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The Consent Of The Governed: Constitutionalism Of The Levellers And Its Influence On Anglo-American Political Discourse, Nathan B. Gilson
The Consent Of The Governed: Constitutionalism Of The Levellers And Its Influence On Anglo-American Political Discourse, Nathan B. Gilson
Doctoral Dissertations and Projects
More fully understanding the Levellers suggests a new framework for understanding Anglo-American constitutionalism and jurisprudence. There was a logical progression in their constitutional thought, by which the exigent developments of the 1640s conflict continually pushed the Levellers to articulate new constitutional propositions. It eventually led them to a fully developed contractual theory for the origins of society based on the continuing consent of the People, including the rights to revolution and resistance, within a natural rights framework. The Levellers argued for limitations on the sovereignty of the government by the People, as opposed to the position of the Monarchists, Independents, …