Magna Carta Thesis
The Magna Carta, 800 years old this month, is arguably the greatest constitutional document in human history. Over the centuries, it has become the iconic symbol of the freedom of individuals against arbitrary authority. It is the heart of England’s “ancient constitution,” and its powerful reputation guided the first settlers in America as they established colonial governments in New England and Virginia during the early decades of the 17th century.
Actually, it was written as a “peace treaty” by powerful English barons who had gone to war against King John to end his arbitrary taxes, confiscations and other injustices. The king was a cruel and unpopular monarch who abused his power in many ways. When he faced certain defeat against the aggrieved barons and their armies, he was forced to concede, and on June …show more content…
Constitution, a distinctly American invention that became the “gold standard” for world democracies thereafter, contains in its Bill of Rights (especially the Fifth Amendment) language that echoes the Magna Carta’s Article 39: “No person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law.” Reference to the Great Charter has been made many times in the grand conversation of American politics through the years by U.S. presidents (e.g., FDR in his 1941 Inaugural Address) and other great political leaders. Most notably, the Magna Carta has been cited more than 100 times by the U.S. Supreme Court in its opinions and deliberations.
The Magna Carta today is more important for what it has become than what it was originally intended. It stands now for government by contract of the people, for fundamental law, for the rule of law, for no taxation without representation, for due process of law, for habeas corpus, for equality before the law, for representative government, and for the rights of the criminally accused.
All those things had their beginning in a green meadow beside a placid river on that long-ago day of June 15,
Actually, it was written as a “peace treaty” by powerful English barons who had gone to war against King John to end his arbitrary taxes, confiscations and other injustices. The king was a cruel and unpopular monarch who abused his power in many ways. When he faced certain defeat against the aggrieved barons and their armies, he was forced to concede, and on June …show more content…
Constitution, a distinctly American invention that became the “gold standard” for world democracies thereafter, contains in its Bill of Rights (especially the Fifth Amendment) language that echoes the Magna Carta’s Article 39: “No person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law.” Reference to the Great Charter has been made many times in the grand conversation of American politics through the years by U.S. presidents (e.g., FDR in his 1941 Inaugural Address) and other great political leaders. Most notably, the Magna Carta has been cited more than 100 times by the U.S. Supreme Court in its opinions and deliberations.
The Magna Carta today is more important for what it has become than what it was originally intended. It stands now for government by contract of the people, for fundamental law, for the rule of law, for no taxation without representation, for due process of law, for habeas corpus, for equality before the law, for representative government, and for the rights of the criminally accused.
All those things had their beginning in a green meadow beside a placid river on that long-ago day of June 15,