Agreement of the People

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Agreement of the People, 1647. A set of counter-proposals from the more radical members of the army, largely in the lower ranks, who were concerned at the concessions which the army council had offered the king in the Heads of the Proposals. The Agreement, formulated in October 1647, became the basis for the discussions at the army debates in Putney. It wished the reformed electoral system to be related to the number of inhabitants rather than property or taxation and urged a substantial widening of the parliamentary franchise. Cromwell and Ireton retorted that the security of property would be undermined. When the Agreement was submitted to Parliament, it was rejected.

J. A. Cannon

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