End of Feudalism
Magna Carta
Title.
King John signing the Magna Carta
In 1215 a group of nobles wanted to let the king to look for their rights. In the middle of the field of Runnymede, near London they let King John sign the Magna Carta. The Magna Carta are the list of rights the king have to follow and cannot ignore (Its name is a Latin phrase meaning “Great Charter”). King John agreed on it and signed it.
Magna Carta was one of the first documents to protect the rights of the people. Magna Carta was so influential that the British still consider it part of their constitution. Some of its ideas are also in the U.S. Constitution. Magna Carta required the king to honor certain rights. Among these rights was habeas corpus, a Latin phrase meaning “you have the body.” The right of habeas corpus meant that people could not be kept in jail without a reason. They had to be charged with a crime and convicted at a jury trial before they could be sent to prison. Before, kings could arrest people for no reason at all. The Magna Carta required that everybody have to follow the laws, especially the kings.
The Magna Carta inspired all the English to find more ways to limit the king's power. A council of nobles was made called Parliament, the lawmaking body that governs England today. By the late middle Ages, kings could do little without Parliament’s support.
The English continued to work to secure and protect their rights. To ensure that everyone was treated fairly, people demanded that judges be free of royal control. Many people believed judges chosen by the king would always side with him. Eventually, in the late 1600s, the king agreed to free the courts of his control. This creation of an independent judicial system was a key step in bringing democracy to England.
Magna Carta was one of the first documents to protect the rights of the people. Magna Carta was so influential that the British still consider it part of their constitution. Some of its ideas are also in the U.S. Constitution. Magna Carta required the king to honor certain rights. Among these rights was habeas corpus, a Latin phrase meaning “you have the body.” The right of habeas corpus meant that people could not be kept in jail without a reason. They had to be charged with a crime and convicted at a jury trial before they could be sent to prison. Before, kings could arrest people for no reason at all. The Magna Carta required that everybody have to follow the laws, especially the kings.
The Magna Carta inspired all the English to find more ways to limit the king's power. A council of nobles was made called Parliament, the lawmaking body that governs England today. By the late middle Ages, kings could do little without Parliament’s support.
The English continued to work to secure and protect their rights. To ensure that everyone was treated fairly, people demanded that judges be free of royal control. Many people believed judges chosen by the king would always side with him. Eventually, in the late 1600s, the king agreed to free the courts of his control. This creation of an independent judicial system was a key step in bringing democracy to England.
