Root and Branch

Root and Branch

The Root and Branch Petition was a petition presented to the Long Parliament on December 11, 1640. The petition had been signed by 15,000 Londoners and was presented to the English Parliament by a crowd of 1,500. The petition called on Parliament to abolish episcopacy "root and branch".

The House of Commons was reluctant to act on the Root and Branch Petition, though it did ultimately refer the petition to committee in February 1641.

This petition formed the basis of the Root and Branch Bill, which was drawn up by Oliver St John and introduced in Parliament by Henry Vane the Younger and Oliver Cromwell in May 1641. After lengthy debates, the bill was defeated in August 1641. (Though note that Parliament did determine to exclude the bishops from the House of Lords and passed the Bishops Exclusion Act in December 1641. The Bishops Exclusion Act became effective in February 1642.)

The aims of the Root and Branch Bill would ultimately be achieved in October 1646, when Parliament passed the "Ordinance for the abolishing of Archbishops and Bishops in England and Wales and for settling their lands and possessions upon Trustees for the use of the Commonwealth".

External links

[http://history.hanover.edu/texts/ENGref/er97.html Text of the Root and Branch Petition]


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  • Root and branch — Root Root, n. [Icel. r[=o]t (for vr[=o]t); akin to E. wort, and perhaps to root to turn up the earth. See {Wort}.] 1. (Bot.) (a) The underground portion of a plant, whether a true root or a tuber, a bulb or rootstock, as in the potato, the onion …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Root and branch — Branch Branch, n.; pl. {Branches}. [OE. braunche, F. branche, fr. LL. branca claw of a bird or beast of prey; cf. Armor. brank branch, bough.] 1. (Bot.) A shoot or secondary stem growing from the main stem, or from a principal limb or bough of a… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • root-and-branch — root and branchˈ adjective and adverb 1. Without leaving any part 2. Thorough(ly), complete(ly) • • • Main Entry: ↑root …   Useful english dictionary

  • root and branch — ► root and branch (of a process or operation) thorough or radical. Main Entry: ↑root …   English terms dictionary

  • root and branch — 1 the firm should be eradicated, root and branch: COMPLETELY, entirely, wholly, totally, thoroughly. 2 a root and branch reform: COMPLETE, total, thorough, radical. → …   Useful english dictionary

  • root-and-branch — formal root and branch if something is changed or removed root and branch, it is changed or removed completely because it is bad. These proposals amount to a root and branch reform of the system. (always before noun) …   New idioms dictionary

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  • root and branch — formal if something is changed or removed root and branch, it is changed or removed completely because it is bad. Racism must be eliminated, root and branch …   New idioms dictionary

  • root and branch — 1) the company s accounting department should be eradicated, root and branch Syn: completely, entirely, wholly, totally, thoroughly 2) a root and branch reform Syn: complete, total, thorough, radical …   Thesaurus of popular words

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