of the American Founding Fathers were Whigs, and later Patriots. However, American Founding conservatives did, use ideas like separation of church and state, and focused on the everyday citizen, which was different from British conservatism. This is a good point, except if you see figures like Hamilton or Washington as conservatives - they tended to focus more on the