William J. Bulman is Associate Professor of History and Global Studies in the Department of History at Lehigh University. His articles on the intellectual, religious, political, and cultural history of England and its empire have appeared in Past and Present, Historical Journal, and The Journal of British Studies. His previous publications include Anglican Enlightenment (2015) and, as co-editor with Robert G. Ingram, God in the Enlightenment (2016).

• 1. Introduction; 2. Consensus in the Commons, 1547–1642; 3. Consensus imperiled, 1640–1641; 4. Consensus destroyed, 1641–1643; 5. Revolutionary decisions, 1643–1660; 6. The majority institutionalized, 1660–1800; 7. Little parliaments in the Atlantic Colonies, 1613–1789; 8. Conclusion.

'Finally, a history of majority voting! The advent and development of this crucial yet odd feature of modern democracy has long gone unexamined. In this erudite and methodologically sophisticated study, William Bulman fully remedies this situation. The result is a must-read for historians and political scientists alike.' Sophia Rosenfeld, University of Pennsylvania