Why Do We Not Know This Man’s Name In America?
The Englishman John Lilburne “Radical Puritan“ was a prominent defender of religious liberties and free speech. He is cited as an influence on the U.S. constitutional framers.
Imagine a court that could force you to incriminate yourself. It might go about its work like this: you are made to stand before a judge who refuses to give you any details about the charge laid against you. You are forced to take an oath before your God to answer truthfully any questions that might be put to you – questions on any topic at all. And you are warned that refusing to answer these questions for any reason will be viewed as contempt of court, for which you may be imprisoned, lashed or tortured as it please the judge.
He gained national notoriety in 1638 when he became the first person before the Privy Council and the Star Chamber to refuse to swear an oath affirming he would tell the truth during his inquisition, on the grounds that no man should be compelled to testify against himself.
Lilburne once described himself as "an honest, truebred, free-born Englishman, that never in his life loved a tyrant nor feared an oppressor." He paid heavily for his pamphleteering, much of which was beyond the realm of decency and fairness. He was whipped, pilloried, and then imprisoned. This marked the beginning of a long career of persecution and imprisonment.
When Lilburne was brought before the court of Star Chamber, he refused to take the oath. "It is this trial that has been cited by constitutional jurists and scholars in the United States of America as being the historical foundation of the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution. It is also cited within the 1966 majority opinion of Miranda v Arizona by the U.S. Supreme Court."
TORTURE: It is estimated that Lilburne received 500 lashes, making 1,500 stripes to his back during the two-mile walk. Vivid descriptions from the period, paint a painful picture of this tortured man: his shoulders "swelled almost as big as a penny loafe with the bruses of the knotted Cords" and "for the wales in his back, made by his cruel whipping, were bigger than Tobacco-pipes."
He was in this condition when he reached New Palace Yard and after he refused to admit to any error, his head was clamped in the pillory. Despite having been weakened by his ordeal, he spoke out. An enthusiastic crowd gathered around to listen to him describe the injustice of his arrest and to hear his explanation of why he refused the oath. He was then gagged so hard that he bled. Undeterred, he then pulled pamphlets from his pockets and distributed them among the excited crowd. He then stamped his feet in protest until his two-hour stint in the pillory was over. He was escorted back to Fleet prison followed by enthusiastic crowds.
Lilburne demanded the disestablishment of the Church, legal reform, an end to imprisonment for debt, and an end to press censorship - many of the issues those on the Left argue for today. But above all, and most revolutionary, he demanded the vote. Lilburne was basically arguing for a form of democracy, while Charles still believed in the divine right of Kings. Though his plans excluded women and servants, it was nonetheless an amazing development. This was the real revolution - a revolution of ideas.
https://mises.org/library/john-lilburne-first-english-libertarian
https://blogs.loc.gov/law/2013/04/john-lilburne-oaths-and-the-cruel-trilemma/
