1215 : MAGNA CARTA SEALED:
Following a revolt by the English nobility against his rule, King John
puts his royal seal on the Magna Carta, or "Great Charter." The
document, essentially a peace treaty between John and his barons,
guaranteed that the king would respect feudal rights and privileges,
uphold the freedom of the church, and maintain the nation's laws.
Although more a reactionary than a progressive document in its day,
the Magna Carta was seen as a cornerstone in the development of
democratic England by later generations.
John was enthroned as king of England following the death of his
brother, King Richard the Lion-Hearted, in 1199. King John's reign was
characterized by failure. He lost the duchy of Normandy to the French
king and taxed the English nobility heavily to pay for his foreign
misadventures. He quarreled with Pope Innocent III and sold church
offices to build up the depleted royal coffers. Following the defeat
of a campaign to regain Normandy in 1214, Stephen Langton, the
archbishop of Canterbury, called on the disgruntled barons to demand a
charter of liberties from the king.
In 1215, the barons rose up in rebellion against the king's abuse of
feudal law and custom. John, faced with a superior force, had no
choice but to give in to their demands. Earlier kings of England had
granted concessions to their feudal barons, but these charters were
vaguely worded and issued voluntarily. The document drawn up for John
in June 1215, however, forced the king to make specific guarantees of
the rights and privileges of his barons and the freedom of the church.
On June 15, 1215, John met the barons at Runnymede on the Thames and
set his seal to the Articles of the Barons, which after minor revision
was formally issued as the Magna Carta.
The charter consisted of a preamble and 63 clauses and dealt mainly
with feudal concerns that had little impact outside 13th century
England. However, the document was remarkable in that it implied there
were laws the king was bound to observe, thus precluding any future
claim to absolutism by the English monarch. Of greatest interest to
later generations was clause 39, which stated that "no free man shall
be arrested or imprisoned or disseised [dispossessed] or outlawed or
exiled or in any way victimised...except by the lawful judgment of his
peers or by the law of the land." This clause has been celebrated as
an early guarantee of trial by jury and of habeas corpus and inspired
England's Petition of Right (1628) and the Habeas Corpus Act (1679).
In immediate terms, the Magna Carta was a failure--civil war broke out
the same year, and John ignored his obligations under the charter.
Upon his death in 1216, however, the Magna Carta was reissued with
some changes by his son, King Henry III, and then reissued again in
1217. That year, the rebellious barons were defeated by the king's
forces. In 1225, Henry III voluntarily reissued the Magna Carta a
third time, and it formally entered English statute law.
The Magna Carta has been subject to a great deal of historical
exaggeration; it did not establish Parliament, as some have claimed,
nor more than vaguely allude to the liberal democratic ideals of later
centuries. However, as a symbol of the sovereignty of the rule of law,
it was of fundamental importance to the constitutional development of
England. Four original copies of the Magna Carta of 1215 exist today:
one in Lincoln Cathedral, one in Salisbury Cathedral, and two in the
British Museum.
history.com/tdih.do
1846 : U.S.-Canadian border established
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5093
1864 : Battle of Petersburg begins
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5094
1877 : First African American graduate of West Point
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5095
##########################################
Following a revolt by the English nobility against his rule, King John
puts his royal seal on the Magna Carta, or "Great Charter." The
document, essentially a peace treaty between John and his barons,
guaranteed that the king would respect feudal rights and privileges,
uphold the freedom of the church, and maintain the nation's laws.
Although more a reactionary than a progressive document in its day,
the Magna Carta was seen as a cornerstone in the development of
democratic England by later generations.
John was enthroned as king of England following the death of his
brother, King Richard the Lion-Hearted, in 1199. King John's reign was
characterized by failure. He lost the duchy of Normandy to the French
king and taxed the English nobility heavily to pay for his foreign
misadventures. He quarreled with Pope Innocent III and sold church
offices to build up the depleted royal coffers. Following the defeat
of a campaign to regain Normandy in 1214, Stephen Langton, the
archbishop of Canterbury, called on the disgruntled barons to demand a
charter of liberties from the king.
In 1215, the barons rose up in rebellion against the king's abuse of
feudal law and custom. John, faced with a superior force, had no
choice but to give in to their demands. Earlier kings of England had
granted concessions to their feudal barons, but these charters were
vaguely worded and issued voluntarily. The document drawn up for John
in June 1215, however, forced the king to make specific guarantees of
the rights and privileges of his barons and the freedom of the church.
On June 15, 1215, John met the barons at Runnymede on the Thames and
set his seal to the Articles of the Barons, which after minor revision
was formally issued as the Magna Carta.
The charter consisted of a preamble and 63 clauses and dealt mainly
with feudal concerns that had little impact outside 13th century
England. However, the document was remarkable in that it implied there
were laws the king was bound to observe, thus precluding any future
claim to absolutism by the English monarch. Of greatest interest to
later generations was clause 39, which stated that "no free man shall
be arrested or imprisoned or disseised [dispossessed] or outlawed or
exiled or in any way victimised...except by the lawful judgment of his
peers or by the law of the land." This clause has been celebrated as
an early guarantee of trial by jury and of habeas corpus and inspired
England's Petition of Right (1628) and the Habeas Corpus Act (1679).
In immediate terms, the Magna Carta was a failure--civil war broke out
the same year, and John ignored his obligations under the charter.
Upon his death in 1216, however, the Magna Carta was reissued with
some changes by his son, King Henry III, and then reissued again in
1217. That year, the rebellious barons were defeated by the king's
forces. In 1225, Henry III voluntarily reissued the Magna Carta a
third time, and it formally entered English statute law.
The Magna Carta has been subject to a great deal of historical
exaggeration; it did not establish Parliament, as some have claimed,
nor more than vaguely allude to the liberal democratic ideals of later
centuries. However, as a symbol of the sovereignty of the rule of law,
it was of fundamental importance to the constitutional development of
England. Four original copies of the Magna Carta of 1215 exist today:
one in Lincoln Cathedral, one in Salisbury Cathedral, and two in the
British Museum.
history.com/tdih.do
1846 : U.S.-Canadian border established
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5093
1864 : Battle of Petersburg begins
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5094
1877 : First African American graduate of West Point
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5095
##########################################
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