Commentary
In the 17th century, England, which always had been a monarchy, flirted with republicanism. From 1649 to 1660, England actually was a republic, at least in theory: King Charles I had been executed, and the country became a “Protectorate” under Oliver Cromwell. Not long after Cromwell’s death, however, a “Convention Parliament” invited the deceased king’s son, Charles II, to take the throne, and England’s experiment in republicanism was over.
The period produced some opinion-makers who wanted England to be a republic (or “commonwealth”) permanently. Historian Caroline Robbins famously called them the “Commonwealth Men.” Among those she placed in that category, the best known to the founding generation were James Harrington, Algernon Sidney, John Locke, and Isaac Newton….