Free Sample Essays > United States History
Why did the Civil War happen?
people despised him. This caused tension by making Charles seem a murderer. When Charles tried to arrest five MPs he lost a lot of the supporters he had in the political world. Parliament was furious and called Charles a tyrant!
Parliament is split over religious divisions. Some want to get rid of Laud’s catholic style changes; others want to get rid of bishops. They eventually vote and they get rid of Bishops. Parliaments power is growing and Charles can’t take much more. Still, most of the country supports the king.
After the Irish rebellion Parliament and Charles agree that the country needs an army. The question is, who should control it? Past kings have always controlled the country’s army before but parliament want the army for themselves as they know of Charles anger and are scared in case his actions lead them to war. They eventually take control of the army without Charles’ permission.
The House of Commons go to far as they pass another set of demands called the nineteen propositions. Charles has to agree and is very anxious. This finally separates all of Charles companions and enemies.
Charles raises the standard and the country goes to war!
Conclusion
I think the accountability of the English Civil War lies with King Charles I. To start off with being a vain and egotistical man who believed he was God’s gift to the world did not help. Then came his wanting off all power, sacking parliament for 11 years could only make things worse. Next he decided to prosecute puritans. He instructed Laud to mutilate and imprison people like William Prynne. After that he introduced the new prayer book in Scotland, never a good idea, as many Scots were puritans, and goes into enormous debt with the country he wished to overthrow. Succumbing to parliaments demands on two occasions were not very kingly ways of negotiating. The arrest of five MPs for being perfidious was simply insane as a lot of parliament were supporters of the king. Being weak enough or not caring enough to let parliament take over the army was very foolish. At least when Charles eventually raised the standard he knew who his friends and foes were. The most important cause of the English Civil War was the tried arrest of the five MPs whom Charles suspected of deceitfulness. This lost him many supporters and a lot of people lost trust in their king.