The Magna Carta's Influence on American Democracy

A detailed Summary of The Magna Carta's Influence on American Democracy

Turmoil abroad permeated throughout the course of King John's reign of power. Constantly, John ordered the fighting of unsuccessful wars, which left a huge debt in the royal pocket. In a response to finance these unnecessary undertakings, he charged excessively for royal justice, sold church offices, levied heavy aids, and abused the feudal incidents of wardship, marriage, and escheat. He even went as far to appoint advisors outside of the traditional baronial ranks. Finally, one day, the barons suffered through enough, and decided to take a course of action. In 1215, the king was forced into parleys with the barons at Runnymede. On June 15, King John affixed his seal to the preliminary draft of what would become one of the greatest documents in history, the Magna Carta. The document eventually stated that the constitution was above the king. The Magna Carta greatly contributed to and provided for the American form of government present today.

Some of the main events leading to the American Revolution were directly caused by the information contained within the Magna Carta. The obvious cause came from the idea that when a government does not protect the people, a change must occur. Both in England and the thirteen co

The Magna Carta could indirectly be considered one of the most important documents in American history. Furthermore, a greedy king and some determined barons could indirectly be considered the original Founding Fathers of the United States, 500 years before it was formed. Thus, the Magna Carta should be considered a part of English history as well as American history. Without it, it cannot be determined what the states of the union would be today, or if there would even be a union. The United States will forever be indebted to those determined barons and the greedy king.

Finally, the major way the Magna Carta affected the American form of government lies in the fact that that the Founding Father's purposely sought out past legal documents in order to write the Declaration of Independence. Instead of developing their own reasons, the Founding Fathers looked for a past historical precedent upon which to model the declaration after. Of course, this precedent was found in a gathering that took place in Runnymede 561 years earlier, the forming of the Magna Carta. The Magna Carta served as the inspiration for the Americans that the power of the ruling body could be controlled. Without this document, it is not known what would have been the outcome of the Declaration of Independence. The Declaration of Independence symbolizes the beginning of the end of English rule in the thirteen colonies, making it the most important document in American history. It is ironic that the basis for it came from the country from which the United

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Approximate Word count = 1040
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: History