The Magna Carta

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that Magna Carta (Great Charter) of 1215 was created as a reaction to royal privileges, which have gotten out of hand. It discuses how King John recognized he must appease his barons, with whom he was haggling over grievances and demands, to keep order in the country. The author points out that each detailed clause clearly spelled out great changes in how England was to be governed, which, although meant to appease the barons, had a much more lasting effect on government and royal policy. The paper stresses that the final clause, which may be the most important of the entire document, includes the phrase "men in our kingdom shall have and keep all these liberties, rights and concessions, well and peaceably in their fullness and entirety for them and their heirs, ... in all things and all places for ever": This is the clause, which created a democracy in England and found its way across the Atlantic to America and beyond.

From the Paper:

"To understand the underlying principles and organization of the Charter, it is necessary to understand the feudal system in England in 1215, and especially the barony. King John came into power at a time when England was at odds with France. Eventually, the English lost title to lands they had conquered in France, and this led to the first problems between King John and his barons. One medieval historian notes, "Barons who resented both fighting and paying to keep their king's continental lands resented the loss of them only when they found to their surprise that it meant the loss of their own lands in France as well as the king's." After that, there was never confidence and trust between the king and his barons. It was common practice for the king to levy his barons for his expenses, including his failed campaigns in France that had lost lands and titles."

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