The Chief Justice held in 1638 that acts of Parliament to take away the King's royal power in the defense of his kingdom were void; the king may command his subjects, their persons, their goods, and their money and acts of Parliament make no difference. But the people refused to pay these taxes.

Charles thought of more ways to obtain money and disregarded his agreement to the Petition of Right.

Without the consent of Parliament, Charles extended ship money to all the kingdom instead of just the ports. It was used to outfit ships for the protection of the coasts. Hampden refused to pay it on principle and the courts ruled against him in the case of King v. John Hampden and he was sent to prison. When distraints were tried, the common people used violence to prevent them. The bailiffs were pelted with rocks when they came to distrain property. One man used his pitchfork to take back his steer being taken by the bailiff. If a distraint was successful, people would refuse to buy the distrained property of their neighbors.

Charles revived the right of the Crown to force knighthood on the landed gentry for a fee.

Charles sold monopolies in such goods as soap, leather, salt, wine, coal, and linen rags although they had been abolished in the last Parliament of James. This made employment uncertain for workers and prices high for the public, and put masters in danger of loss of capital.

Fines were levied on people for the redress of defects in their title deeds. Crown forest boundaries were arbitrarily extended and landowners near Crown forests were heavily fined for their encroachments on them. Money was extorted from London by an illegal proclamation by which every house had to pay three years' rental to the Crown to save itself from demolition.

But what incensed the people more than the money issue were the changes in the established church. High churchmen, called Ritualists, enforced ceremonies offensive to Puritan feeling in every parish. The centrally placed communion tables were to be placed at the east end within railings and called "altars", or "mercy seats" as if for mass. They were to be ornamented with crucifixes, images, pretty trifles, books, candles and rich tapestries. Bowing was to be done when approaching them. Clergymen were to be called "priests" and their authority treated as divine. Worship was to be done in accordance with the prescribed forms of Romish Breviars, Rituals, and Mass-books. Its ritual was to have pomp and ceremony, including kneeling for communion. Rings were to be used in marriages and crosses used in baptisms. Churches, fonts, tables, pulpits, chalices and the like were to be consecrated, thereby putting holiness in them. Churches that did not do this but used unconsecrated or "polluted" articles were closed by interdiction

The universities and high churchmen were beginning to adopt the doctrine of free will over predestination. Parliamentarian and Puritan Oliver Cromwell and others feared this presaged a return to justification by works and the popish faith. In Parliament, he spoke out against the tyranny of the bishops, whose offices he wanted abolished, and the elaborateness of church services.

To avoid persecution, many Puritans emigrated to Virginia and New England. They were led by magistrates, country gentlemen, prominent businessmen, attorneys, and other professionals. In 1629, the Massachusetts Bay Colony was chartered at the instigation of John Winthrop as a Puritan refuge. Its leaders led a migration of Puritans organized to include five each of armorers, bakers, blacksmiths, carpenters, shoemakers, merchants; three each of clothiers, chandlers, coopers, military officers, physicians, and tailors; two each of fishermen, herdsmen, and masons; on tanner, and one weaver. The fare was five pounds and an applicant was interviewed to make sure he was a Puritan. He got 50 acres, or more for a larger family. But if he paid 50 pounds into the common stock he received 200 acres of land, plus 50 more for each dependent. Maryland was founded in 1632 as a haven for Catholics, but its charter precluded a government-established religion. It was granted to Lord Baltimore to hold in free socage and was named after Charles wife, who was Catholic. Catholics in England could practice their religion only in their homes and could not carry arms.

As hostility grew, censorship of books and plays accelerated and the number of authorized printers was reduced in 1637 by decree of the Star Chamber. In 1640s effective government control of the press collapsed. Then there were many pamphlets and newspapers with all variety of interpretation of the Bible and all sorts of political opinion, such as on taxation; law and the liberties of the subject; religion; land and trade; and authority and property. Twenty-two pamphlets were published in 1640 and 1,996 in 1642.