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GCSE History · key term
A radical movement during the Civil War era that demanded wider male voting rights, religious freedom and equality before the law.
Used by AQA and OCR
Paper 2
Revise: Divine Right and AuthorityThe Levellers were especially important. Leaders such as John Lilburne, Richard Overton and William Walwyn advocated wider male voting rights, freedom of worship and equality before the law. Their Agreement of the People, first proposed in 1647, sought a written constitutional settlement protecting liberties and reforming representation.
Paper 3
Political radicals associated with John Lilburne, Richard Overton and William Walwyn who sought wider voting rights, religious toleration and a government accountable to the people.
Distinguish the Levellers’ demands for political rights from the Diggers’ challenge to private ownership of land.
Keep reactions precise: Parliament imprisoned Lilburne; army commanders suppressed Leveller mutinies; local gentry used legal action and violence against the Diggers.
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The Levellers, associated with John Lilburne, Richard Overton and William Walwyn, argued that government should answer to the people. Their movement developed among civilians in London and southern England as the First Civil War drew to an end.