The United States Constitution has been heavily influenced by outside sources that took place throughout history. However, not all people know of these influences and their impact on our nation. In this work, we will look at just a few of these documents that shaped America into what it is today. These documents include the Magna Carta, which affected many of the rights Americans have today, the Social Contract, which is from a series of works shaping how people believed they had rights that could not be taken away, and the English Bill of Rights, which has to do with how much power the government gets and how it maintains that power.
WHAT INFLUENCED THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION 3
Throughout history, there have been a number of documents
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The Declaration of Independence itself was actually heavily influenced by the ideals held in the Magna Carta, which in term affected the United States Constitution. Some examples of these ideals are the people having freedom and guaranteed rights that the government cannot take away, as well as other government limiting tactics. This is shown from a quote directly from the Magna Carta, “No freeman shall be taken or imprisoned or disseised, or exiled or in any way destroyed, nor will we go upon him or send upon him, except by the lawful judgment of his peers or by the Law of the Land.”. This is also shown in the Constitution in multiple parts, however some stand out more than others. “No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States...” (U.S. Const. amend. XIV) is one of these instances. This quote in particular stands out as it states that there are certain rights that cannot be taken away, whilst still maintaining a governmental …show more content…
The English Bill of Rights was established in 1689 when King James II continuously abused his power over the State. This document was actually quite like the Magna Carta and gave forth to the idea that no laws should be enforced nor should other governmental acts be established, such as creating more taxes, without the permission of the Parliament. These actions are also shown in the United States Constitution as it influenced our shared powers, both within the states and the three branches of government, insuring no higher power has absolute control over the country. “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.” (U.S. Const. amend. X) is an example of this; this amendment insures that the people still hold their own
One reason that The Declaration of Independence was so influential was that Thomas Jefferson’s claims against the King of England were easy to understand and logical. Typical complaints include “For quartering large Bodies of Armed Troops among us;” and “For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent.” Jefferson uses plain language that everyone can understand to point out large injustices done by the king. His statements about the King are short and to the point. He does not waste any words or bore the reader with abstract writing or excess words and thoughts. He goes from one point to the next to the next in such a fashion that the reader’s concentration is never broken. His points are logical and everyone living in the colonies at that time and many people around the world probably had some idea of the incidents behind all his grievances against the king. Jefferson raps up the injustices done by the king by declaring the United Colonies to be free and independent states.
The Declaration of Independence is made up of five distinct parts: the introduction, which states that “all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” (McClellan, 2000, p. 183 ), and why the United States should be free from Britain’s rule. The preamble, “that set out principles that were already recognized to be
In comparing Thomas Jefferson’s Letter to the Danbury Baptists, The Declaration of Independence, and U.S. Constitution, it is evident that the basis of all three documents is the idea that all human beings possess God-given fundamental rights and that government is created to protect those rights. The Declaration of Independence, written by Thomas Jefferson in 1776, is the first of the three documents penned. This is important because it defined the rights of liberty and equality of all American citizens as outlined in John Locke’s natural law thesis (Martin, page 113). In addition to providing an itemized account of the grievances colonist’s held against King George III of England, it served to justify the colonist’s quest for independence and separation from British rule. The Declaration of Independence conveyed to the crown that "all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, which among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." The Founders’ of the New World understood that their pursuit of liberties and autonomy specified in the Declaration of Independence could not come to fruition without instituting decrees. In 1787, the U.S. Constitution, was written to replace the Articles of Confederation with a better defined series of stringent laws that would legally uphold the freedoms and privileges established in the Declaration of Independence. The First Amendment of the Bill of Rights in
President Abraham Lincoln said, “We the people are the rightful masters of both Congress and the courts, not to overthrow the Constitution but to overthrow the men who pervert the Constitution.” Lincoln was talking about how the people control the government, and the people should not try to overthrow the government (since they control it). The Magna Carta blazed the trail for due process, coming out of a tyranny. John Locke brought about the ideas of natural rights, while the Mayflower Compact showed that a group of people could work together to be part of a thriving, self-government. The Magna Carta, John Locke, and the Mayflower Compact’s idea on government; which influenced the American government, by its ideas on rights and the social contract, made American society want to gain rights and make a fair, equal government, due to the British government restricting rights.
The Declaration of Independence is a document that has ideas on how the United States
In the making of the United States, there were many events that are important. This paper intends to highlight a few of those events including; Magna Carta, Mayflower Compact, Declaration of Independence, Articles of Confederation and the Federalist Papers. Many events in America’s history helped to establish the United States as a free and independent country. The Declaration of Independence in particular explains the rights and freedoms that Americans. Each document is like a stepping stones that leads to the next and building upon the pervious document.
The American Declaration of Independence has affected the foundation of the United States more than any other event or document in American history. The Declaration of Independence was the basis for what the country was established on. The document was a way for the colonists to emancipate themselves from the cruelty of King George. This document had such an impacting effect because it was such a new way of bringing up concerns. It was the first of its kind in the history of America in the aspect of liberation of a group of people.
Though term was yet to be coined, these rights give birth to the "American Dream." The bulk of The Declaration is specific in making complaints to and about King George the III. All the complaints are in violation of some basic right or another. The Declaration of Independence in essence says to England, "we are free men, and potentially a great nation, we will not be restricted and bound by your unjust and inhumane laws any longer."
In 1776 Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence. In the Declaration of Independence, many important concepts were written some of these are Equality, Democracy, Government protects rights, and the people have a right to change the government. In 1787 the U.S. Constitution was written but, it wasn’t ratified until 1788. James Madison wrote the document that formed the model of the constitution. In the constitution, there are many civil rights or personal freedoms. The U.S. Constitution did live up to the ideals in the Declaration of Independence about how the people have a right to change government and government protects rights, however, it didn’t live up to the ideals of
The United States Constitution was ratified and made law September 17, 1789. For Americas yet-to-be history the Framers knew the Constitution had to have a way to grow and change with the people, and their needs. This paper will cover the amendment process, the need for the Bill of Rights, how the Bill of Rights has affected America, what the Bill of Rights have granted American’s, discuss the later amendments, and what effect the later amendments have had.
The US Constitution, written in Philadephia in 1787 by the Founding Fathers was the product of the revolutionary war of independence, with it’s foundations strongly influenced by the works of political theorists such as Montesquieu and Locke. The Founding Fathers favoured a government that prevented any individual or particular group becoming tyrannical. Furthermore, they strongly opposed the notion of excessive government power, seen as the potential threat to individual freedom, wanting to protect minorities as well as the population as a whole, from arbitrary or unjust rule. Consequently, the Founding Fathers outlined main provisions within the US constitution in order to avoid tyranny: the separation of powers, a federal structure of
The American Declaration of Independence has affected the foundation of the United States more than any other event or document in American history. The Declaration of Independence was the basis for what the country was established on. The document was a way for the colonists to emancipate themselves from the cruelty of King George. This document had such an impacting effect because it was such a new way of bringing up concerns. It was the first of its kind in the history of America in the aspect of liberation of a group of people.
The Magna Carta has been a standout amongst the most productive and important documents in history. English Nobles created this paper. They made it to limited the power of the king, protect peoples rights, due process, to show the king has to follow all the same laws the people on his land follow too and many others. The Magna Carta influenced the executive historical process that led to the Rule of Constitutional law, the development of the Common Law, Charters of Freedom and Gettysburg Address. Notably, the U.S Constitution. The following quote from the U.S Constitution supports that is was influenced by the Magna Carta "no person shall ... be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of the law." The Magna Carta's has become
The Declaration of Independence helped gain our natural rights, our equality, and our freedom everyone deserves in America on July 4th, 1776. For example, “A decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to separation.” (Jefferson, 1) clearly stated that no one can question or sent to jail by our opinions that our opinions count which, is an example of freedom of speech, that an enlightenment thinker named Voltaire believed in. This line allows us Americans say what we want to say without being penalized. The Declaration of
According to Scott (2008), the Constitution of America has undergone several translations within the history of America because they found it to be unclear. Whereas it appears discrepant that the unclear Constitution could be useful, the disagreement is the case (Robertson, 2005). Americans regard the Constitution to be helpful for the reason that it allows for diverseness of views. In the history of America, a variety of thoughts would develop with alarming and formidable support through various factions (Robertson, 2005). Today, the main political arguments are presented from the Republican group or Democratic group. During the early periods of the American government, arguments on politics were made by Thomas Jefferson