How Did Democracy Occur In The Middle Ages

Democracy formed in the 1700's and has opened the doors for individuals living in the United States to have a voice towards the principles established. Democracy provided freedom, representation for majority and minorities groups, and posterity.

In England, King John was restricting the citizens’ rights, consequently the nobles rebelled against King John. In 1215 AD, the nobles forced King John to sign a document called the “Magna Carta” (or “Great Charter” in English). The Magna Carta tried to enforce the concepts of rule of law, trial by jury, and limited government. Due process is a fair trial by your peers and a speedy trial, which makes it less likely for an unjust trial. This concept is reflected in the United States Constitution: Clause 39 of the Manga Carta states, “No free man is to be arrested, or imprisoned, or disseised, or outlawed, or exiled, or in any other way ruined, nor will we go against him or send against him, except by the lawful judgment of his peers or by the law of the land.” The Manga Carta is saying that you need to have a trial by jury. Article 2, Section 3 of the United States Constitution, the document that formed the American government, states: “The Trial of all Crimes; except in Cases of Impeachment, shall be by Jury.” The Constitution was denoting that a citizen has the right to a trial by jury, parallel to the Manga Carta. A trial by jury is an important concept in a government, because it allows people to be tried justly. If

The Magna Carta is ultimately a failed, over glorified legal document hurriedly pieced together by a small group of rebels who attempted to obstruct the monarch’s power. The principle behind it however, is a brilliant, striking beam of individualism, democracy, and liberty that encouraged, influenced, and enlightened America’s founding fathers on the principles of proper government and the concept of rebelling against unjust power. From the charter arises a question: who is the mother of democracy? Most historians would agree that the fundamentals of the democratic government came from Athens, Greece around 146 B.C., but ultimately this democracy was flawed and thus short-lived. While democracy was first seen in Ancient Greece it’s not

Democracy, the form of government in which there is a rule by the people, is said to have originated and thrived in the classical period of Athens, from 500-350 B.C.. Democracy inherently gave all that were considered citizens power to participate in politics. That being said, it is highly debated as to how much power the people, also known as the demos, exercised in this democracy. Many practices and informal institutions can be said to have limited the power of the demos. The democracy in Athens could be said to have been a democracy in theory yet not in practice, as can be proven through a variety of primary sources recounting Athenian political institutions and practices. Such primary sources that can demonstrate this include Herodotus’ History, Thucydides History of the Peloponnesian War, and Demosthenes’ Oration Against Eubulides.

A king was expected to sit on his throne, give demands to his people and rule his kingdom. It is unheard of for a medieval King to charge around on his horse and organize knights or to look for the Holy Grail. According to the information that has been given; King Arthur has fought in twelve battles. However, based on the facts, these battles took place in so many different times and places that it would have been impossible for one man to participate in all of them. The actions of King Arthur do not correspond with the typical actions of a king because after the death of his mother, Merlin (the powerful wizard) took him away. Merlin gave young Arthur away to Sir Ector, who raised young Arthur as his son. However, Sir Ector did not know that young Arthur was the son of Uther Pendragon (King of Britain). Eleven years later, the young Arthur ends up pulling the sword out of the stone and becomes the king of Britain. For a kid to pull the sword out of the stone subsequently and being crowned after that event is very extraordinary.

The Magna Carta laid down the foundation for democracy because it was the beginning of

The Magna Carta and the Petition of Rights were two of the most important English documents and they were key to development of England’s legal system. The Magna Carta is an Angevin charter created in 1215, and the first document that had imposed a King of England. It was forced upon by the feudal barons to protect their rights and to limit the powers of King John. The barons were the king’s tenants-in-chief (held land for the king). The king gave them land and he wanted loyalty in return. However, King John would not reward the barons for loyal service, but he would keep them in check with threats and blackmail. And as time went by, the barons were hustling for advantage and had risen in rebellion. When the barons rebelled against the king,

Unlike Absolutist governments, which allowed for Kings like Louis XIV to spend on their own lavish lifestyles and palaces, constitutionalism ensured the no one leader in government was too powerful. In his The Spirit of Laws, Montesquieu advocated for a government where “the executive, legislative, and judicial powers” were separated from one another (Document 6). This idea, which is one of the building blocks of constitutionalism, ensured the interest of all citizens were being represented. In the English Revolution, the once Absolutist government gained a greater separation of powers. Parliament was given sovereignty over annual taxation, in addition to the implementation of national elections every two years. Unlike absolutist governments in France and Russia, This new distribution of responsibilities helped to keep the English Monarch from making decisions that didn’t best serve the interest of his people. Ultimately, in a societally imbalanced Europe, constitutionalism ensured a separation of powers in government that prevented corruption and ensured that citizens had greater representation within their

There were several events that influenced and inspired the colonists’ ways of composing a central government. For instance, the Magna Carta was a document that was the base of British justice and law. The Magna Carta achieves justice and law by declaring that the king and government officials were required to follow the same laws as British citizens. This idea inspired the U.S Bill of Right which brought new insight to an end of unchecked powers and protected elites. Similar to the Magna Carta was the constitutional document called the Petition of Right of 1628. The petition of Right of 1628 include the law that the a king could not raise taxes without consent from Parliament, quartering of soldiers was not required, and the right to habeas

“After King John died the Magna Carta took a crucial step towards constitutional government” ( Levy ). The Magna Carta took a step toward constitutional government because Henry III, King John’s successor, reissued the Magna Carta in 1216. He failed so he tried again the next year and had the same outcome. Henry didn’t succeed until the year 1225. Up until the recreation of the Magna Carta monarchs ruled supreme in England.

As we have learned that Democracy came from the word ‘demos’ which means people, that makes people the ruling party or majority rule. Ancient Greeks who were experimenting with different kinds of political system and were much interested in which system works best. By far the most radical kind of democracy is a direct democracy which lasted less than two centuries in a Greek city-state of Athens. Citizens of Athens were directly involved in the process and participated in decision making and they were proud of it, they deemed their system to be the best and superior to other systems in other Greek city-states. As Cartwright stated an excerpt from Pericles himself who was one of the greatest supporters of democracy in classic

In 1215 a charter named the “Magna Carta” was signed into action, creating a new political and living environment completely in the English colonies. The Magna Carter was a charter set in place in order to “establish the principle that the people had basic rights,” (Tindall 33) one of the most prominent rights being that everyone was equal before and below the law. Unfortunately, Charles I chose to disregard the charter and instead chose to completely disband parliament in 1640, giving him the highest authority. As a result, civil war broke out in England concluding in the beheading of Charles I for treason and a reinstatement of the importance of the Magna Carta. However, the Magna Carta caused democracy to break out in the colonies and the legislative body practiced influence over the monarchy. Because of Charles I arrogance in regards to his power and the Magna Carta, civil war broke out in England, causing a newfound sense of democracy and confidence in the

Democracy is the freedom for the citizens to be a part of the governments decisions. Although many do not like the decisions made within a democracy they do not understand that they are part of the reason why they are living with the laws or rules that they have within a country. While democracy was first brought about by the Greeks many Americans wanted to live within a democracy because they had the idea that being under a democratic government was going to make their lives better because they could put their say within the laws and rules made. As the Britannic Library explains “The Greeks were also the first people to think about the nature and value of democracy in a logical and systematic way.”

A series of attempts to limit the power on the monarch led to the creation of the Magna Carta. The Magna Carta laid the groundwork for a constitutional monarchy and pioneered the way for a representative form of government. In order for inequality to end, the government must put the people first and the only way for this to happen, is for the people to have the power. In the Early Middle Ages, much of Europe functioned in a feudal system in which the king granted ownership of land to nobles, and these nobles governed the land their were given as

Although King Arthur is one of the most well-known figures in the world, his true identity remains a mystery. Attempts to identify the historical Arthur have been unsuccessful, since he is largely a product of fiction. Most historians, though, agree that the real Arthur was probably a battle leader of the Britons against the Anglo-Saxons in the sixthth century. In literature, King Arthur's character is unique and ever changing, taking on a different face in every work. There is never a clearly definitive picture that identifies Arthur's character. It is therefore necessary to look at a few different sources to get better insight into the character of Arthur, the once and future king.