Our First Revolution Summary

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Michael Barone wrote the book Our First Revolution, which details how the Glorious Revolution was essentially the stepping stone for the American Revolution and the creation of the United States. The author argues that the removal of James II and the agreement that followed to give William and Mary a joint monarchy was the blueprint for the American Revolution. Furthermore, the book details the events leading to the Revolution of 1688, it compares Britain in the political and religious aspect to the rest of the European countries in the late 1600’s, the issues taking place in Britain that essentially led to the removal of James, but most importantly, it describes the immense influence it had in America almost a century later.
There were several events that contributed to the Revolution of 1688. King Charles I attempted to create an absolute monarchy in 1630’s by dismissing the sitting Parliament. His actions resulted in the English Civil War, where Charles was easily overpowered by Parliament and was consequently captured by Cromwell and executed for treason. After the removal of Charles I, England entered a period of a “republic” where it was ruled by Oliver Cromwell, also known as the Lord Protector. Parliament offered Cromwell the position of king, but he refused in order to distance England from another monarchy. Soon after Oliver’s death, the Commonwealth attempted to name Cromwell’s son, Richard as his predecessor, but the people refused arguing that a theocracy would not be an improvement from the monarchial times. Charles II, the son of Charles was brought back from exile and appointed king in 1660.
The primary issues that fueled the Civil War in 1642-1649, the Commonwealth in 1649-1660, the Stuart Restoration 1660-1688 ...

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...very similar to the 8th Amendment in the American Constitution. The American Founding Fathers subsequently used the Declaration of Rights ratified under William’s sovereignty. These guaranteed citizen’s rights to own arms and also prohibit excessive fines and unfair or illegal punishments. The American colonies used the British Bill of Rights written by the Commons in England as a model to write their complaints to George III and also a stepping stone to carve the Constitution.
Essentially, the thesis of the book Our First Revolution is that the Glorious Revolution played a crucial role in the American Revolution. The author writes that all these actions taken by William, along with his promise to not interfere with Parliament and to ask them for money was indeed what the 13 colonies were imitating when they fought for their liberty during the American Revolution.

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