Exam: DBQ

DBQ:

P 1- Intro

                Thesis: The participants in the March of Grace were worried about the dependability of the authorities and believed them to be corrupted; they simply wanted religious freedom and protection from their king, who seemed to ignore all of their needs.

P 2- What the king and authorities were doing to the Catholics and other citizens

a.       The King confiscated catholic lands and monasteries.

b.      He put on heavier taxes.

c.       He would not stop the Scots from robbing them.

a.       (Doc 4) and (Doc 5) for the above^^^

P 3- What the People wanted to accomplish and the march itself.

a.       They wanted the king to pay attention to them and comply to their needs.

P 4- The executions and rejection of the king and what the king responded to their pleas (Doc 9)

P 5- Conclusion

                Restate thesis: The participants in the March of Grace were worried about the dependability of the authorities and believed them to be corrupted; they simply wanted religious freedom and protection from their king, who seemed to ignore all of their needs.

                In 1534, King Henry VIII passed the Act of Supremacy, making him the total ruler over the church and state. He now could control all religion in England. This started the protestant reform, because many citizens were unhappy with what he was doing to the country. His Lord Chancellor, Thomas Cromwell, passed many laws that made life for the people very unhappy. He put on heavier taxes, confiscated Catholic land, and destroyed monasteries. Some Catholic monks wrote a poem describing how the King was simply letting them be robbed and robbing them himself, among other things, and that he was spoiling the kingdom (Doc 4). The people realized that they needed to protest, thus starting the Pilgrimage of Grace in October of 1536. The participants in the March of Grace were worried about the dependability of the authorities and believed them to be corrupted; they simply wanted religious freedom and protection from their king, who seemed to ignore all of their needs.

                The citizens knew that the authorities were becoming corrupted. Henry VIII simply took over the church because he was unhappy that they would not divorce him from his wife, Katherine of Aragon. His Lord Chancellor, Thomas Cromwell, was on the King’s side, and they made life miserable for the people. Robert Aske, one of the marchers, wrote a letter that was to be presented to the King’s court. It gave a list of all the doings of the king that the people disagreed with and asked him to consider making some changes (Doc 5). It even asks for the king to “have Thomas Cromwell, the Lord Chancellor, punished as a subverter of the good laws of this realm. This may seem out of line, but it was very necessary for the citizens. They were being treated unfairly because of the king’s selfish desires, and they knew that they could not just watch him destroy the kingdom.

                The marchers performed a series of armed demonstrations and had many gatherings, trying to prove a point. They marched around England, going to many different towns and carrying the banner depicted in document three. They were strict about letting people join them, as well. The oath that people had to say in order to join started out with the words: “You shall not enter into our Pilgrimage of Grace for worldly gain. Do so only for your love of God, for the Holy Catholic Church militant, for the preservation of the King and his heirs, for the purification of the nobility, and to expel all evil counselors” (Doc 1). The people know that they have nothing to depend on but God, and the king is trying to take even that away from them. A proclamation shared at several gatherings tells of their reliance on God: “Because the rulers of this country do not defend us from being ruled by thieves and Scots, we have to rely on charity, faith, poverty, and pity” (Doc 2). The people banded together and marched around for months, until February of 1537. However, the journey was not easy. The king worked against them the entire time.

                When the king received some of the complaints and saw the rebellions occurring, he responded to his people. “Let it be confessed that you, the King’s subjects and commoners, have recently committed a rebellion that might have ruined your country….. Nevertheless, the royal majesty, duly informed that your offenses proceed from ignorance and false tales, is inclined to extend his most gracious pity and mercy towards you and to grant you his free pardon provided that you heartily repent your offenses and make humble submission to his highness” (Doc 9). Not only is he ignoring the people’s requests, he is simply telling them to go back to their normal lives and that they are lucky to be pardoned. The king also started putting protestors on trial and executing them if they are found guilty. The statistics in document ten say that 65 percent of the people that are tried were convicted and executed. These people were a mix of gentlemen, clergy, and commoners. Robert Aske, the writer of the letter to the king which asked him to change his ways, was among the people executed. His final testimony before he was executed talks about how the monasteries can no longer give help to the poor or to travelers and can no longer do things for the common good of the people (Doc 11). The powerful country was quickly going down the drain.

                King Henry VIII is now remembered as one of the worst kings of England. He was an absolute ruler. Most of his actions were selfish and made life worse for the people, and his passing of the Act of Supremacy sparked the Protestant reformation. He did not have the good of England in mind when he was making decisions; he simply wanted power and the ability to do whatever he wanted. The participants in the Pilgrimage of Grace were right to be worried about the dependability of the authorities, because the King did not give them the freedom or rights that they deserved.