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Many documents have been made in history; some being more famous than others, such as The Declaration of Independence or the Constitution. One of the most famous documents in history, has been called the “Origin of Liberty” and, to an extent “The Bible of Liberty”. It is the Magna Carta. The Magna Carta changed history forever, limiting the powers of English royalty and being an influence for liberty, freedom, and equality ever since. It had a different meaning when it was sealed in 1215, though. At first, the Magna Carta was just to keep King John of England, ruler of the time, in check from destroying England’s economy. The roots of the Magna Carta started to come about over 800 years ago in 1199.
King John was crowned King of England in May, 1199 at the age of 33. Early on in his reign, he was successful in capturing northern French territories in 1202 and 1203. In 1204, however, due to lack of food to support his army, King Phillip of France took back the rich northern French territories from King John. Over the next decade, King John tried to take back the French territories he once had, especially Normandy, for their rich resources. He had to raise taxes for mercenary armies to provide more troops for his war against France. The higher taxes angered many people, especially those who couldn’t afford the already high taxes which were in place from the previous rulers.
The high taxes weren’t all that angered the people of England, though. During his reign, John also quarreled with the Catholic Church many times. King John wanted the bishop of England to be someone who would be on his side so that he could be in control of the Catholic Church. He wanted to be in control of the Catholic Church because the Catholic Church w...
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... book helped me with finding out the influence of the Domesday Book was to the Magna Carta and the date when Pope Innocent III declared the Magna Carta of 1215 dull and void.
Turner, Ralph V. "The Meaning of Magna Carta since 1215: Ralph V. Turner Considers How and Why Magna Carta Became a Beacon of Liberty in Britain And, Increasingly, in the United States." History Today. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Jan. 2014.
Annotation: The Magna Carta has given liberty to the Barons, and later the people, of England from the fierce and unfair ruling. One of the most major problems was high taxation. The Magna Carta has become one of the most important items in England and has increased in influence severely in the United States, being an influence for the United State's most important documents. It helped me find out what the cause and alterations of the Magna Carta were after 1215.
Bush, Michael. ‘Up for the Commonwealth’: the significance of tax grievances in the English rebellions of 1536, English Historical Review 106 (1991).
The Magna Carta provides protection for English citizens by limiting the power of the government. This protection can be explained through a parable: Sam Purcell of Sheffield is building a house for his family. On a chilly, November morning the noble that is in charge of Sheffield starts taking wood from Sam’s temporary shed, (where he is building his house,) for his castle. The Magna Carta makes this illegal without the consent of the owner, (31) Neither we nor any royal official will take wood for our castle, or for any other purpose, without the consent of the owner. King John of England undersigned the Magna Carta; this shaped the start of England’s constitutional monarchy. Instead of being an absolute monarchy, King John and his descendants had to abide the laws listed in the charter. Without the Magna Carta, the United States might exist without the constitution or might not exist at
- - - The New Penguin Atlas of Medieval History. London, England, Penguin Books, no publication
The Magna Carta was the first document in which English subjects to force English king into power; granting and protecting the subjects’ rights. This was important since the king at the time could do anything that he so desired. However, in practice, this English legal charter did not limit the king’s power. The Magna Carta is the beginnings of American freedom. It is also the foundation of the American Constitution, reflecting English freedom and the power of the English government.
...lso established equality before the law. The Magna Carta is considered as a turning point because it promised fair laws. These laws show what the government does for the people and what rights and responsibilities the subjects of these governments have.
The Anglican Church and the English government were closely related to each other; the king not only ruled the country, but was the head of the church as well. Therefore, disobeying the church meant that people also acted against the king[i]. Like governmental organization, the Church of England was based on a hierarchal structure. It favored powerful bishops, ornate services and liturgies, and allowed people to personally observe the religion. During King Charles I’s reign, royal and elite citizens of England largely composed the Church of England[ii]. These close connections between the church and the state allowed for much corruption to take place[iii].
Just before the death of Henry II, his oldest son, Richard I or Richard the Lionhearted, began yet another rebellion in 1189 to take control of the throne and more importantly, the significant lands that Henry still held. Henry II soon died, and Richard I inherited the throne. Richard I is remembered as a fierce warrior because of his role in the crusades, but honestly it was Richard’s disinterest in England that helped John I cause so much destruction. When Richard was away on the third crusades, John tried to overthrow the advisors that Richard had set in place to rule during his absences. John did not succeed in his attempts, but Richard died ...
McEvedy, Colin. The New Penguin Atlas of Medieval History. New York: Penguin Group, 1992. 90. Print.
During this time, the Magna Carta was written and signed. This limited the power of the king and he had to earn approval by the lords before he could make a decision. It also made it so a law can only be passed if it doesn’t go against the Magna Carta. It also implies religion by helping with giving the Church full rights that allows
 Magna Carta (1215)-king not above law, trial by jury (peers), speedy trial, protections from unjust punishment
This next one is not really meant for literature, it was actually written for a peace treaty between King John of England and a group of rebel barons. It was originally known as the Magna Carta Libertatum. According to this charter, it guarantees protection of the church rights, as well as the protection for the said barons from illegal imprisonment. King John was actually considered to be a terrible king, hence why the barons are against him. One of the reasons is that the King raised his taxes without asking the nobles and it is actually against the law of England.
The modern democracy was influenced by can be traced back to the Magna Carta in January of 1215.
Henry VIII and Queen Elizabeth I may have been the English Reformation’s greatest benefactors, all because of self interest. Henry VIII was not originally Protestant, but after the pope denied him of his divorce, Henry VIII took things into his own hands. Due to the power kings had in the Middle Ages, Henry VIII was able to control Parliament and force it to do whatever he wanted. So in 1534, Henry VIII forced Parliament to pass a law he made known as the Act of Supremacy. The Act of Supremacy stated that the king ought to be the head of the Church of England. This law gave the king complete power over the Church of England, instead of the pope. However, the type of church and state relationship did not change. Rather all the Act of Supremacy did was take power from the pope and give it to the king. Surprisingly, the Catholics did not retaliate against this strong change. The pope had always been the head of the church, but now the king had taken his position. This serves as an example of nationalism. The Catholics did not think about how removing the pope could harm their religion in any way. However, instead the people blindly followed Henry VIII because he was the leader of the nation and they assumed he was right. Also, by imposing other laws that punished Protestants, Henry VIII did not give the people much of a choice. Fortunately, for Henry VII, nationalis...
Two Concepts of Liberty. In Four Essays on Liberty. London: Oxford University Press, 1998. Haddock, B. (2008). A History of Political Thought.
...(4) Sources: (1) http://www.lawteacher.net/administrative-law/essays/the-magna-carta-and-english-law-administrative-law-essay.php (2) http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/magna_carta.htm (3) http://www.constitution.org/eng/magnacar.htm (4) http://www.law.berkeley.edu/library/robbins/CommonLawCivilLawTraditions.html (5) http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/featured_documents/magna_carta/ (6) http://www.skwirk.com/p-c_s-1_u-105_t-279_c-929/causes-and-effects-of-the-magna-carta/nsw/hsie/introduction-to-democracy/democratic-development (7) http://www.historyextra.com/feature/magna-carta-turning-point-english-history (8)