The Impact Of The Magna Carta Essay

, Research Paper

Michael Richards

Ms. Mantas

English 9R

4 – 15 – 99

The Impact of the Magna Carta

Have you ever wondered where our past leaders got the idea for the

American Constitution? The rights of freedom, equality, and justice for all, which

are held sacred, were not always guaranteed for all citizens. Many were

deprived of life, liberty, and the right to own property. Others were denied public

trials and the lower class were looked upon as inferior. The Magna Carta also

known as the “Great Charter,” was signed by King John of England in 1215. It

was the document that changed the lives of millions of people around the world.

It caused long-range, long lasting, and long-term effects on society. The Magna

Carta guaranteed nobles certain rights, limited the kings power, and provided a

cornerstone for further documents that support human rights and freedom for all.

King John signed the Magna Carta in 1215. It was revised in 1216 and

then later in 1217. The last version, written in 1225, became law and was

confirmed in Parliament. It stated the customary enactment and was enforced in

the courts of law. It also confirmed existing privileges and liberties (Holt 1). The

Magna Carta established the idea that nobles had certain rights and that the

king had to respect the law. It consisted of over 60 clauses. Many of them

declared human rights and over 30 were about the relations of the king and his

subjects. The document guaranteed the liberties of small and large property-

owners. It also broke the feudal compact and gave nobles the right to public

trials (Bryant 275). The charter declared that the English church should be set

free and that no free man should be outlawed, imprisoned, or exiled without a

lawful judgment by his peers or by the law (Holt 2). The Magna Carta was also

a charter of liberties. It certified reforms that would protect upper classes

against absolute monarches, and answered questions about wardship,

marriage, widows, and the payment of debts (Warren 237). Four original copies

of the Great Charter have survived since the meeting at Runnymede. All other

versions have been copied. The original versions were sent to a British

museum, Lincoln’s Cathedral, and Salisbury (265).

The difficult situations in England led to the signing of the Magna Carta.

After World War I, the nation was drifting into war. Men disobeyed the king’s

law and the government was no longer recognized as a form of power (Bryant

268). After Henry II’s reign as king, his officials continued to function in his

absence. When the next heir came into power, he used his royalty to make life

intolerable for his subjects. He was quickly overthrown and England was left

without a king (265). The barons began to take over England while the

administrators in office searched for another heir to the throne. As son of Henry

II, King John stood nearest to the throne. He was also the closest heir to the

land by birth and by right (Daugherty 36). When King John, also known as

Arthur King, became the king of England, his thoughts were first centered on

Normandy and the French provinces that had once been his father’s. King

Philip of France also wanted the French provinces, but with King John in power,

there was little hope of these dominions being his (39).

Before King John came into power, Henry II had created a dilemma.

England was in need of financial aid and new administrators. It faced political

difficulties and high taxes were given to the nobles and upper class. Also, the

happiness and prosperity of all the people, depended entirely on the supremacy

of the king (Bryant 265). Now, faced with the problem of restoring England,

King John was forced by the barons to sign a document which would unify

England’s people and provide a strong foundation for the government.

The Magna Carta changed the history of England and impacted other

nations. It was a reflection of the continuous development of English law and

administration. When the Englishmen left their homelands to establish colonies

and markets in the New World, they brought with them their liberties, which

were guaranteed in the great charter. The Magna Carta pointed the way to new

and greater freedoms. It was the beginning of liberty, fraternity, democracy,

justice, and equality in later centuries (Daugherty 106). The Magna Carta

impacted America greatly. When American colonists began to build colonies

and settle on the land, it was necessary for them to get charters, giving them the

right to set up a form of government and occupy the land. The colonists based

their charter on the only existing document known to guarantee right and

liberties to all. This document was the Magna Carta (133). On July 4, 1776, the

American colonists got together and wrote a new charter based on the ideas of

the Magna Carta.

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