Editing Putney Debates (section)

==Background==
Earlier that summer Sir [[Thomas Fairfax]], Commander-in-Chief of the Army, [[Oliver Cromwell]] (then [[Member of Parliament]] for [[Cambridge]] and second-in-command), [[Henry Ireton]] (Cromwell's son-in-law) and other officers, known as the "[[Grandee (New Model Army)|Grandee]]s", attempted to negotiate an inclusive settlement with [[Charles I of England]] in the aftermath of the [[First English Civil War]]. Termed the [[Heads of Proposals]], these included provisions for social justice, but the monarchy and [[House of Lords]] would have retained a power of veto over the [[House of Commons of England|House of Commons]]. It also stipulated the king would be restored before the issues of the soldiers' indemnity for acts committed during the war and their arrears of pay were entrenched in law. This clear compromise position was contrary to the [[New Model Army]]'s Declaration on 14 June and consequently the Heads lost the support of those seeking social reform (at the time generally called Levellers and radicals).

Sometime before October 1647, five of the most radical cavalry regiments elected new [[Agitators]] &ndash; known as the ''New Agents'' &ndash; to represent their views. The New Agents issued a political manifesto: ''The Case of the Armie Truly Stated''.<ref>[http://www.worldcatlibraries.org/wcpa/top3mset/033279ca40f9e661a19afeb4da09e526.html The Case of the Armie Truly Stated]</ref> The fundamental ideas of the ''Case of the Armie'' came to be reflected in a [[written constitution]]al draft: the ''[[Agreement of the People]]''.<ref>[http://www.strecorsoc.org/docs/agreement.html The Agreement of the People] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070609101553/http://www.strecorsoc.org/docs/agreement.html |date=2007-06-09 }} as presented to the Council of the Army at Putney on 28 October 1647([http://www.constitution.org/eng/conpur074.htm alternative site])</ref>

The Putney Debates came about as a result of the publication of the ''Case of the Armie''.  According to the author of a book called ''A Call to all the Soldiers of the Armie'' (a work usually ascribed to [[John Wildman]]), Ireton was so incensed by the ''Case of the Armie'' that the New Agents were invited to debate the ''Case of the Armie'' before the General Council of the Army.