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