Were the Levellers a threat to Oliver Cromwell?

Answer 1

= Were the Levellers a threat to Oliver Cromwell? = Following the end of the First Civil War England was in a political melting pot, the relaxing of laws restricting freedom of press meant that political Propaganda was rife and so rose in popularity the radical Leveller movement. The agreement of the people, the civilian Leveller constitution, was an ideological threat to Cromwell. The Agreement of the People stated that every freeman is entitled to franchise; 'one man, one vote', this Cromwell was highly opposed to. Firstly because only citizens with more than forty pounds worth of land were able to vote so the Agreement of the People threatened to reduce the voting power of landed citizens, including Cromwell a member of the Gentry. Secondly the Agreement of the People acted as counter to The Heads of Proposals, drafted in summer 1647, was a set of moderate propositions intended to be a basis for a constitutional settlement after King Charles I was defeated in the first English Civil War proposed by Cromwell and Henry Ireton to the King in 1647. Also, the Levellers threatened the tradition structure of Government, the Levellers wanted authority to be vested in the House of Commons rather than the King and Lords. Such a radicalism Cromwell would have found greatly threatening, despite being an MP potentially seeing an increase in personal power, as can be shown from this quotation from him; "A nobleman, a gentleman, a yeoman; the distinction of these: that is a good interest of the nation, and a great one". After all Cromwell, a landed Gentry, in 1647 would have had many traditional views and expectations on how a government should be structure, and that lay with a Parliament consisting with two houses, a Privy Council and a King all with limited traditional power. Leveller sympathisers and supporters within the New Model Army were a threat to Cromwell's, authority. This can be shown by the Putney Debates, starting October 1647, a series of discussions between members of the New Model Army, a number of the participants were Levellers, concerning the makeup of a new constitution for England. The debates featured a polarization between; Grandees (high ranking officers) and Agitators (soldiers elected by their troops as representation). The Agitators wanted a constitution based upon manhood suffrage reflecting ideas later to be shown in the Agreement of the People, whilst the Grandees, namely Henry Ireton pressed the Heads of Proposals. This shows that the Levellers were influential in the Rank and File of the Army to form the majority of those elected to represent them. The Agitators continued wanting to discuss the future of even king and the Grandees, fearing a complete breakdown of discipline in the Army, the Agitators were ordered by Cromwell to return to their regiments and the debates drew to a close, therefore portraying Cromwell's fear that the Levellers did indeed seem a threat to discipline in the Army. Conversely, leveller inspired mutinies within the New Model Army were few and easily dealt with. One example of this is the Cork bush Field mutiny November 1647. At the Corkbush Field rendezvous soldiers were ordered to sign a declaration of loyalty to Thomas Fairfax, the commander-in-chief of the New Model Army (NMA), and the Army Council. An uninvited regiment arrived carrying copies of the Agreement of the People. They stoned and wounded one of Fairfax's officers when he approached them. Cromwell had eight or nine of the more truculent troopers arrested with ease. They were tried at an improvised court-martial and found guilty of mutiny. Three ringleaders were sentenced to death and, having cast lots, Private Richard Arnold was shot on the spot as an example. The crushing of the Corkbush field mutiny ended any hopes of Cromwellian support for the Levellers and in addition reasserted Cromwell's authority over the Army and suppressed further Leveller influence. The Levellers were undoubtedly an ideological threat to Cromwell and his aspirations of a return to a traditional contractual Monarchy led government. However the Levellers were not a practical threat, they did not have a say in Government, but when Cromwell invited them at the Putney Debates, nor did the Levellers have any means of implementing their radical reforms themselves lacking sufficient support for a Parliament based series of reforms, a revolution from the public or Coup d'état by the army, thanks to Cromwell's efforts to suppress the Levellers.