What is the Magna Carta?

What is the Magna Carta? The Magna Carta is a document that King John of England (1166 - 1216) was
forced into signing. King John was forced into signing the charter because it greatly reduced the power he
held as the King of England and allowed for the formation of a powerful parliament. The Magna Carta
became the basis for English citizen's rights.
What was the purpose of the Magna Carta?
What was the purpose of the Magna Carta? The purpose of the Magna Carta was to curb the King and
make him govern by the old English laws that had prevailed before the Normans came. The Magna Carta
was a collection of 37 English laws - some copied, some recollected, some old and some new. The Magna
Carta demonstrated that the power of the king could be limited by a written grant.
Who wrote the Magna Carta?
The content of the Magna Carta was drafted by Archbishop Stephen Langton and the most powerful
Barons of England. King John signed the document which was originally called the 'Articles of the
Barons' on June 10, 1215. The barons renewed the Oath of Fealty to King John on June 15, 1215. The
royal chancery produced a formal royal grant, based on the agreements reached at Runnymede, which
became known as Magna Carta. Copies of the Magna Carta were distributed to bishops, sheriffs and other
important people throughout England.
Important Facts about the Magna Carta:
Key Dates relating to the event: The Magna Carta was signed by King John on June 15, 1215
Other names for Magna Carta: It is also referred to as the Magna Charter or the Great Charter
Where was the Magna Carta signed? The Magna Carta was signed by King John in a meadow at
Runnymede in Egham, Surrey, South England
Key People relating to the event: King John of England, Archbishop Stephen Langton and the
Barons
Why the Magna Carta was famous and important to the history of England? The charter is
considered to be the beginning of constitutional government in England. The Magna Carta
demonstrated that the powerof the king could be limited by a written grant.
Why the Magna Carta was important to the History of America?
A document signed by an English King in 1215! Why the Magna Carta was important to the history of
America? The Magna Carta is considered the founding document of English liberties and hence American
liberties. The influence of Magna Carta can be seen in theUnited States Constitution and the Bill of
Rights. 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.
King John and the Magna Carta
What events led up to King John being forced into the signing of the Magna Carta?
In 1205 King John quarrelled with the Pope Innocent III about who should be archbishop of
Canterbury. The Pope wanted a man named Stephen Langton to be archbishop, but King John
swore he should never come to England
In 1209 The pope retaliated, excommunicated King John and banned all church services in all
parish churches
King John gave in, and Pope Innocent made the king and people pay him money whenever he
demanded it.

Taxes levied by King John were extortionate. His reprisals against defaulters were ruthless and his
idea justice was considered avaricious
In 1212 King John imposes taxes on the Barons in his attempts to regain the lost lands of
Aquitaine, Poitou and Anjou
King John quarrels with the Barons over his methods of ruling England
The Barons and Stephen Langton decided to curb the King and make him govern by the old
English laws that had prevailed before the Normans came. The demands of the Barons were
documented in the 'Articles of the Barons' in January 1215
The Barons took up arms against King John
The Barons captured London in May 1215
In June the Barons, in full armor, took King John by surprise at Windsor and he agreed to a
meeting at Runnymede
King John signed and sealed the document on June 10, 1215
The barons renewed the Oath of Fealty to King John on June 15, 1215
The royal chancery produced a formal royal grant, based on the agreements reached at
Runnymede, which became known as Magna Carta
Copies of the Magna Carta were distributed to bishops, sheriffs and other important people
throughout England

King John had no intention of abiding by the Magna Carta. His duplicity leads to the Barons War between
1215 - 1217. The rebel barons support the son of the king of France, Prince Louis in preference to King
John. In 1216 Prince Louis invades England and marches to London where he receives support and is was
proclaimed and accepted as King of England (although not actually crowned). King John dies in October.
The Barons turn on Prince Louis and supports the nine year old son of King John who then became King
Henry III of England.
ENGLISH BILL OF RIGHTS
In order to limit the powers of King William III (16501702) and Mary of Orange (16621694), who
ascended to the throne in 1689, and to prevent abuse of powers in future monarchs, Parliament issued a
declaration, later enacted as the Bill of Rights. The English Bill of Rights severely limited royal power: It
prohibited a standing army during peacetime without the consent of Parliament; required that all
parliamentary elections be free; and prevented lawmaking without the consent of parliament. It also
provided for the right to a fair and speedy trial, and freedom from cruel and unusual punishment. Since the
Bill of Rights served to assert the role of Parliament in the government of England, it is considered one of
the seminal documents of British constitutional law.
The English Bill of Rights of 1689 was similar to the United States Constitution regarding the first eight
amendments. The main purpose of this bill is to grant the people basic human rights for freedom of
speech, right to bear arms for defense and be granted the right to a democratic process which would limit
the Monarch rule. It made it possible for citizens to voice their opinions without fear of strict punishment
for speaking out against the hierarchy. It was the first step in a long process towards democracy for
England.
The English Bill of Rights was a re-statement in statutory form of the Declaration of Right presented by
the Convention Parliament to William and Mary in March 1689. The main reason why the Bill of Rights
was important is that it controlled the power of kings and queens to make them subject to laws passed by
Parliament.

MAYFLOWER COMPACT
The Mayflower Compact was the first governing document of Plymouth Colony. It was written by
the Separatists, also known as the "Saints", fleeing from religious persecution by King James of Great
Britain. They traveled aboard the Mayflower in 1620 along with adventurers, tradesmen, and servants,
most of whom were referred to as "Strangers".
The Mayflower Compact was signed aboard ship on November 11, 1620 by most adult men (but not by
most crew and adult male servants). The Pilgrims used the Julian Calendar, also known as Old Style dates,
which, at that time, was ten days behind the Gregorian Calendar. Signing the covenant were 41 of the
ship's 101 passengers, while the Mayflower was anchored in what is now Provincetown Harbor within the
hook at the northern tip of Cape Cod.
Reasons for the Compact
The Mayflower was originally bound for the Colony of Virginia, financed by the Company of Merchant
Adventurers of London. Storms forced the landing to be at the hook of Cape Cod in what is
now Massachusetts. This inspired some of the passengers to proclaim that since the settlement would not
be made in the agreed upon Virginia territory, they "would use their own liberty; for none had power to
command them...." To prevent this, many of the other colonists chose to establish a government. The
Mayflower Compact was based simultaneously upon a majoritarian model (even though the signers were
not in the majority) and the settlers' allegiance to the king. It was in essence a social contract in which the
settlers consented to follow the compact's rules and regulations for the sake of survival. In November
1620, the Mayflower landed at Plymouth, named after the major port city in Devon, England from which
she sailed. The settlers named their settlement "Plimoth" or "Plimouth", using the Early Modern
English spellings of the early 17th century.
The Mayflower Compact (1620) was the first case of colonial self-government in America.
The Mayflower Compact was the first governing document of Plymouth Colony. It was drafted by the
pilgrims who crossed the Atlantic aboard the Mayflower. It was signed on November 21, 1620 in what is
now Provincetown Harbor near Cape Cod. Having settled at Plymouth (thus named by Captain John
Smith earlier), the pilgrims recognized that their land was outside the chartered territory of the London
Company. Thus, the Mayflower Compact was signed to establish a civil government based upon a
majoritarian model and to proclaim the settlers' allegiance to the king. The compact was referred to by
John Quincy Adams as the foundation of the Constitution of the United States, but he was speaking
figuratively,
not
literally.
The settlers were well aware that earlier settlements in the New World had failed due to a lack of central
leadership, and the Mayflower Compact was essentially a social contract in which the settlers agreed to
abide by the rules of the government for the sake of their own survival. The government, in return, would
derive
its
power
from
the
consent
of
the
governed.
The original document was lost, but the transcriptions in Mourt's Relation and William Bradford's journal
Of Plymouth Plantation are in agreement and accepted as accurate.
Mayflower Compact What is it?
The Mayflower Compact is a written agreement composed by a consensus of the new Settlers arriving at
New Plymouth in November of 1620. They had traveled across the ocean on the ship Mayflower which
was anchored in what is now Provincetown Harbor near Cape Cod, Massachusetts. The Mayflower
Compact was drawn up with fair and equal laws, for the general good of the settlement and with the will
of the majority. The Mayflowers passengers knew that the New Worlds earlier settlers failed due to a
lack of government. They hashed out the content and eventually composed the Compact for the sake of
their own survival.

All 41 of the adult male members on the Mayflower signed the Compact. Being the first written laws for
the new land, the Compact determined authority within the settlement and was the observed as such until
1691. This established that the colony (mostly persecuted Separatists), was to be free of English law. It
was devised to set up a government from within themselves and was written by those to be governed.
HOUSE OF BURGESSES
The House of Burgesses which began in Virginia in July 1619, was the first representative government of
North America. The House of Burgesses consisted of 22 members, including the governor, 6 of his cabinet
members, and 15 representatives of the various locales.
Created in 1619, it was the first elected legislative assembly of the "New World" (in this case referring to
the Americas) and originated in Jamestown. The House of Burgesses enacted leglislation for the colony of
Virginia. Legislation passed by the House of Burgesses was subject to veto by the Governor, council and
the
directors
in
London.
One of the most prominent laws passed by the House of Burgesses was passed in the 1660's. Prior to this
law, Africans were allowed only to be used as indentured servants. The law required that Africans and
their
off-spring
were
to
be
treated
as
lifelong
slaves.
The Virginia House of Burgesses was active until 1769. The representatives were speaking against British
Taxation with no representation. When the Governor, Lord Botetourt, heard of the nature of the sessions,
he called the House of Burgesses representatives to the council chamber. When the representatives
arrived, the Governor told the speaker of the house that he thought "ill" of their resolves and dissolved the
House of Burgesses.
ALBANY PLAN OF UNION
In the early 1750s, rivalry between England and France over who would control the North American
continent led inexorably to what is known as the French and Indian Wars. This conflict lasted from 1756
to 1763, and left England the dominant power in the area that now comprises the eastern United States and
Canada.
Aware of the strains that war would put on the colonies, English officials suggested a "union between ye
Royal, Proprietary & Charter Governments."1 At least some colonial leaders were thinking along the same
lines. In June 1754 delegates from most of the northern colonies and representatives from the Six Iroquois
Nations met in Albany, New York. There they adopted a "plan of union" drafted by Benjamin Franklin of
Pennsylvania. Under this plan each colonial legislature would elect delegates to an American continental
assembly presided over by a royal governor.
The plan is noteworthy in several respects. First of all, Franklin anticipated many of the problems that
would beset the government created after independence, such as finance, dealing with the Indian tribes,
control of commerce, and defense. In fact, it contains the seeds of true union, and many of these ideas
would be revived and adopted in Philadelphia more than thirty years later.
After the plan was unveiled, the Crown did not push it since British officials realized that, if adopted, the
plan could create a very powerful entity that His Majesty's Government might not be able to control. The
royal counselors need not have worried; the colonists were not ready for union, nor were the colonial

assemblies ready to give up their recent and hard-won control over local affairs to a central government.
That would not happen until well after the American settlements had declared their independence.
COMMITTEES OF CORRESPONDENCE
The Committees of Correspondence were shadow governments organized by the Patriot leaders of
the Thirteen Colonies on the eve of the American Revolution. They coordinated responses to Britain and
shared their plans; by 1773 they had emerged as shadow governments, superseding the colonial legislature
and royal officials. The Maryland Committee of Correspondence was instrumental in setting up the First
Continental Congress, which met in Philadelphia, PA. These served an important role in the Revolution,
by disseminating the colonial interpretation of British actions between the colonies and to foreign
governments. The committees of correspondence rallied opposition on common causes and established
plans for collective action, and so the group of committees was the beginning of what later became a
formal political union among the colonies. A total of about 7000 to 8000 Patriots served on these
committees at the colonial and local levels, comprising most of the leadership in their communitiesthe
Loyalists were excluded. The committees became the leaders of the American resistance to British
actions, and largely determined the war effort at the state and local level. When Congress decided to
boycott British products, the colonial and local Committees took charge, examining merchant records and
publishing the names of merchants who attempted to defy the boycott by importing British goods. They
promoted patriotism and home manufacturing, advising Americans to avoid luxuries, and lead a more
simple life. The committees gradually extended their power over many aspects of American public life.
They set up espionage networks to identify disloyal elements, displaced the royal officials, and helped
topple the entire Imperial system in each colony. In late 1774 and early 1775, they supervised the elections
of provincial conventions, which took over the actual operation of colonial government.
The committees of correspondence were bodies organized by the local governments of the Thirteen
colonies before the American Revolution for the purposes of coordinating written communication outside
of the colonies. These served an important role in the Revolution, by disseminating the colonial
interpretation of British actions between the colonies and to foreign governments. The committees of
correspondence rallied opposition on common causes and established plans for Collective action, and so
the group of committees was the beginning of what later became a formal political union among the
colonies
1st & 2nd CONTINENTAL CONGRESS
Definition: Two groups of people from all over the 13 Colonies who came together to discuss liberty.
The First Continental Congress was a group of 56 delegates from 12 colonies (all except Georgia) who
met in Philadelphia in September of 1774. They came together to act together in response to the
Intolerable Acts. They met in secret because they didn't want Great Britain to know that they were united.
The Second Continental Congress met in 1775, when the Revolutionary war had started. Things were
going badly, and the armed forces were disorganized. The Continental Congress created the Continental
Army and named George Washington as commander-in-chief. The Congress continued through the
summer. Out of the discussions came the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, and
the Marines Corps.