Magna Carta Research Paper

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The medieval era was a time in which there was high monarch and very little power to the people. A monarchy is a form of government in which sovereignty (having full authority) is nominally embodied in a single individual. England needed a new form of government due to the circumstances that this high monarch put them through. During this period one of the most important historical events occurred which was the signing Magna Carta. The Magna Carta was a document that has a tremendous impact on England; the government and the people. This document not only changed the way the government is set up, but there is no longer an absolute monarch.
King John was the King of England during the time period of A.D. 1215. He acquired land in France by his father Henry II through inheritance. His Father Henry II passed away and it was then that his heir John took over. King John in many people's eyes was a king who exploited and abused the traditional revenue. Due to the fact that he was constantly battling France trying to recover the land France took away from him because they thought of him as a weak king, England began to lose money; money that was coming in through taxes from France was no longer available. The fact that John could not gain the land in France and was losing money angered him. He then decided that if he could not gain the land back which he lost he was not going to keep losing money so the King decided to raise the taxes on his people. Furthermore, this angered the Feudal Barons which were noblemen of the lowest rank. They were livid because the past kings in England would have to consult a group of 25 Barons when it came to matters that were important to the country. The barons who began the establishment of this documen...

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...ke the decisions for them; people were given a choice. In addition, in history this document was what founded the first legal rights of people other than the king. The Magna Carta established the principles of a limited government.
Magna Carta was a document that impacted England in tremendous ways. This Charter created by the barons diminished the power that the monarchy possessed in England. It established the idea that even the king, being a royal, had to abide by the rules and laws which the charter set up. In like manner, this document brought the idea that a new form of government can be established. Even though there was still a reasonable amount of monarchy in England it was not much of a problem as it had been before. The fact that a completely different and distinct type of government was formed because of the creation of the Magna Carta is astonishing.

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