Mainline Calvinists, Pamphlets and Democracy in Revolutionary Britain 1641-1646

The years 1641 to 1646 saw 'a transformation of the political nation, the beginning of mass politics, and a rapid and revolutionary expansion of what is sometimes called the "public sphere". Elections, sermons, processions, petitions, demonstrations, pamphlets and politicized conversations, brought "men that do not rule" (and sometimes women too) into active engagement with public affairs' (Cressy 2003: 68; also see Moe 2010, 693). In particular, books and pamphlets provided a "commodious outlet" for the leading intellectuals of the revolutions themselves (Raymond 2003, 224). These printed sources reveal a surprising amount of interest in the concept of democracy.