Editing Divine right of kings (section)

== Peak and decline ==
[[File:King Charles I from NPG.jpg|right|thumb|[[Charles I of England]], with a divine hand moving his crown.]]

=== Pre-Enlightenment ===
{{Toryism}}
In England the doctrine of the divine right of kings was developed to its most extreme logical conclusions during the political controversies of the 17th century; its most famous exponent was Sir [[Robert Filmer]]. It was the main issue to be decided by the [[English Civil War]], the [[Cavalier|Royalist]]s holding that "all Christian kings, princes and governors" derive their authority direct from God, the [[Roundheads|Parliamentarian]]s that this authority is the outcome of a contract, actual or implied, between sovereign and people.{{sfn|Phillip|1911|p=806}}

In one case the king's power would be unlimited, according to the famous saying misattributed to Louis XIV: ''"[[L'État, c'est moi|L' état, c'est moi]]"'',{{sfn|Phillip|1911|p=806}} or limited only by his own free act; in the other his actions would be governed by the advice and consent of the people, to whom he would be ultimately responsible. The victory of this latter principle was proclaimed to all the world by the [[execution of Charles I]].

The doctrine of divine right, indeed, for a while drew nourishment from the blood of the royal "martyr";{{sfn|Phillip|1911|p=806}} it was the guiding principle of the [[Anglican Church]] of the [[Restoration (England)|Restoration]]; but it suffered a rude blow when [[James II of England]] made it impossible for the clergy to obey both their conscience and their king.

The [[Glorious Revolution]] of 1688 made an end of it as a great political force. This has led to the constitutional development of [[the Crown]] in Britain, as held by descent modified and modifiable by parliamentary action.{{sfn|Phillip|1911|p=806}}

=== Enlightenment era ===
{{Further|All men are created equal}}
U.S. Founding Father [[John Adams]] considered [[John Ponet]]'s work to have contained "all the essential principles of liberty, which were afterward dilated on by [[Algernon Sidney|Sidney]] and [[John Locke|Locke]]", including the idea of a three-branched government.<ref>{{cite book |last=Adams |first=C. F. |title=The Works of John Adams, with Life |year=1850–56 |volume=6 |location=Boston |page=4}}</ref>

Over time, opposition to the divine right of kings came from a number of sources, including poet [[John Milton]] in his pamphlet ''[[The Tenure of Kings and Magistrates]]'', and [[Thomas Paine]] in his pamphlet ''[[Common Sense (pamphlet)|Common Sense]]''. By 1700 an Anglican 
Archbishop  was prepared to  assert  that  Kings hold their Crowns  by 
law alone, and  the  law  may forfeit  them.

Probably the two most famous declarations of a right to revolution against tyranny in the English language are [[John Locke]]'s ''Essay concerning The True Original, Extent, and End of Civil-Government'' and Thomas Jefferson's formulation in the [[United States Declaration of Independence]] that "[[all men are created equal]]".