The development of constitutional government was slowed by the persistence of the ideas of absolutism, the belief that all political power should be in the hands of one individual, and divine right, which held that kings derived their power from "and were only accountable to "God. The reigns of the Tudor and Stuart monarchs in England were marked by fierce conflicts between the Crown and Parliament (Microsoft ® Encarta ® Encyclopedia 2002). .
In 1653, Parliament resigned its powers to Cromwell, who took the title Lord Protector. For seven years Cromwell followed by his son Richard, governed England under the repressive Protectorate, while radical Protestants, like the great poet John Milton and the reformer John Lilburne, made futile pleas for religious toleration, freedom of the press, legal reform, and a more democratic government. In 1687, James II issued a Declaration of Liberty of Conscience, granting religious freedom to all Christian denominations in England and Scotland, and ordered all Anglican clergymen to read it to their congregations (Leyh Publishing, 2002).
On taking the throne in 1689, William and Mary agreed to a Declaration of Rights reconfirming the rights that the Stuarts had denied. Englishmen could not be deprived of these rights without their consent, given through Parliament. The king was bound to call frequent Parliaments. He could not make or dispense with laws nor levy taxes without its consent. All subjects had the right to petition the king. The king could not punish members of parliament for anything they said there. All Protestants had the right to bear arms, and the king was forbidden to maintain a standing army in times of peace without Parliament's approval (Leyh Publishing, 2002). .
The triumphant Whigs complemented the Declaration of Rights with the Toleration Act or 1689, extending freedom of worship, but not political rights, to all dissenting Protestants who accepted the divinity of Christ.