The Magna Carta (a Latin phrase meaning “Great Paper” or “Great
Charter”) was originally an English document issued in 1215. An army
led by English barons forced King John (1167–1216) to sign it. The purpose of the document was to clarify the king’s power over the barons, the
church, clergymen, and the free people of certain towns. King John repudiated part of the Magna Carta shortly after approving it, sparking a civil
war, called the First Barons’ War, in which the king died. Future kings
reissued the document, or particular chapters or clauses (separate sections) from it, many times. All of these various documents are referred
to together as the Magna Carta.
The 1215 document was not the first to limit the power of the king.
Nor did it have a tremendous impact on lives generally, as it applied only
to barons, clergy, and certain free people, not to the masses or servants.
English monarchs easily found ways to avoid restrictions in the document. Still, the Magna Carta was an important step in the history of taking power from the ruling class for the benefit of the governed.
Historians and scholars trace provisions of the U.S. Constitution
and federal laws back to the Magna Carta. For example, clause twelve restricted the king to imposing taxes only “with the common council of
the realm.” This provision contributed to the American stance against
taxation without representation in government. It also contributed to the
elevation of property rights in the American system of government.
In another influential provision, clause thirty-nine of the charter
states, “No freeman shall be arrested, or detained in prison, or deprived
of his freedom, or outlawed … unless by the lawful judgment of his peers
and by the law of the land.” This served as a basis for the American rights
of trial by jury and of due process of law in judicial proceedings.
The Magna Carta also contained a clause that mentioned the freedom of the church. At the time, this simply meant that the official, established church had a right to be free from royal abuse and corruption. It
was far from a guarantee of religious freedom, which the American system first established with adoption of the Bill of Rights in 1791.
In 1787, the United States wrote a Constitution that state conventions approved in 1788. As a condition of approval, many convention
delegates insisted that the federal government adopt a Bill of Rights to
protect the rights and freedoms of American citizens. The Constitution
and the Bill of Rights contain certain provisions that descend from provisions in the Magna Carta. Many Americans consider the Constitution
and its amendments to continue a tradition of freedom begun by the
Magna Carta. Other Americans believe that like the Magna Carta, the
Constitution and Bill of Rights actually protect the interests of society’s
ruling classes more than the rights and freedoms of the citizens.