The Magna Cart A Pre-American Revolution

In the late eighteenth century, North American British Colonies worked to free themselves and create their own governing body. Some ideas stated by revolutionaries helped to unite the colonies in a single governing body and revolt against the existing government. The primary driving forces of the revolutionaries included the belief that humans had the right to freedom and to govern themselves, and that they had certain natural rights that the ruling government of Britain was not allowing them, as well as a general hatred for the ruling power of the European monarchy. These ideas that were so prevalent in the colonies were stated by many different revolutionaries, but many of them held the same idea, freedom was a right that was shared by all

During the colonial era, Britain has acquired considerable territories in the Northern America. These colonies were looked at as a mere resource and were treated as such. However, it can be said that it was England’s own laws that sparked a revolution in these colonies. Starting with the Magna Carta (1215), and continuing with the English Bill of Rights (1689), England has defined certain rights for all Englishmen. However, many of these rules did not apply to the colonies. The abuses of this power against the colonies is what lead to the revolution and enactment of the Declaration

The first of these restrictions occurred after Parliament passed the Proclamation of 1763, in which Parliament prohibited colonial settlement beyond the Appalachian Mountains. In Harold H. Eibling’s map of the lands delegated to the British colonists by the Proclamation of 1763, the British government reserved the majority of North America not controlled by Spain for the Native Americans and the colonists could settle in the remaining areas. (doc 2) Eibling’s purpose in creating this map was to indicate the startlingly low percentage of land that the majority of people living in North America could settle on and the vast quantities of land reserved for a small minority of North American settlers. This purpose is significant because it demonstrates the spatial restrictions imposed on the colonists by Parliament. As a result of this legislation, the colonists began to feel that their freedom to settle in lands which belonged to their government. Furthermore, the colonists had little to no influence in their own government. According to the Albany Plan of Union, the President-General and Grand Council had the “power to make laws... as to them shall appear most equal and just.” (doc 4) The colonists and the British government cooperatively established this plan of union, therefore Britain had an influence in what was being written and what would be

As with his drawing of inspiration from his experience in France for writing The Rights of Man, he also drew significant inspiration from the events and his experiences in the thirteen colonies between 1775 and 1776 to write Common Sense. Specifically, the meeting of the Second Continental Congress and his developing beliefs about American independence and the British monarchy. During the meeting of the Second Continental Congress, independence was not their concern and was left out of the Congressional agenda. Mainly, the colonists wanted King George and Great Britain’s Parliament to acknowledge their liberties and grievances. King George taxed the colonies in order to pay off the debt from the French and Indian War, but they felt it was an injustice toward them because of their lack of representation in Parliament. They were left without a voice while being treated unfairly by Great Britain’s government.

The controversy with the British King and parliament between the colonists and their natural rights has been huge throughout history. It all began with John Locke. Locke is a philosopher who had an ultimate passion for natural rights. The British government were also very involved in protection their English citizens.

Britain's corrupt ideals did not end at the taxes. The date was March 5th 1770, a mob of citizens had formed on king street rebelling against the british soldiers. The Red Coats open fired upon the mob murdering 5 people and injuring many others. While nowadays an act like this would be seen as unlawful and morally wrong, in britain the red coats were given barely any punishment and the mob of colonist were seemed as the wrong doers.This tragic and brutal event helped feed the fire that was the american revolution and opened many colonists eyes to how corrupt and unfair Britain was toward the colonies and the people living in them. This event and the unfair taxing were major events that affected our rebellion towards england. As colonists we felt as if our God given rights were being taken away from us and that if we didn't act nothing would change for the better. This outlook was helped promoted through writing and books such as Thomas paine's Common Sense which helped open the eyes of the public to the brutal neglect and unfair treatment Britain was showing us. John Locke also did this by claiming that it is the right of every citizen to Life, Liberty and estate which was later changed to The pursuit of happiness. All of these writings shared a common goal which was to show the colonists that Britain was a corrupt

Once the Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776 there was an urgent need for government and law. The question was of what law and of what government. The English common law was in practice, for the most part, in all the colonies and was the root of many feelings of tyranny. The colonial experience drew large cause for new common law as it differed so much from European experience. For example, as time went on, more and more Americans began owning land at a far larger rate than their European counter parts. This created a need for me common law address ownership. Another was the idea democracy which in no way was an idea held dear to England. This also created many differences in the colonial experience that could not be represented

Royal charters were documents from England that ensured the rights of Englishmen in the colonies. Most of the colonies were ruled by a royal charter establishing the rule of England still in the aspects of law and still having their rights of Englishmen. Having a royal charter meant the colonies had no self representative of their own choosing. But soon colonies began to want a representative assembly. The first representative assembly was from Virginia called The House of Burgess. The House of Burgess was the first step to self independence. Having the choice of choosing who represented the colonies allowed for the colonist to have more of a say in the government they belonged to. By self governing and self choosing led to breaking the ties of a royal charter, the colonies then began to have a more of a government for which they stood

In 1688 the English overthrew their current king and replaced him with a new king who gave the citizens more rights through the English Bill of Rights (The Historical Background). This was labeled the Glorious Revolution, though it was not nearly as violent as the American Revolution or as gorey as the French Revolution. The reason it was called glorious is because their was no fighting or violence involved in getting the reforms they wanted. Thomas Paine was one of the famous enlightenment thinkers, and he helped inspire the American colonists with his writings in Common Sense. In Common Sense, Thomas Paine emphasizes the idea that England, a tiny island across the sea, should not be able to control the laws and actions of a nation, America, an ocean away. He argued that they couldn’t govern properly without representation from the colonies, since without anyone from America they would have no idea how to truly fix any bad situations in the colonies. The colonists even mentioned the bad governing of England in their Declaration of Independence, “He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of pressing importance,” (Document 2). The king wouldn’t let them pass legislation that was important to them, for selfish reasons. The colonists were also inspired by John Locke. They liked his ideas about natural rights and natural laws. John Locke believed that people had certain unalienable rights, which he dubbed natural rights, that no person should be able to take away. He specifically mentioned life, liberty, and property. This soon became an idea Thomas Jefferson regurgitated in his own words, which were life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The French Revolution was also inspired by the Enlightenment. They had a similar response to John Locke, believing that they should also have certain unalienable rights that not even the first

The oppressive reasons for the colonists’ repeated cry of, “No taxation without representation!” became some of the primary influences on the spirit of the American Revolution. Between the years of 1651-1774, the colonists experienced unjust taxation and orders from the British Parliament, as they endured the Navigation Acts, Molasses Act, Sugar Act, Currency Act, Stamp Act, Declaratory Act, Quartering Act, Townshend Duties, Tea Act, Coercive Acts, and then finally, the Quebec Act. The main issue with these acts that infuriated the colonists, was that they were not being represented in British government. The colonists saw Britain’s actions as threats and argued that they, as British colonists and citizens, were to possess all the rights belonging to Englishmen , which included having representatives in government. If England was truly their mother country, then her acts and levies, many of which infringed upon the natural rights of the colonists ,

The colonists had every right to expect having the rights of an Englishman, since the vast majority of them were Englishmen. The basic rights of an Englishman were as follows; the king could not seize their property; they could not be taxed unless it was agreed upon by a council of men that represented them; they required witnesses in order to be tried, and these trials had a jury of fellow peers. The most important right was the right to representation. Britain argued that the colonies had "virtual representation" in Parliament, but the colonists did not swallow that excuse.

From the beliefs of embracing unbiased treatment upon all, to the precursors of the formulation, human rights have been in existence since 539 BC. Being the first known documentation of human rights, a piece of artifact composed of clay under the name of the Cyrus Cylinder (Persian Era), consists of scriptures and carved text claiming to symbolize universal human rights. However, additional documents were constructed and assembled expressing guarantees in forms of unprejudiced authorization afterwards. The Magna Carta (1215) was a significant influential effect in political history as well prior to extensive work, which later on led to the rule of constitutional law. As an established set of principles, more documents are initiated later on

For example, the Magna Carta, written in 1215, was an agreement between the king of England and the English people that gave the colonists the rights that they deserve. This limited the power of the king and made him not above the law. Additionally, the Enlightenment emphasized natural rights. Then in 1689 the English Bill of Rights let the colonists choose representatives to create laws among other things (Target 2). Later in 1776, the Declaration of Independence was written by Thomas Jefferson with the help of John Locke, Francois Voltaire, Jean Jacque Rousseau, and Thomas Paine (Target 9). In this colonial document there were many sections that talk about Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of happiness (Target 10). However, many of these rights had been taken from the colonists. The Intolerable Acts and the Quartering Act are examples of the king taking their rights away (Protest in the Colonies). The colonist’s natural rights were not protected by the government. So, since they wanted to protect their rights, they had no choice but to break

The magna carta is famous English law document from 1215 that limited the power of the king And gave people more rights. The U.S. constitution is a document from 1786 that listed the laws and structure of the new U.S. government. Lastly the bill of rights in addition to the U.S. constitution beginning in 17191 that listed basic rights of U.S citizens. All these documents are similar because everyone has rights these documents are also different ways. The Magi carta took place in England while the U.S. constitution and bill of rights were in the U.S..

This clause established the idea of the rule of law, due process, right to a fair trial, and trial by jury. All personal liberties enjoyed in democracies are legacies of the Magna Carta. The power of government has been limited as no one is above the law including the government. If government officials wanted to seize a property of an ordinary citizen, or carry out a search, a court warrant would be required. This requirement is important because if the government acted without regard to the law, the lives of ordinary people would be in peril. Corrupt government officials would routinely detain people on the slightest suspicion and even seize their property for no justifiable reason. The fear of falling victim to the government or the monarchy led the 13th century English barons to barons to rebel and force King John to sign Magna Carta at Runnymede.