Research Paper on:
Seventeenth Century English Levellers Reformers

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through 1649. They were responsible for formulating many of the ideals and ideas that would ultimately serve as components of the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights. In fact,  many historians and political analysts have thought of them as the "first democrats." They produced political tracts and essays which served a new way of thinking about government and  the rights of individuals. John Lilburne, Richard Overton, and William Walwyn served as their primary leaders and the group was strongly inspired by the Petition of Right formulated in 1628.  In the beginning, the group supported the Protectorate but eventually turned against it when Oliver Cromwell failed to meet their demands for reform. As a result, many of the "levellers"  were either put in prison or executed. However, their long-term impact can clearly be seen in the writings of Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679) and John Locke (1632-1704) who should be considered  as some of the greatest political philosophers England ever produced. Determining Who and What is "Right" In an age of rapidly accelerating change, the Levellers asked important questions regarding  the meaning of "right." It is important to remember that a great deal of the message of the Levellers has to be seen within the context of the "new" Protestant  message which emphasized the equality of all men before God. John Lilburne addresses this very issue in his originally untitled series of questions and answers from 1645 that has come  to be referred to as On the 150th Page when he explains that such a question: "... may receive its solution by this distinction: that there is in laws an  equitable, and a literal, sense" (Internet source). What is "right" cannot be simply declared by a monarch since "the legal and mixed monarchy is the greatest tyranny" (Internet source). This