Magna Carta Clauses

Laws are created to maintain order and to allow people to live at peace with one and other. Laws also serve as a guarantee that people will be able to enjoy certain rights which are outlined in the laws created as well as protect the people from governmental bully. The Magna Carta and the Bill of Rights are both important documents which were written to outline laws that those in power must abide by in order to give rights to citizens. Both documents changed history. In this paper, I will compare and contrast both the Magna Carta and the Bill of Rights-mainly the first ten amendments, in terms of who were making demands, what rights they were demanding, as well as who benefitted from those demands.

The charter, signed in 1215 at Runnymede by King John granted a number of rights never held before this historic occasion including that “(1) justice could no longer be sold or denied to freeman who were under authority of barons; (2) no taxes could be levied without representation; (3) no one would be imprisoned without a trial; and (4) property could not be taken from the owner without just compensation (Schmidt 251). The Magna Carta had important Christian ties as demonstrated by its preamble that began, “John, by the grace of God…,” and stated that the charter was formulated out of “reverence for God and for the salvation of our soul and those of all our ancestors and heirs, for the honour of God and the exaltation of Holy Church and the reform of our realm, on the advice of our reverend [church] fathers” (Schmidt 251). This document also followed the precedent established in 325 at the Council of Nicaea in which Christian bishops wrote and adopted a formal code of fundamental beliefs to which all Christians were expected to adhere. The Magna Carta displayed what its formulators as Christians expected of the king and his subjects regarding civic liberties (Schmidt 251).

Today, we have freedom in many forms, freedom of speech, freedom of the press and freedom of religion. The Magna Carta and John Locke’s Second Treatise on Government laid the foundation for the freedom we enjoy today. The Magna Carta accomplished the liberty Englishmen currently enjoy by raising the status quo of peasants to commoner. This means those born to royalty will begin to treat peasants (underpeers) as people, for instance the Magna Carta states “(9) Neither we [feudal barons] nor our officials will seize any land or rent in payment of a debt, so long the debtor has movable goods sufficient to discharge the debt.” Similarly to the U.S., which has three branches of government to limit power, executive, legislative and judicial; the

The Magna Carta was the first document in which English subjects to force English king into power; granting and protecting the subjects’ rights. This was important since the king at

While the signing and enforcement of the document was a pivotal success for the people of England and democratic liberty it was an embarrassment and insult to the higher governing bodies who were losing power and influence at the most devastating rate in history. Just a few months after the charter was issued King John and the Pope worked to declare the Magna Carta illegal and lessen its’ legitimacy and strength throughout the entire Christendom. During this time the King was completely negligent to the new “laws” he had been forced to sign. The King simply thought it was ridiculous and resented that it lessened his power while Pope Innocent III spoke that “This (Magna Carta) has been forced from the King. It constitutes and insult to the Holy See, a serious weakening of the royal power, a disgrace to the English nation, a danger to all Christendom…” and so on. It wasn’t long until barons led rebels out of hiding and war broke out across the country. Those in favor of the Magna Carta fought to restore its strength by acquiring allies such as the king of Scotland and the king of France, but their efforts were cut short when King John died and his young son Henry III was anointed king. The barons were happy with

The importance of our world's history is huge, because it teaches us about our past and how we came to be in the world we live in today. History can help you learn about our ancestor’s origins and cultures.

Since these rights are given by God, no man has the moral right to seize them from another man. Following this line of thought, Hamilton further extrapolates that any civil government must be established via a voluntary compact, containing self restraining limits so as to protect the natural rights of those ruled, which should be the objective of every civil government. Any government that usurps these boundaries thus violates our natural rights and can, “Confer no obligation to obedience” (Hamilton, 97). Hamilton once again stresses the import of the fact that the sole purpose of human law is to maintain our absolute rights. Masterfully, Hamilton turns around and uses similar solid evidences to examine Parliament. Arguing avidly that Parliament does not protect colonists’ rights, he presents that Parliament is both assumptive in its authority over its citizens without consent, and also takes away their security because they have no voluntary participation in the making of laws. As such, uncontrolled legislators are unbound, and a government that no longer falls in line with the natural laws delegitimizes itself. Hamilton shows that America’s Congress was created in opposition to such a government. In his closing, he contends with his opponent by once again headlining the fact that laws and government which conflict with natural rights (such as Parliament) can not be considered truly

This was an assertion against the Ancien Regime, where birth rights distinguished citizens; peasants had no opportunity to improve their social strata due to the high poverty and oppression. Possibly the most liberating clause out of the declaration, was the concept of popular sovereignty. It was considered that absolute power should no longer reside in the hands of the Monarch. Instead, sovereignty would rest with the nation, giving the citizens the opportunity to exercise their power. There are some clauses that centre wholly on the enlightenment movement.

The history of mankind reflects that without the clear rights of people being written down to reference back to, destruction would incur (An Old Whig V, 1787). An Old Whig V additionally added, for example, if the nation were to come across future leaders who allow the replacement of officers just so they could side with them there is not a statement refusing the government otherwise (An Old Whig V, 1787). Without the inclusion of a Bill of Rights to clarify the boundaries of which government must not cross then oppression would be the road we are calling unto our future (An Old Whig, 1787).It is essential for future generations to express their “liberty of conscience, freedom of speech and writing and publishing their thoughts on public matters, a trial by jury, holding themselves, their houses and papers free from seizures and search upon general suspicion or general warrants” through the security of ratifying the Bill of Rights (An Old Whig V,

Limited government and rule of law are two exhibited political values seen in the Magna Carta. In this historical document, a few English lords wanted to limit the power that the King had, and therefore made him sign the Magna Carta, so he could not have infinite power while ruling. They restricted his power to rule by having him sign the document. Limited government is when the people who are ruling do not have absolute power over the whole political system, hence why it’s called limited government! Rule of law is another political value in this document, as the Magna Carta came to mean that no one- not even the King- was above the law. Since not even the King could be free from laws, and rule of law essentially means that everyone must

Religion was a large influence on the Magna Carta because a lot of the demands written had to do with God and the church.

Magna Carta says that the government should treat its people to have different rights. One right that they would have is the right of a wealthy widow that would have centuries-long relevance. It would guaranteed them church freedom. This means that the rich widows will have every right and freedom to be in that church. Another thing he says how the government should treat its people is by making sure of their safety. Taking care of your safety means you have to follow the rules. Even the king has to follow these rules for his safety. This is stating that it does not matter how old you are or how young you are everyone has rules that will keep them safe.

It contained sixty-three clauses that detailed everything from land rights to legal rights. This document gave protection to the people from an oppressive King and placed no man above the law, not even the king. Unfortunately, the document failed with civil war ensuing months later. 5. A general discussion of the historical context of its

Another law reduced the power of the church by not allowing the church to own farming

Another relevant role of the medieval period was the development of parliament later in the period. It is of high relevance to society today – as the controlling force of the country arose from the proposed council of 25 (Magna Carta) and developed into the fully fledged House of Commons and Lords that we know today. Magna Carta also played other, hugely influential roles in the world as we know. The first written constitution is very important in America – with the declaration of independence, signed in ... - being based on this very document. However, the Magna Carta was not always this important, as it was annulled by Pope Urban shortly after King John signed it.