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Loewen History Summary

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Loewen, History and Common Threads
Loewen starts out his introduction by stating “High school students hate history.” He then goes on to note that history is considered “the most irrelevant of the 21 subjects commonly taught in high school” (Loewen, 1). I understand that some people are not really “in to” history, and that’s fine, but to call history “irrelevant” is speaking from a position of ignorance. As a people and as individuals, history is why we are who we are, and how we came to be here. Whether we are talking about the events of September 11, 2001 or King John signing the Magna Carta in 1215, it is all relevant. Sure, it was only 15 years ago, however, by definition 9-11 is actual, no kidding “history” in the truest sense of …show more content…

What is the Magna Carta? Simply put, is a document that places limitations on the power English monarchs; an admission by the king that he was subject to the law. Why was it written? It came into existence because of an abusive and oppressive king. King John earned a reputation as possibly the worst king in English/British history. In spite of the fact that he was acknowledged as “a superb administrator who took a keen interest in his kingdom’s affairs” (Thackeray, Findling, 22), he was also “Cruel, brutal, arbitrary, capricious, treacherous, untrustworthy, inconstant, tyrannical, grasping—all these pejorative adjectives have been applied to John with real justification” (Thackeray, Findling, 22). In an era known for cruelty and injustice, King John earned a reputation for being an overachiever in these areas. This was also an era where faults were often overlooked to varying degrees if one was a successful warrior. Thus, in addition to his other, numerous shortcomings, King John’s military campaigns were “almost always crowned with failure” (Thackeray, Findling, 22). All military campaigns are expensive, failed military campaigns, even more so. Thus, between the resulting increased taxation, the loss of respect that John’s many failures garnered, all combined with his less than winning personality, he managed to alienate nearly everyone in England. It eventually became so …show more content…

Why is this relevant? Centuries later, an angry group of British Colonists cited the Magna Carta when they crafted a document in which they declared their independence from Great Britain. They felt that the King and Parliament exceeded their authority, as it was set down in the British Constitution, of which the Magna Carta is a significant part. The Magna Carta set out a number of principles that have come to form the cornerstone of common law. For instance, Article 39 of the Magna Carta, is one that will strike a familiar note to anyone familiar with the U.S. Constitution: "No free man shall be arrested or imprisoned or disseised [dispossessed] or outlawed or exiled or in any way victimized, neither will we attack him or send anyone to attack him, except by the lawful judgment of his peers [equals] or by the law of the land" (Drew, 46). It sounds a lot like an early effort to codify what we today refer to as due process. The principles ensconced here can be seen in both the 5th and 14th Amendments of the U.S. Constitution. The more one looks, the more common threads there are. I feel this quote sums things up rather well: “Whatever its importance at the time, over the centuries Magna Carta evolved to have a monumental impact on the world’s English-speaking nations”

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