The Magna Carta
Background: The development of an English constitutional monarchy in the Middle Ages required the
king’s willingness to share power. He had to be very strong but could not act as a despot. On June 15,
1215 the English nobility forced King John to sign the Magna Carta.
Magna Carta is one of the most celebrated documents in English history. It was not intended to be a
declaration of legal principle. It was meant to be a practical solution to a political crisis. The nobles
wanted to reassert their power and limit despotic behavior by the king.
The majority of the 63 clauses in the charter deal with feudal rights and customs, and the administration of
justice, not with legal theory and rights. It was King John’s abuse of his feudal rights, and of the justice
system, fuelled the barons’ rebellion in the first place.
Legacy
No free man shall be seized or imprisoned, or stripped of his rights or possessions, or outlawed or
exiled . nor will we proceed with force against him . except by the lawful judgement of his equals or
by the law of the land. To no one will we sell, to no one deny or delay right or justice.
This statement, buried deep in the Magna Carta, was not that important in 1215, but future generations
have reinterpreted it for their own purposes. In the fourteenth century Parliament saw it as guaranteeing
trial by jury. Sir Edward Coke interpreted it as a declaration of individual liberty in his conflict with the early
Stuart kings and it has resonant echoes in the American Bill of Rights and the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights.
But the real legacy of Magna Carta as a whole is that it limited the king's authority by establishing the
principle that the law was a power in its own right to which the king was subject.
1. What was the purpose of the Magna Carta? Why was it important?
2. While reading the documents:
a. Underline unfamiliar words.
b. Write questions you would like to have answered.
c. Highlight three limitations to the king’s power.
Document 1 - Magna Carta Excerpts
Source: http://www.bl.uk/treasures/magnacarta/translation/mc_trans.html
John, by the grace of God, king of England, lord of Ireland, duke of Normandy and Aquitaine, count of
Anjou; to the archbishops, bishops, abbots, earls, barons, justiciars [justices], foresters, sheriffs,
reeves, servants, and all bailiffs and his faithful people greeting.....
In the first place we have granted to God and by this our present charter confirmed...that the English
church shall be free, and shall hold its rights entire.
We have granted moreover to all free men of our kingdom for us and our heirs forever all the liberties
written below, to be held by them and their heirs from us and our heirs....
No scutage or aid [tax] shall be imposed in our kingdom except by the common council....
And for holding a common council of the kingdom concerning the assessment of an aid...we shall
cause to be summoned the archbishops, bishops, abbots, earls, and greater barons....[In addition], we
shall cause to be summoned by our sheriffs and bailiffs all [our other vassals]...for a certain day...and
for a certain place....
No free man shall be taken, or imprisoned, or dispossessed, or outlawed, or banished, or in any way
destroyed, except by the legal judgment of his peers or by the law of the land.
No constable or other bailiff [of the king] shall take anyone’s grain or other chattels without
immediately paying for them in money, unless he is able to obtain a postponement at the good will of
the seller.
No constable shall require any knight to give money in place of his war of a castle [i.e., standing
guard], if he is willing to furnish that ward in his own person, or through another honest man, if he
himself is not able to do it for a reasonable cause; and if we shall lead or send him into the army, he
shall be free from ward in proportion to the amount of time which he has been in the army through us.
No sheriff or bailiff of [the king], or any one else, shall take horses or wagons of any free man, for
carrying purposes, except on the permission of that free man.
Neither we nor our bailiffs will take the wood of another man for castles, or for anything else which we
are doing, except by the permission of him to whom the wood belongs....
No free man shall be taken, or imprisoned, or dispossessed, or outlawed, or banished, or in any way
injured, nor will we go upon him, nor send upon him, except by the legal judgment of his peers, or by
the law of the land.
1. Underline basic rights that the Magna Carta guarantees.
2. Which basic right is most important to you? Explain your answer.
Documents 2 - Magna Carta excerpts
Source: http://issworldhistory.forumotion.net/t2168-dbq-the-magna-carta-1215-ad
Know ye, that we, in the presence of God, . . . have confirmed [given assurance], for us and our heirs forever:
1. That the English Church shall be free, and shall have her whole rights and her liberties inviolable [safe from sudden change]; . . .
12. No scutage [tax for military purposes] nor aid° shall be imposed in our kingdom, unless by the common council of our kingdom;
excepting to redeem [ransom] our person, to make our eldest son a knight, and once to marry our eldest daughter, and not for these
unless a reasonable aid shall be demanded . . .
14. And also to have the common council of the kingdom, we will cause to be summoned the archbishops, bishops, abbots, earls,
and great barons, individually by our letters . . .
29. No Freeman shall be taken, or imprisoned, or be disseised° of his Freehold, or Liberties, or free Customs, or be outlawed, or
exiled, or any otherwise destroyed; nor will we pass upon him, nor condemn him, but by lawful Judgment of his Peers, or by the Law
of the Land. We will sell to no man, we will not deny or defer to any man either Justice or Right.
30. All Merchants (if they were not openly prohibited before) shall have their safe and sure Conduct to depart out of England, to
come into England, to tarry in, and go through England, as well by Land as by Water, to buy and sell
° due process of law: in this case, freedom from arbitrary arrest and unreasonable searches and seizures.
° aid: a tax or payment paid by a vassal to a feudal lord.
° desseised: in this case, have property taken away
U.S. Constitution Excerpts
Article 1 - Section 4
The Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State
by the Legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any time by Law make or alter such Regulations, except as to the
Places of chusing Senators.
The Congress shall assemble at least once in every Year, and such Meeting shall be on the first Monday in December,
unless they shall by Law appoint a different Day.
Article 1 - Section 8
The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for
the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform
throughout the United States;
Article 1 - Section 9
The Migration or Importation of such Persons as any of the States now existing shall think proper to admit, shall not be
prohibited by the Congress prior to the Year one thousand eight hundred and eight, but a Tax or duty may be imposed on
such Importation, not exceeding ten dollars for each Person.
Amendment I
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging
the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government
for a redress of grievances.
Amendment V
No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a
Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or
public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb, nor shall be
compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due
process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.
1. Compare the provisions of the Magna Carta to each excerpt from the U.S. Constitution. Indentify
which provision expresses the same idea in the portions from the constitution.
Constitution
Article 1 Section 4
Article 1 Section 8
Article 1 Section 9
Amendment 1
Amendment 5
Magna Carta Provision
Idea expressed in both
Document 3 - The Magna Carta: National Archives and Administration introduction on Featured
Documents
Source - http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/featured_documents/magna_carta/
"The democratic aspiration is no mere recent phase in human history . . . It was written in Magna Carta."
--Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 1941 Inaugural address
On June 15, 1215, in a field at Runnymede, King John affixed his seal to Magna Carta.
Confronted by 40 rebellious barons, he consented to their demands in order to avert civil war.
Just 10 weeks later, Pope Innocent III nullified the agreement, and England plunged into internal
war.
Although Magna Carta failed to resolve the conflict between King John and his barons, it was
reissued several times after his death.
Enduring Principles of Liberty
Magna Carta was written by a group of 13th-century barons to protect their rights and property
against a tyrannical king. It is concerned with many practical matters and specific grievances
relevant to the feudal system under which they lived. The interests of the common man were
hardly apparent in the minds of the men who brokered the agreement. But there are two
principles expressed in Magna Carta that resonate to this day:
"No freeman shall be taken, imprisoned, disseised, outlawed, banished, or in any way destroyed,
nor will We proceed against or prosecute him, except by the lawful judgment of his peers and by
the law of the land."
"To no one will We sell, to no one will We deny or delay, right or justice."
Inspiration for Americans
During the American Revolution, Magna Carta served to inspire and justify action in liberty’s
defense. The colonists believed they were entitled to the same rights as Englishmen, rights
guaranteed in Magna Carta. They embedded those rights into the laws of their states and later
into the Constitution and Bill of Rights.
The Fifth Amendment to the Constitution ("no person shall . . . be deprived of life, liberty, or
property, without due process of law.") is a direct descendent of Magna Carta's guarantee of
proceedings according to the "law of the land."
1. Why was the Magna Carta written?
2. Describe ways this document has influenced the development of the U. S. government.
Document 4 - Introduction from “The Great Charter,” in The Western Tradition,
1999.
Source: http://www.texaslre.org/lpFiles/012004_lp_highschool.pdf
Richard I (the Lionheart) reigned over England but hardly in it (he spent nearly all his time warring abroad)
from 1189-1199. his brother John, who succeeded him and reigned until 1216, inherited the wars and debts
that were the results of French enmity and Richard’s spendthrift brawling. John also blundered into more
trouble of his own: trouble with France, with the pope, and with the English church and barons, eventually
made his situation untenable, until June 15, 1215, at Runnymeade, he was forced to sign an agreement
with his rebellious vassals that granted most of their demands.
The Magna Carta, or great charter, is sometimes presented as a forward-looking document because it
appears as the basis of English liberties. In effect, it looked back to a feudal situation that already was
becoming obsolete and tried to restore the anarchic conditions that had existed before royal power started
to encroach on traditional feudal rights. There is little evidence that any of the signatories believed the
instrument would be effective. The barons mistrusted the king-and with good reason, since he had no
intention of keeping promises that tended to whittle away his power. It is this mutual suspicion that serves
to explain the covenant, which follows, as a form of reinsurance, and perhaps also the strange provisions of
paragraph 61. An yet the great charter survives-not only a prominent factor when interpreted or
misinterpreted in the cause of further English liberties, but also as a illustration of its day, the forms and
intentions and aspirations of an unfamiliar age.
1. How is this interpretation different from the introduction from the National Archives site in document #4?
2. With which interpretation do you agree? Defend your choice.