How did the Magna Carta and English Bill of Rights influence the American colonies?

Members of the media film four of the original surviving Magna Carta manuscripts that were brought together by the British Library for the first time, during a media preview in London, Monday, Feb. 2, 2015. The event marked the 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta, which established the timeless principle that no individual, even a monarch, is above the law. The original Magna Carta manuscripts were written and sealed in late June and early July 1215, and sent individually throughout the country. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant, used with permission from the Associated Press)

The Magna Carta, or Great Charter, is a series of concessions that English noblemen extracted from King John I at Runnymede, England, in 1215, and that some later monarchs reissued. The document’s preamble and 63 clauses remain an important foundation for the rights claimed by English citizens, including those who immigrated to the United States.

Magna Carta established fundamental government principles

Although Britain continues to operate according to the principle of parliamentary sovereignty and has never adopted a single written document, such as one resembling the U.S. Constitution, British citizens still look to the Magna Carta, as well as the later Petition of Right (1628) and English Bill of Rights (1689), as establishing fundamental principles that the government dare not violate. John Locke and William Blackstone were among the English legal theorists who expanded the principles of liberty in the Magna Carta.

"No taxation without representation" is most significant Magna Carta principle

In America’s colonial days, the most significant principle of the Magna Carta was that the king had no power to tax persons who were not represented in the government. Colonists cited this principle of “no taxation without representation” in the Declaration of Independence and in other documents that asserted colonial privileges. Before the Revolutionary War, the colonists viewed the charters issued to them by the king in the same way that they viewed the Magna Carta—as providing protections for their rights. Many of these protections were later incorporated into state constitutions before being expanded and incorporated into the U.S. Constitution and its Bill of Rights.

Magna Carta is foundation for due process clause of Constitution

Clause 29 of the Magna Carta prevented the English government from jailing or punishing an individual “except by the lawful judgment of his peers and by the law of the land.” This clause is generally understood to provide the foundation of the due process clause of the U.S. Constitution’s Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments.

First Amendment foreshadowed by Magna Carta

The idea that nobles could meet with the king and present him with a set of grievances arguably foreshadowed both the peaceable assembly and petition provisions of the First Amendment. The provision of the Magna Carta that appears closest to the First Amendment is in Clause 1: “The English Church shall be free, and shall have her rights entire, and her liberties inviolate.” This text hardly prevents the establishment of a national church (Britain continues to recognize the Episcopal Church as the established church), as does the First Amendment, but it does acknowledge a sphere in which religious claims should be free of state supervision and control. Moreover, claims once associated specifically with the nobility have been widened both within Britain and the United States to include all citizens.

In 2015, the British Library featured a display of the Magna Carta, the U.S. Declaration of Independence, and the U.S. Bill of Rights to mark the 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta. 

John Vile is a professor of political science and dean of the Honors College at Middle Tennessee State University. He is co-editor of the Encyclopedia of the First Amendment. This article was originally published in 2009.

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Back in the bad ol' days...

The King Is above the law

King John is a cruel tyrant who ignored the laws of the land and the wishes of his subjects. He was often called the “Worst King of Englnd”!

King John is always going to war with France (and always losing!). He keeps taxing the Barons to pay for his armies, until one day they’ve had enough. They march to the fields of Runnymede, near London, and force him to sign Magna Carta.

1215

Magna Carta

This document guarantees Barons their ancient rights:

• No new taxes unless a common counsel agrees
• All free men have the right to justice and a fair trial with a jury
• The Monarch doesn’t have absolute power. The Law is above all men and applies to everyone equally
• All free citizens can own and inherit property
• Widows who own property don’t have to remarry

The one document puts into writing four huge ideas:

Limits on government

The idea that a government can only govern so long as it has the agreement and support of the people

The Rule of Law

The idea that all people and institutions are subject to and accountable to laws

Justice

The idea that the justice system should treat everyone fairly and equally

Mid 1600s

Some people just don’t learn. King Charles the First starts behaving a lot like King John and imposing taxes without consent. If people didn’t pay their taxes, they went to jail.

Eventually this leads to a civil war... and to Charles losing his head.

The Age of Enlightenment begins and some clever thinkers come up with new ideas.

These thinkers question the power of the kings and churches, and argue in favour of individuals and democracy instead.

Probably the most influential of all is John Locke (1632 - 1704) He’s a pioneer of modern thinking. He believes in "Natural Rights", rights ALL people should have, just because they’re people

1679

Habeas Corpus

Drawing on the ancient rights in the Magna Carta, the Parliament of England passes the Habeas Corpus Act in 1679. This protects against locking people up unfairly

1689

English Bill of Rights

The Parliament then went on to pass the English Bill of Rights in 1689 which, like Magna Carta, laid out rules restricting the power of the monarch and protecting the individual rights of the people.

News travels slowly in these times, but over the seas in America, people quite like the idea of having individual rights. The new American colonies decide to take some of the ideas in the Magna Carta and turn them into their own laws.

1765

American Revolution

However, King George III starts to behave a bit like King John and decides to tax the 13 American colonies without their consent. Bad move. The colonies reject British rule and come together to overthrow the authority of Great Britain.

1776

Declaration of Independence

The colonies decide to form a new nation—the United States of America. They announce this in the United States Declaration of Independence. But the Declaration was not just about independence from Britain.

It also recognised that all men were free and equal.

The Americans decide to set up a system of government that made sure that no one person could have all the power. They create a Constitution that divided power between the three main branches, the Congress, the President and the Courts. This means that there are checks and balances in place so that people’s rights are protected.

Meanwhile on the other side of the world

Captain Cook claims Australia - the Great Southern Land - for England. The English bring their laws and ideas about individual rights and freedoms with them to Australia. Not that this helped many people, as most of the English arrivals are convicts and have limited rights. And Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aren’t given any rights at all!

The British learnt from their mistakes in America and allow the Australian colonies to set up their own parliaments and govern themselves.

At the beginning on the 20th century, the colonies get together and decide they need a government for the whole country...

In 1901, the six Australian colonies came together and created the Australian Constitution, a document which established Australia as an independent nation and set up a national Parliament. But still not everyone is treated equally by the law in this new Australia.

1914

World War 1

Then we had one terrible war.

1945

World War 2

And then we had another

Millions of people are killed simply because of who they are, or what they think, or what they believe.

After more than 60 million people lose their lives in World War II it is clear that nations must work together to protect the rights of all human beings.

In 1945 an international organisation is formed by 51 countries committed to preserving peace through international cooperation and collective security. This is the United Nations.

Australia is a founding member of the UN and plays a prominent role in the drafting of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

1948 - The Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Unlike all the Declarations, Bills and charters that came before it, the 1948: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is concerned with everyone on the planet - not just citizens of a single nation or empire.

But what does this all mean for us today?

It means that we can’t take our rights and freedoms for granted. It took a long time to get them and many people fought hard for them.

Today, we have …

Freedom of speech – we exercise our freedom of speech whenever we text, tweet, blog or make any other social post

The right to vote – once over 18, we can exercise our right to vote in elections and decide the future of our country

Right to worship – we can decide whether we follow a religion, or not, and worship how we choose

The right to fair trial – we cannot be locked up by the people in power without a fair and independent trial.

However, even today these rights are not always protected equally for everyone...

In the world, some people are still treated unfairly because of their race, nationality, gender, sexuality or their age.

Some people experience violence or bullying.

So what can we do?

There’s not just one way to defend and improve our rights, it’s a job for everyone.

How did the English Bill of Rights influence American colonies?

How did the Magna Carta influence the American colonies?

How did the English Bill of Rights influence the American colonies quizlet?

What idea from the Magna Carta and English Bill of Rights was used by the colonists as they established colonial governments?