This memory aid covers Memory Aids: Lock In the Key Facts within The Exclusion Crisis for GCSE History. Revise The Exclusion Crisis in Restoration England 1660-1685 for GCSE History with 10 exam-style questions and 15 flashcards. This topic appears regularly enough that it should still be part of a steady revision cycle. It is section 16 of 18 in this topic. Use it for quick recall, then test yourself straight afterwards so the memory aid becomes usable in an answer.

🧠 Memory Aids: Lock In the Key Facts

The three Exclusion Bills — "1679, 1680, 1681": Three consecutive years, three bills, three failures. Remember how each failed:

1679 — Passed Commons; Charles dissolved Parliament before Lords could vote
1680 — Passed Commons; rejected by the Lords (Halifax's speech)
1681 (Oxford) — Charles dissolved after one week; no more Parliaments

Each failure method is different — dissolution, Lords rejection, dissolution. Learning the mechanism of each failure shows detailed knowledge that earns marks.

Why Charles won — "FTWM":

F — French money (£385,000 from Louis XIV 1681-85 = no need for Parliament)
T — Tories (gave constitutional cover; Halifax defeated Second Bill in Lords)
W — War fear (public memory of 1640s civil war deterred extreme action)
M — Mistakes (Whig overreach: Monmouth, Rye House Plot)

The longer story — a three-reign arc: The Exclusion Crisis only makes sense as part of a longer story. Charles I fought Parliament → executed 1649. Charles II managed Parliament, defeated Exclusion, died peacefully 1685. James II ignored Parliament → overthrown 1688. Charles II's success was real but temporary — the constitutional conflict was only finally settled by the Glorious Revolution and Bill of Rights (1689), which permanently established Parliament's supremacy. Showing this three-reign perspective is the mark of a Level 4 answer.

Practice questions for The Exclusion Crisis

Why did Whig MPs attempt to pass the Exclusion Bills between 1679 and 1681?

A. They wanted to give Parliament the power to raise its own taxes without royal consent
B. They feared that James, Duke of York, as a Catholic, would threaten Protestant liberties if he became king
C. They believed Charles II had broken the terms of the Restoration Settlement by tolerating Dissenters
D. They wanted to replace James with Charles II's illegitimate son, the Duke of Monmouth, who was already widely popular

1 markfoundation

What did Charles II do at the Oxford Parliament in March 1681?

A. He agreed to limit James's powers as king once he succeeded to the throne
B. He called a general election to seek a more favourable Parliament before the bill could be voted on
C. He dissolved Parliament after just one week, before a third Exclusion Bill could be passed, and called no more Parliaments for the rest of his reign
D. He accepted a compromise that placed regency powers with a Protestant council during any future Catholic reign

1 markfoundation

Quick recall flashcards

What was the Exclusion Crisis?

1679-81: three successive Parliaments tried to pass Exclusion Bills to bar Catholic James, Duke of York, from succeeding to the throne. Charles dissolved all three Parliaments rather than allow the bills to pass. This was the most serious constitutional crisis of his reign.

Who led the Whigs?

Anthony Ashley Cooper, Earl of Shaftesbury — nicknamed 'Little Sincerity' by his enemies. Led the campaign to exclude James from the succession. After the Oxford Parliament's dissolution (1681) he fled to Holland, where he died in 1683.

Common Misconceptions

Exam Tips for the Exclusion Crisis

Memory Aids: Lock In the Key Facts