Origins of Democratic Culture: Printing, Petitions, and the Public Sphere in Early-Modern England

Abstract

The painstaking reconstruction of petitioning from its medieval roots through the seventeenth-century changes provides the best treatment yet of how secrecy and privilege defined much of early-modern political culture. Scholars seeking an introduction to the varied political discourse practices of the period will find [David Zaret]'s chapters on "News" and "Printing and the Politics of the 1640s" succinct and insightful treatments. While holding strong to his theoretical framework, Zaret has nevertheless provided a thorough documentation and broad-ranging analysis of the communicative and political culture of the period. From the more familiar Root and Branch petition to smaller-scale petitions representing regional interests, Origins of Democratic Culture provides many interesting examples of significant innovation, including the practice of signing petitions. Zaret cites one individual who wrote of the heavy persuasions applied by his vicar who sought signatures on a petition and pressed his parishioner "so far for my reasons of refusing, until some coarse language passed between us" (p. 236). In many cases, the innovative practices met with a backlash, such as when large-scale subscriptions to the radical petitions of the army and the Levellers were condemned for their many signatures. Zaret also documents the rise of petition campaigns facilitated by printing. These campaigns could cover London or even the entire country, on short notice. In light of these facts, it is fair to argue that the petition had rapidly evolved from a personal communication between subject and ruler to a matter and focus of public opinion.