Important Points About the Magna Carta

Before the Magna Carta

King John succeeded Richard I, also called Richard the Lionheart, as king of England. John desired to regain English territory in France but lacked the military skills of Richard. In order to finance his military exploits and pay increasing taxes to Rome, John raised taxes and instituted harsh penalties for failure to pay. If this sounds familiar it might be because, according to legends and folklore, Robin Hood was a supporter of Richard and an opponent of John.

The Magna Carta was, in essence, a peace treaty. A group of increasingly dissatisfied barons in England rose up and took London by force on June 10, 1215. Through negotiations with a second group of moderate barons who had not risen against John but who were also dissatisfied, they drafted the Articles of the Barons, which guaranteed certain rights, limited the power of the king and made the monarchy subject to human laws. Once the rebellion was over, King John, with the backing of Pope Innocent III, renounced the Magna Carta, but it was re-issued by the regents of John's 9-year old son Henry III in 1216.

The Magna Carta initiated certain rights for the people, many of which are still in place in England today and many of which were implemented by other countries. These include freedom for the English Church, a right to due process of law, a clause granting the right of entry and safety of foreign merchants, and a clause stating that civil servants should be appointed based on merit. It also made leaders subject to the rule of law, rather than being above the law.

The Magna Carta is considered the foundation of English Civil Rights, as such it is also the foundation of U.S. civil rights. The principles laid down in the Magna Carta were a part of the cultural legacy of the drafters of the U.S. Constitution. In addition to adapting many of the rights spelled out in the Magna Carta, the document was also the source of the concept of "natural" or "inalienable' rights." This is the belief that certain rights are granted by God or nature to all humans at birth.