Session 4. 1689: the Bill of Rights and the end of absolute monarchy
Key question: How did Parliament become stronger than the King?
What do you remember from session 3? Answer alone in five minutes, then check.
1. How many of the 63 clauses of Magna Carta are still valid?
2. Which American text speaks of due process of law?
3. What did Eleanor Roosevelt compare to Magna Carta in 1948?
Show the recap answers
- Four: 1 (part), thirteen, 39 and 40.
- The Fifth Amendment of the US Constitution (1791).
- The Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Aims
- Understand the Glorious Revolution in a few dates
- Decode a text in seventeenth-century spelling
- List what the King could no longer do after 1689
To say what the King could no longer do after 1689, and on what condition, we need could no longer, without + noun, and unless (= except if).
Documents
Document A. The context (written for this sequence)
In 1642, King Charles I entered the House of Commons with soldiers to arrest five MPs. He failed, and the country fell into civil war. Charles I was executed in 1649. The monarchy came back in 1660, but in 1688 King James II was forced out. His daughter Mary and her husband, William of Orange, were offered the crown by Parliament. In 1689 they accepted a list of rights: the Bill of Rights.
Source: UK Parliament, Key dates 1689 to 1714 · UK Parliament, Black Rod · legislation.gov.uk, Bill of Rights 1689
Document B. The Bill of Rights, 1689 (original spelling)
“That the pretended Power of Suspending of Laws or the Execution of Laws by Regall Authority without Consent of Parlyament is illegall.”
“That levying Money for or to the Use of the Crowne by pretence of Prerogative without Grant of Parlyament [...] is Illegall.”
“That the raising or keeping a standing Army within the Kingdome in time of Peace unlesse it be with Consent of Parlyament is against Law.”
“That the Freedome of Speech and Debates or Proceedings in Parlyament ought not to be impeached or questioned in any Court or Place out of Parlyament.”
Document C. A ritual that remembers 1642
At every State Opening of Parliament, Black Rod, an officer of the House of Lords, walks to the House of Commons to call MPs to hear the King's Speech. “Traditionally the door of the Commons is slammed in Black Rod's face to symbolise the Commons independence.” Black Rod then knocks three times before being let in.
Source: UK Parliament, Black Rod
Key words
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| to suspend | to stop for a time |
| to levy money | to collect taxes |
| standing army | a permanent army |
| consent | permission, agreement |
| to impeach | here: to attack or question in a court |
| Glorious Revolution | the events of 1688 to 1689 that put William and Mary on the throne |
Words in action
EntryComplete with: suspend, levy, standing army, consent.
- To collect taxes is to ______ money.
- A permanent army is a ______.
- To stop a law for a time is to ______ it.
- Permission or agreement: ______.
Show the answers
1. levy. 2. standing army. 3. suspend. 4. consent.
CoreSort the words into three themes, money, army, laws: to levy, a standing army, to suspend, a tax, peace time, an Act.
Show the answers
Money: to levy, a tax. Army: a standing army, peace time. Laws: to suspend, an Act.
StretchConsent is a noun and a verb. Write one sentence with each.
Show the answers
For example: The King needed the consent of Parliament. Parliament did not consent to a standing army in peace time.
To say it: No longer, without, unless
could no longer + verb: something that stopped. After 1689, the King could no longer levy taxes alone.
without + noun or -ing: without the consent of Parliament, without asking Parliament.
unless + clause = except if: The King cannot keep an army unless Parliament agrees. The Bill of Rights already says “unlesse it be with Consent of Parlyament”.
Careful: no negative after unless (unless Parliament doesn't agree).
EntryComplete with without or unless.
- The King cannot raise taxes ______ the consent of Parliament.
- He cannot keep an army ______ Parliament agrees.
- MPs can speak ______ fear of a court.
Show the answers
1. without. 2. unless. 3. without.
CoreRewrite each extract of the Bill of Rights in modern English, starting: After 1689, the King could no longer ...
- the Power of Suspending of Laws
- levying Money
- keeping a standing Army
Show the answers
1. After 1689, the King could no longer suspend laws without the consent of Parliament. 2. ... could no longer levy taxes without Parliament's agreement. 3. ... could no longer keep a standing army in peace time unless Parliament consented.
StretchTurn unless into if ... not: The King cannot keep an army unless Parliament agrees. This prepares session 7.
Show the answers
If Parliament does not agree, the King cannot keep an army.
Activities
- Spelling game: find the modern spelling of Parlyament, Regall, illegall, Crowne, Kingdome, unlesse, Freedome.
- Sort the four extracts into a table: what the King can no longer do / who decides instead. Language: Write the left column with could no longer and the right column with without the consent of ...
- Watch or read about the Black Rod ritual: why is a door slammed every year?
- Mini quiz on sessions 1 to 4 (below), then a summary: after 1689, the King needs the consent of Parliament for laws, taxes and the army.
Exercise: Old spelling, modern spelling
Write the modern spelling.
- Parlyament
- Regall
- illegall
- Crowne
- Kingdome
- unlesse
- Freedome
Show answers
1. Parliament. 2. Regal. 3. illegal. 4. Crown. 5. Kingdom. 6. unless. 7. Freedom.
Figures of speech in the documents
“That the pretended Power ... That levying Money ... That the raising or keeping ... That the Freedome of Speech ...” (Document B)
Each extract starts with the same word, That. Repeating a word at the start of each line is anaphora: it gives the solemn rhythm of a list of rights. In Document C, the door slammed in Black Rod's face is a symbol: a gesture that stands for an idea, the independence of the Commons.
EntryWhich word starts every extract of Document B?
Show the answers
That.
CoreWhat does the anaphora add, and what does the slammed door symbolise?
Show the answers
It makes the list sound solemn and complete, like a law. The slammed door symbolises the independence of the Commons from the monarch, a memory of 1642.
StretchWrite a three-line Bill of Rights for your class, with anaphora.
Show the answers
For example: That no test be given without warning. That every student may speak without fear. That homework be corrected with care.
Mini quiz: sessions 1 to 4 (marked, ten points)
- Who makes the laws in the UK?
- In which year was Magna Carta sealed, and where?
- Give one clause of Magna Carta still valid today.
- Give two things the King could no longer do after 1689.
- Why is the door of the Commons slammed in Black Rod's face?
Show the quiz answers
- Parliament, which is elected (2 points).
- 1215, at Runnymede (2 points).
- Clause 39, 40, thirteen or 1 in part (2 points).
- Stop laws, raise taxes, keep an army in peace time without Parliament (2 points).
- To show the independence of the House of Commons, a memory of 1642 (2 points).
Expression task
Oral. You are a guide at Westminster. A tourist asks why a door is slammed in Black Rod's face. Answer in 45 seconds.
EntryThree sentences: what happens, what it means, one date.
Core45 seconds. Use could no longer, without and unless, and the word symbol.
StretchOne minute. Link 1642, 1689 and today, and use one anaphora.
Tools to use:
- could no longer, without, unless
- consent, standing army, symbol
- 1642, 1689
Show a model answer
Every year, at the State Opening, the door of the Commons is slammed in Black Rod's face. It is a symbol: in 1642, Charles I entered the House to arrest five MPs. After 1689, the King could no longer govern without Parliament: no taxes, no laws suspended, no army in peace time unless Parliament agreed. So the door reminds everyone that the Commons are independent.
C1 extension
Compare 1215 and 1689: in both cases, who forced the monarch to accept limits, and what was different? Write 150 words with a clear contrast (while, unlike, by contrast).
Lesson plan for the teacher (55 minutes)
| 5 min | Marked recap |
| 10 min | Document A: four dates |
| 15 min | Document B: spelling game and table |
| 5 min | Document C: Black Rod |
| 15 min | Mini quiz |
| 5 min | Homework |
Write a 280-character post, like on a social network, that explains what changed in 1689.
Write it in your planner before the bell. It is also posted on the school platform.
Show a model answer
Model answer: 1689: William and Mary accept the Bill of Rights. From now on, no laws suspended, no taxes, no army in peace time without the consent of Parliament, and MPs can speak openly in debates. Parliament is now stronger than the Crown.