MAGNA CARTA
Lauren Ashworth
Melissa Rivera
1st Period
HISTORY
England’s King, Richard I, Died in 1199. During his
rule King Richard taxed barons very heavily to help
fund the third crusade. When his brother John took
the thrown he inherited the resentment of the
barons. John provoked a war with France and nearly
lost all that he had. To pay for the war he placed
high financial demands on the barons with out
consulting them.
MAGNA CARTA
Due to the high finical demands the barons revolted
against King John. In 1215 they forced him to sign a
document, The Magna Carta, that placed the King under
the Law and protected the rights of citizens.
The Magna Carta was not made completely of new laws.
It also rewrote old laws. One new clause was that the
King must obey the laws of the land as well as the people.
MAGNA CARTA
The Magna Carta can be divided into sections :
- The first clauses concern the position of the Catholic Church in England.
- Many of the clauses concern England's legal system.
- Magna Carta promised laws that were good and fair. It states that
everyone shall have access to courts and that costs and money should
not be an issue if someone wanted to take a problem to the law courts.
- It also states that no freeman will be imprisoned or punished without
first going through the proper legal system. In future years the word
"freeman" was replaced by "no one" to include everybody.
MAGNA CARTA
The last few sections deal with how the Magna Carta would be enforced
in England. Twenty five barons were given the responsibility of making
sure the king carried out what was stated in the Magna Carta - the
document clearly states that they could use force if they felt it was
necessary. To give the Magna Carta an impact, the royal seal of King John
was put on it to show people that it had his royal support. This is the
largest red seal at the bottom of the Magna Carta.
SUMMARY
1.The Church - The Church was to be free from royal interference, especially in the election of bishops
2.Taxes - No taxes except the regular feudal dues were to be levied, except by the consent of the Great Council, or Parliament
3.The right to due process which led to Trial by Jury
4.Weights and Measures - All weights and measures to be kept uniform throughout the realm.
DID YOU KNOW?
The Magna Carta is also
known as the Big character
or the Great Character.
Although it is of English
origin, it is very important to
Americans today. The U.S.
Constitution was loosely
based off this document. The
Magna Carta has survived for
over 800 years.
RESOURCES
We used the book attached with the study guide.
http://www.middle-ages.org.uk/magna-carta.htm
http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/
magna_carta.htm
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