The Most Impactful Influence On Our Government Today
What if there was an over 800 year old document that is one of the most prominent influences on the most sacred document in the history of the United States? Well there is, the Magna Carta was created in 1215 and many of the ideas laid out from it show up heavily in the Constitution and the most sacred document, the Declaration of Independence. But the influence doesn’t just stop at the constitution, it even goes as far back as when the Colonies split from England. You see, essentially the colonies did the exact same thing as the Barons rebelling against King John. The Magna Carta is by far the most influential document that affects our government today, Anywhere you look in the Constitution
…show more content…
you can see traces of the Magna Cart from the Amendments in the Bill of Rights, to the story of the colonies splitting from England, the Magna Carta is there in the shadows. The Colonies splitting from England deeply reflect what the Barons did more than 500 years prior.
England, being ruled by King John at the time, is being taxed after a series of wars that didn’t go in England’s favor. A group of wealthy noblemen called Barons are unhappy with the current state of England so they decide to rebel against the king. The Barons and the King fight for several months to see who will win. After many months of fighting in June, 1215, the Barons win the war and force the King to sign an agreement that is now known as the Magna Carta. This document limited power on the government and stated that no Man or Woman is above the law. If this story sounds familiar, well it is. 500 something years later the colonies were unhappy with King George III taxing them because of a war that England lost, and decide to rebel against the King. After several years of fighting, the Colonies are victorious and submit a document known as the Declaration Of Independence which lets them split off from England. You might be thinking that this is the only instance that the Magna Carta is seen in the world today but it’s …show more content…
not. Later, after the colonies split from England and became their own entity.
They created a document known as the U.S. Constitution and later the Bill of Rights. This Constitution is a spitting image of the Magna Carta from the principles laid out from it, to how this document was formed. This Constitution was made to restrict the rights of the Government so it didn’t become too powerful like King John or Big Brother. In the Magna Carta it lays out the principle of man's property should not be taken or used without a payment, this principle is very much the same as Amendment 5 in the Bill of Rights. This quote from the Magna Carta is not the only quote that is an inspiration on the Constitution but there are many more. Principle 38 says that no man should be put on trial or arrested without proper reasoning supplied by the court, in the Bill of Rights Amendment 6 is a spitting image of that quote saying “In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to be confronted with the witnesses against him.” The U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights weren’t the only documents in the history of the United States, but the Declaration was also heavily
inspired The Declaration of Independence, the most sacred document in the U.S., and the reason that all men are free, was heavily influenced by the Magna Carta. From the forming of the document to the statements in it, the Declaration took heavy inspiration from a 500 year old document at the time. The Magna Carta was because the King was making radical decisions and was treating his people unfairly, this lead to the people getting angry and rebellious. This sent the kingdom into war which was eventually one by the people, the people then forced the King to sign a document that would give the people their rights back. If this sounds familiar then, it is, 500 something years later the colonies were unhappy with the King of England so they went to war and because they were unhappy with the king and then they made a document to give them their natural rights back. In the document itself the magna carta restricted the power of the king, this is very similar to the Declaration restricting the power of government so it doesn’t become too powerful like King George III. Another principle that the Declaration set was that the power rests in multiple people, while this isn’t taken from the Magna Carta it still shows the idea of Limited Government. The Declaration also states that no man is above the law and shall be punished equally, this statement was influenced by Rule of Law which states that nobody is above the law, which was a principle in the Magna Carta. Without the Magna Carta the declaration and the U.S. government would not be the same as it is today. The Magna Carta was and still is the biggest influence on our government today, anywhere in the Constitution, Bill of Rights, or The Declaration of Independence you can see traces of the Magna Carta. Even the story of the Colonies splitting from England is a lot like the Barons rebelling against King John. The Constitution would not be the same without the Magna Carta, from how it was made to the amendments inside. Not only the Constitution, but The Declaration of Independence were very heavily inspired by The Magna Carta. Therefore the Magna Carta was the biggest influence on our government.
After the Seven Years Way England was broke for she had spent more money needed to win the war. Also winning the war gave the colonist a “we can do it spirit”. However because England now was facing debt she decided to tax the colonies. One the first acts passed was the sugar act passed in 1764. This Act was the raise revenue in American colonies. What it did was lowered the tax from six penses to three penses per gallon on foreign molasses. Molasses is a product made by refining sugarcane, grapes or sugar beets into sugar. This upset the colonist because before the sugar act they didn’t have to pay the tax so even if it was lowered that meant nothing for they now had to pay for it. A year later, in 1765, the Britain’s passed another act known as the Stamp Act. The Stamp Act put a tax on stamped paper, publications, playing cards, etc. Because it was on all paper products in a way it affected everyone; from the papers for the upper class such as lawyers, publications such as newspapers for the middle class, and playing cards for the lower class for entertainment. Next, the Townshend Act passed by Charles Townshend. This came in 1767, which imposed taxes on colonial tea, lead, paint, paper, and glass which just like the Stamp Act affected all of the classes in the colonist in the Americas. Though this act was removed three years later in 1770, it still left colonists with a warning that conditions may become worse. Around 1773, parliament passed the Intolerable Acts one of those acts which affected taxation was the Bost...
It was the mid-late 1700s, and America had finally achieved and received independence from Great Britain. Peace in America on the other hand, not so much. After gaining independence, the Articles of Confederation were made as a system of government for the United States, but gave very imbalanced power between federal and state levels. For example, on the federal level, the national government couldn't force a state to pay taxes. To try to amend the Articles, in 1787, a meeting made up of delegates representing the states was called up, but instead, what would be created is what we now know as the Constitution. But how exactly did this document remedy the flaws of the Articles, and prevent tyranny from unjust amounts and usage of power? The Constitution helped stop tyranny in government with a
The Constitution is composed of 3 major parts. The first of which is the preamble. As the opening statement of the Constitution it outlines the goals the American people have for the country. In the preamble the people are assured the laws of the land would apply to all and be fair to all by this line “establish justice” (Doc 1). Peace and order in the nation along with the providing of defence for the people of America are also promised by the line “insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense.” (Doc 1). People were also assured their well being and their freedom as long as they lived in the law,Page 42R “promote the general, and secure the blessing of liberty to ourselves and our posterity” (Doc 1). The preamble sets the tone for the rest of the document and declares the document the “...Constitution for the United States of America.” (Doc 2)
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.
“Democracy; racial and sexual equality; individual liberty of lifestyle; full freedom of thought, expression, and the press; eradication of religious authority from the legislative process and education; and full separation of church and state” (Jonathan Israel, A Revolution of the Mind: Radical Enlightenment and the Intellectual Origins of Modern Democracy). They wanted to create a new political framework that used those principles as the basis of the most important documents that founded the US. The reason to create this new political forms came from the need to calm the civil unrest, suppress rebellions and guarantee stability on the whole country. Those documents are still effective nowadays thanks to those political revelations that thorough the Revolutionary War made this country one of the most powerful in the
The constitution was a document that embodies the fundamental laws and principles by which the U.S is governed. The constitution states basic rights for its citizens. Delegates signed the constitution on September 17, 1787. There is a total of 27 constitutional amendments. The reasoning for writing it was for a stronger federal government - legislative, executive and judicial. The constitution was a break with a past of ‘unfair’ taxes, wars and ‘unfair’ treatment.
A constitution is the system of fundamental principles according to which a nation is governed. Our founding fathers created the US Constitution to set specific standards for our country. We must ask ourselves why our founding fathers created the Constitution in the first place. America revolted against the British due to their monarchy form of government. After the American Revolution, each of the original 13 colonies operated under its own rules of government. Most states were against any form of centralized rule from the government. They feared that what happened in England would happen again. They decided to write the Articles of Confederation, which was ratified in 1781. It was not effective and it led to many problems. The central government could not regulate commerce between states, deal with foreign governments or settle disputes. The country was falling apart at its seams. The central government could not provide assistance to the state because there wasn’t a central army. When they realized that the Articles of Confederation was not up to par, they held a convention, known as the Constitutional Convention of 1787. As a result of t...
Over the following decade following the Declaration of Independence, the appointed leaders created the U.S. Constitution (1787), which established America’s national government and fundamental laws, and guaranteed certain basic rights for its citizens (History.com).
...uestioned, overall, the Constitution of the United States was their foundation of what they stood for, and was used to enforce the rights of men against the tyrannical aristocracy that resembled the unjust monarchy of Britain from which they fled. The concepts and ideals of these two men were a giant stepping stone to the democratic government that rules America today.
...e protection of individual liberties as well as the expression of self interest were of the highest importance when creating the Constitution and a new system of government. The idea of separation of powers along with checks and balances, coupled with an encouraged environment of expression eventually led to the ratification of the Constitution with a Bill of Rights in 1791 and the birth of dual federalism.
As you will see in this paper, I will point out many ways that these documents are still in effect today. In the end, you will understand how the United States of America came about. There are many things that I can compare to the Declaration of Independence and Common Sense pamphlet. Paine states “That government's sole purpose is to protect life, liberty and property, and that a government should be judged solely on the basis of the extent to which it accomplishes this goal.”
The Bill of Rights was created as a listing of the rights granted to citizens, the Bill of Rights serves to protect the people from a powerful government. These civil rights granted to U.S. Citizens are included in the first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution. Additionally, Locke’s ideas about checks and balances and the division of church and state were later embodied in the U.S. Constitution as well. The Constitution replaced a more weakly organized system of government as outlined under the Articles of Confederation. John Locke was an English philosopher who lived during 1632-1704.
In terms of shaping political thought and institutions in America, no two documents have had more influence than that of the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution. The Declaration of Independence, drafted in 1776, was the zenith of the American Revolutionary campaign. Written largely by Thomas Jefferson, who was heavily influenced by John Locke’s ideas of natural rights, the document was as much a philosophical doctrine as it was a political one (Cummings 2015, 64). After being embroiled in a long, bloody war with Britain for over ten years, the Thirteen Colonies formally emancipated themselves from their mother country through the Declaration. They justified the Revolution and their need for independence in the document by
impact on the United States Constitution and its legal system as well. It 's been around for 800
The Constitution is one of the most significant file and certificate in the United States, the constitution of United States of America was created by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in the state of Philadelphia and in the year of 1787. The Constitution changed the life of people; furthermore, when the constitution was created, it provided different types of freedom for different people. The constitution of United States includes about twenty seven amendments, which the ten first amendments are most important, because they relate to basic freedom and equality of people. According to http://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/preamble; The preamble of constitution of United States says that “We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America” The constitution task is to try to defend and protect the people of United States; furthermore, it concludes different ages of people not a particular type of people. Actually, people of United States are free people intrusive Federal government doesn’t interfere in their life. The persons who wrote the constitution, tried to make a nation that a particular person doesn’t control all the affairs of the country; in addition, the European countries were absolutely monarchy which cause the people not decide and control everything. The United States doesn’t have queens or kings and no one is above the law. The United Stat...