A Rob Natelson article.
Posted on 09/26/2015 5:53:15 AM PDT by cotton1706
In the Anglo-American constitutional tradition, a “convention” can mean a contract, but the word is more often applied to an assembly, other than a legislature, convened to address ad hoc political problems. The “Convention for proposing Amendments” authorized by Article V of the Constitution is designed to be that kind of assembly.
The first political conventions were held in England in 1660 and 1688-89. These gatherings looked something like parliaments, but they were titled “conventions” because only the Crown could call a parliament, and they were not called by the Crown. Moreover, they were convened to address specific constitutional issues, not to legislate.
The 1660 convention led to the restoration of the Stuart line of kings after the failed English experiment with republicanism under Oliver and Richard Cromwell. The 1688-89 convention dealt with the political crisis arising when the second James Stuart (i.e., James II) was forced to flee the kingdom by popular outrage over his arbitrary and unconstitutional misrule and by the invading army of William of Orange.
(Excerpt) Read more at americanthinker.com ...
ping
A Rob Natelson article.
Great background.
Meanwhile, John Locke and Algernon Sidney wrote their famous works quietly during the latter part of this period; the effects of which in Great Britain were minimal; in America the effects were tremendous.
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