1. In April 1936, Franklin D. Roosevelt faced the loss of his longtime political advisor, Louis Howe, who had guided his career since 1912. Howe’s death left a void as the president prepared for reelection against burgeoning internal Democratic threats. His former mentor, Al Smith, became a primary antagonist, aligning himself with the wealthy AmericanLiberty League. Smith accused Roosevelt of engaging in class warfare and adopting socialist principles through the New Deal programs. This period marked a critical shift as FDR transitioned from a regional politician into a national leader navigating a divided party. (2)
OCTOBER 1936  WHITE HOUSE

7. The Restoration and the Genius of Margaret Cavendish Guest Author: Jonathan Healey In 1660, after a period of political chaos, George Monck facilitated the return of Charles II, prioritizing national stability over the failed republican experiment. This "Restoration" reasserted the Anglican Church and Parliamentary control over finances, though the era was also marked by the grotesque posthumous execution of Cromwell’s corpse. Healey highlights the intellectual vibrancy of the time through Margaret Cavendish, the Duchess of Newcastle. Her pioneering 1666 work, *The Blazing World*, blended science, power, and early feminism, creating a bizarre "science fiction" parable that challenged the male-dominated scientific luminaries of the Royal Society. (7)

1650 CAREL FABRITIUS

6. Oliver Cromwell: Lord Protector of the Republic Guest Author: Jonathan Healey Following the regicide, England became a republic under the "Instrument of Government," a written constitution drafted by John Lambert. Oliver Cromwell rose as Lord Protector, using military skill to bring stability to a nation surrounded by hostile European monarchs. Though he refused the crown in 1657, favoring a rule based on Parliamentary authority, Cromwell’s reign was defined by his personal strength and the imposition of unpopular Puritan values. Despite his inconsistencies and brutal campaigns in Ireland, he successfully held disparate factions together until his death in 1658, after which the republic began to collapse. (6)
1650 JAN LIEVENS

5. The New Model Army and the Death of a King Guest Author: Jonathan Healey Parliament reorganized its forces into the New Model Army, led by Thomas Fairfax and the committed Puritan Oliver Cromwell. After defeating the King at Naseby and suppressing a second civil war involving the Scots, radical elements in the army, like Henry Ireton, pushed for drastic measures. Ireton argued that the "safety of the people is the supreme law," leading to the unprecedented public trial of Charles I for murder. In January 1649, despite the shock of most of Europe, the King was executed in London, an act performed in the name of popular sovereignty. (5)
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4. The Outbreak of the English Civil War Guest Author: Jonathan Healey By the early 1640s, Charles I faced mounting resistance to his perceived tyranny and the religious reforms of Archbishop Laud. The crisis peaked in the winter of 1641-1642 when Charles attempted to arrest five members of Parliament by force, only to find they had fled. Terrified by massive street protests in London, the King fled the capital, traveling the country to gather military support. This period saw the rise of "paper bullets"—pamphlets debating whether sovereignty resided in the divinely appointed monarch or the people, eventually leading to open warfare between Royalist and Parliamentarian forces. (4)
1650 CLAUDE LORRAIN

3. The Personal Rule and the Legal Challenge of Ship Money Guest Author: Jonathan Healey Charles I’s early reign was marked by intense struggle with Parliament over taxes and religion, leading to the 1628 Petition of Right. Following the assassination of his favorite, the Duke of Buckingham, Charles dismissed Parliament in 1629 to begin eleven years of "personal rule". To fund the state, he employed controversial methods like "ship money," extending a maritime defense tax to inland counties. This sparked a landmark legal battle where lawyers like Oliver St John argued against taxation without representation, a principle that would later resonate deeply with the American founders who eventually used these same arguments. (3)

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2. A Bizarre Diplomatic Failure and the Debt of Charles I Guest Author: Jonathan Healey Healey recounts the surreal 1623 journey of Prince Charles and the Duke of Buckingham to Madrid, where they donned false beards in a failed attempt to secure a Spanish marriage. This "picker" adventure ended in humiliation, pushing an aging, ill James I toward a costly continental war. Upon James’s death in 1625, the twenty-four-year-old Charles I inherited the throne along with a staggering one-million-pound debt. This immediate financial crisis forced Charles to turn to a fractious Parliament, setting the stage for decades of constitutional conflict regarding royal authority and the rights of the governed. (2)

1650 AELBERT CUYP

1. The Gunpowder Plot and the Rise of the Middling Sort Guest Author: Jonathan Healey Jonathan Healey introduces James I, who inherited a kingdom deeply divided by religion between Catholics, Puritans, and the mainstream. The 1605 Gunpowder Plot, a radical Catholic attempt to blow up Parliament, instilled a lasting "popish plot" paranoia that influenced English politics for decades. Healey emphasizes the era's social shift with the emergence of the "middling sort"—wealthy, literate peasant farmers and lawyers who began dominating Parliament. This group’s sophisticated political thinking and legal training became a cornerstone of the century’s revolutionary friction, as James struggled to fund the state without Parliamentary consent amid rising inflation. (1)

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