Themes Surrounding the Signing of the Magna Carta

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Themes Surrounding the Signing of the Magna Carta
The Church
Debt Money-Lending
Justice
Feudal Rights Obligations
Making Peace
Royal Forest
Towns Trade
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Who Was Involved?
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Impact on the English Monarchy the US
Constitution
It should not be thought of as one document but
rather a variety of documents coming together to
form one Magna Carta, in the same way as the
treaties of Rome and Nice (among others) come
together to form the treaties of the European
Union and the European Community.
Why is Magna Carta important? Magna Carta was the
first grant by an English king to set detailed
limits on royal authority. Through its
statement of liberties, it sought to prevent the
king from exploiting his power in arbitrary ways
and it made clear that the king was subject to
the law, not above it.
The influence of Magna Carta can be clearly seen
in the U.S. Bill of Rights, which enumerates
various rights of the people and restrictions
on government power, such as No person shall
be ... deprived of life, liberty, or property,
without due process of law.
Magna Carta has influenced international law as
well Eleanor Roosevelt referred to the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights as "a
Magna Carta for all mankind". Magna Carta is
thought to be the crucial turning point in the
struggle to establish freedom and a key element
in the transformation of constitutional
thinking throughout the world.
Article 21 from the Declaration of Rights in the
Maryland Constitution of 1776 reads That no
freeman ought to be taken, or imprisoned, or
disseized of his freehold, liberties, or
privileges, or outlawed, or exiled, or in any
manner destroyed, or deprived of his life,
liberty, or property, but by the judgment of his
peers, or by the law of the land.
For modern times, the most enduring legacy of
Magna Carta is considered the right of habeas
corpus. This right arises from what are now
known as clauses 36, 38, 39, and 40 of the 1215
Magna Carta
The 1765 Stamp Act extended the stamp duty,
which had been in force on home territory since
1694 to cover the American colonies as well.
However, colonists of the Thirteen Colonies
despised this since they were not represented in
Parliament and refused to accept that an
external body, which did not represent them,
could tax them in what they saw was a denial of
their rights as Englishmen. The cry no taxation
without representation rang throughout the
colonies.
Many later attempts to draft constitutional forms
of government, including the United States
Constitution, trace their lineage back to this
source document. The United States Supreme Court
has explicitly referenced Lord Coke's analysis of
Magna Carta as an antecedent of the Sixth
Amendment's right to a speedy trial.9
In 1606, Sir Edward Coke, who drafted the
Virginia Charter, had highly praised Magna
Carta, which reflected many of its values and
themes into the Virginia Charter (Howard 28).
Colonists were also aware of their rights that
came from Magna Carta. When American colonists
raised arms against England, they were fighting
not so much for new freedom, but to preserve
liberties, many of which dated back to the 13th
century Magna Carta.
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Remembering the Great CharterRunnymede by the
River Thames in Surrey, England

• Really old and really rare means really
  valuable. The Magna Carta, one of 17 existing
  copies, sold for 21.3 million at Sothebys. It
  didnt sell for what they
• hoped. The sheepskin was the first code of
  law to settle disputes between Englands Kin
  and English barons. It was written in 1215, and
  the proceeds went to Ross Perots Charity.

Symbolic Oaks The Duke of Gloucester planted
an oak tree adjacent to the Magna Carta
Memorial in 1987 as did P.V.Narismha Rao Prime
Minister of the Republic of India which is the
worlds most populous democracy. The Prime
Minister left a plaque reading As a tribute to
the historic Magna Carta, a source of inspiration
throughout the world, and as an affirmation of
the values of Freedom, Democracy and the Rule of
Law which the People of India cherish and have
enshrined in their Constitution. March 16,
1994 In 1987 two further oak trees were planted
near the Memorial. One planted by Her Majesty
Queen Elizabeth II marked National Tree Week.
Another planted by John O. Marsh, Secretary of
the Army of the United States of America has a
plaque which reads This oak tree, planted with
soil from Jamestown, Virginia, the first
permanent English settlement in the New World,
commemorates the bicentenary of the Constitution
of the United States of America. It stands in
acknowledgement that the ideals of liberty and
justice embodied in the Constitution trace their
lineage through institutions of English law to
the Magna Carta, sealed at Runnymede on June
15th, 1215.
In
these Meads on 15th June 1215 King
John at the instance of Deputies from
the whole community of the Realm granted the
Great Charter the earliest of constitutional
documents whereunder ancient and cherished
customs were confirmed abuses redressed and the
administration of justice facilitated new
provisions formulated for the preservation of
peace and every individual perpetually secured
in the free enjoyment of his life and
property.