The Instrument of Government was a

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these pr ...

of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland. Drafted by Major-General John Lambert in 1653, it was the first sovereign codified and written constitution in England.

Antecedence

The ''Instrument of Government'' included elements incorporated from an earlier document " Heads of Proposals", which had been agreed to by the Army Council in 1647, as set of propositions intended to be a basis for a constitutional settlement after King Charles I was defeated in the

First English Civil War The First English Civil War took place in England and Wales from 1642 to 1646, and forms part of the 1639 to 1653 Wars of the Three Kingdoms. They include the Bishops' Wars, the Irish Confederate Wars, the Second English Civil War, the Angl ...

. Charles had rejected the propositions, but before the start of the Second Civil War the "Grandees" (senior officers opposing the Leveller faction) of the

New Model Army The New Model Army was a standing army formed in 1645 by the Parliamentarians during the First English Civil War, then disbanded after the Stuart Restoration in 1660. It differed from other armies employed in the 1639 to 1653 Wars of the Th ...

had presented the ''Heads of Proposals'' as their alternative to the more radical

Agreement of the People Agreement may refer to: Agreements between people and organizations * Gentlemen's agreement, not enforceable by law * Trade agreement, between countries * Consensus, a decision-making process * Contract, enforceable in a court of law ** Meeting ...

presented by the Agitators and their civilian supporters at the

Putney Debates The Putney Debates, which took place from 28 October to 8 November 1647, were a series of discussions over the political settlement that should follow Parliament's victory over Charles I in the First English Civil War. The main participants were ...

. On 4 January 1649, the

Rump Parliament The Rump Parliament was the English Parliament after Colonel Thomas Pride commanded soldiers to purge the Long Parliament, on 6 December 1648, of those members hostile to the Grandees' intention to try King Charles I for high treason. "R ...

declared "that the people are, under God, the original of all just power; that the Commons of England, being chosen by and representing the people, have the supreme power in this nation".Fritze
p. 228
/ref> This was used as the basis for the House of Commons to pass acts of parliament which did not have to be passed by the House of Lords or receive royal assent. Two days later the Rump alone passed the act creating the high court of justice that would try Charles as a traitor. Charles was tried and executed later that month. On 17 March, the Rump passed an act abolishing the monarchy and two days later an act abolishing the House of Lords. On 19 May 1649 the Rump passed

An Act declaring England to be a Commonwealth An, AN, aN, or an may refer to: Businesses and organizations * Airlinair (IATA airline code AN) * Alleanza Nazionale, a former political party in Italy * AnimeNEXT, an annual anime convention located in New Jersey * Anime North, a Canadian an ...

. It was a simple declaration that Parliament would appoint "Officers and Ministers under them for the good of the People... without any King or House of Lords".

Provisions

The '' Instrument of Government'' split the government of England across three elements. *

Executive power The Executive, also referred as the Executive branch or Executive power, is the term commonly used to describe that part of government which enforces the law, and has overall responsibility for the governance of a state. In political systems b ...

was held by the

Lord Protector Lord Protector (plural: ''Lords Protector'') was a title that has been used in British constitutional law for the head of state. It was also a particular title for the British heads of state in respect to the established church. It was sometimes ...

. Although this post was elective, not hereditary, appointment was to be held for life. *Legislation was raised in Parliament. These had to be called triennially, with each sitting for at least five months. *An English Council of State of around twenty members to provide advice in the same manner as former

Privy Council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mo ...

s, though with strengthened powers, so that many of the actions taken by the Lord Protector require the consent of a majority of the council; examples include the use of military when parliament is not sitting (IV) and declaring war and peace (V). The council also nominates ministers (XXXIV) and elects the Lord Protector upon the death of the previous one (XXXII). Thus the Lord Protector was far from an absolute ruler, with his powers limited in many areas. All three branches of government had checks upon each other, with the Lord Protector having the authority to veto a bill from Parliament, but a second majority vote after twenty days would pass the bill(XXIV). The instrument declared, "That the supreme legislative authority of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland, and Ireland, and the dominions thereunto belonging, shall be and reside in one person, and the people assembled in Parliament: the style of which person shall be the Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland, and Ireland". Provision for a standing army was made "of 10,000 horse and dragoons, and 20,000 foot, in England, Scotland and Ireland, for the defence and security thereof" and "a convenient number of ships for guarding of the seas" (XXVII). The instrument defined the numbers of MPs to be elected to parliament but at the same time disbarred Royalists from election and temporarily from voting (XIV) and Catholics from election or voting (XV). Electors needed to hold property holding of at least £200.

Adoption and replacement

The ''Instrument of Government'' was adopted by the Council of Officers on 15 December 1653 and

Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three ...

was installed as

on the following day. In January 1655, Cromwell dissolved the

first Protectorate Parliament The First Protectorate Parliament was summoned by the Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell under the terms of the Instrument of Government. It sat for one term from 3 September 1654 until 22 January 1655 with William Lenthall as the Speaker of the Ho ...

, ushering in a period of military rule by the Major Generals. The ''Instrument of Government'' was replaced in May 1657 by England's second, and last, codified constitution, the

Humble Petition and Advice The Humble Petition and Advice was the second and last codified constitution of England after the Instrument of Government. On 23 February 1657, during a sitting of the Second Protectorate Parliament, Sir Christopher Packe, a Member of Parliam ...

Influence on the American constitution

Since North America had already been colonised by the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

—in 1607, at Jamestown, and in 1620, at

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to ...

—the United States has sometimes claimed this historic document as a part of its political, legal, and historic heritage.Washington
p. 113
/ref>

Notes

References

*Far, David (2006). ''Henry Ireton and the English Revolution'', Boydell Press, , *Fritze, Ronald H. & Robison, William B. (1996). ''Historical dictionary of Stuart England, 1603–1689'', Greenwood Publishing Group, *Tyacke, Nicholas (2001). ''Aspects of English Protestantism, c. 1530–1700'', Manchester University Press, , *Washington, George (2008). ''American Historical Documents 1000–1904'', Wildside Press LLC, 2008. ,