England

The Stuarts
From the start, James managed to disappoint just about everyone. Soon, he not only disappointed but aroused
suspicion and fear. He neglected the Commons in favor of the House of Lords. He never missed a chance to issue
dictates "as an absolute ruler" when he could have asked or persuaded. With almost no one from the Royal Council in
the House of Commons, that body quite naturally developed into a haven for dissent and opposition. James felt it was
beneath his dignity to have to play politics in Commons; he should be able to declare and they should obey.

Lacking effective leadership from the throne, the Commons came to operate by committees, wherein real influence lay
and from which royalists were all but excluded. A mechanism for faction:..,~r parties, was develo~ng. An example of
the creativity of the parliamentarians can be seen in the "Committee of the Whole Hous ".This committee was, as the
name implies, made up of the entire House of Commons. It doesn't sound much like a committee, does it? It had a
singular benefit, however: it could meet simply by the Speaker of the House stepping down from his chair. By doing so,
what was said did not enter into the official record, and members were free to speak their mind. In effect, they could
_ .;:;
operate unofficially, do their negotiations and deals, then reconvene to vote on the finished product.