Magna Carta: The Tie That Binds the US Constitution and England

Our Constitution owes a debt of gratitude to an 800-year-old English document that’s become a world-wide symbol of liberty and the rule of law.

A 1297 copy of Magna Carta on display at the Guildhall in London, England (photo by Colleen Sehy)

The Fourth of July is an ideal time to explore the United States of America’s foundational documents. The Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights are known collectively as America’s Charters of Freedom. You can see these precious documents in the Rotunda for the Charters of Freedom at the National Archives Museum in Washington, DC. Seeing them in person is an awe-inspiring experience.

Another important exhibit is the museum’s Records of Rights, which explores other documents that have played an important role in the development of the United States. It includes an extremely rare 1297 copy of England’s Magna Carta. What is Magna Carta and why does it hold a place of pride in an exhibit related to the founding and development of the United States? 

Magna Carta – the Great Charter – was created in 1215 to resolve a political crisis between King John (probably best known to Americans as the villain in Robin Hood) and a group of rebellious barons who were unhappy under his rule. Among other things, Magna Carta guaranteed the barons protection from illegal imprisonment, the right to a trial by jury, limits on taxes, and the protection of church rights. 

Unfortunately, the 1215 charter wasn’t upheld. While it was reissued several times during the 13th century, it wasn’t until 1297, when Edward I confirmed the document in Parliament, that it was enshrined in English law. The photo above shows another rare 1297 copy of Magna Carta that I had the pleasure of seeing at the London Guildhall in England. According to the Guildhall exhibit, Magna Carta gave the world the principle that “government should be accountable to the governed.”

While Magna Carta originally addressed the relationship between the English monarch and his barons, in the early 17th century, political reformers began to argue that the personal liberties it laid out should be extended to all Englishmen. This broader interpretation of Magna Carta was echoed in the charters of several of England’s American colonies and it had a major influence on the framers of the U.S. Constitution, who believed the American colonists were entitled to the same rights then being extended to other ordinary Englishmen. 

To be clear, there were significant limits on who was entitled to this extension of Magna Carta’s rights. It covered men, of course, but often only men who owned property. Indigenous Americans, enslaved people, and women at all levels of society were excluded in all but a handful of instances.

Despite these early restrictions, Magna Carta is widely recognized for establishing the principle that a government should be accountable to the people it governs. This principle takes pride of place in the first three words of the Preamble to the U.S. Constitution, “We the people,” and signals our founding fathers’ deeply held belief that the American system of government derives its authority not from a single individual, such as a monarch, but from the people being governed.

Magna Carta’s influence didn’t stop with our founding fathers. It went on to influence governments and constitutions around the world. Today it’s considered to be the greatest constitutional document of all time, and it’s seen as a universal symbol of liberty and the rule of law.

You can visit the National Archives Museum website to learn more about America’s foundational documents, and read Magna Carta Legacy to learn more about Magna Carta and the idea that governments should be accountable to the people they govern,

I also recommend the museum’s online exhibit, Records of Rights, which looks at such well-known documents as the 14th and 19th Amendments, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and the Americans With Disabilities Act. It also explores many lesser known, but equally important documents that illustrate 250 years of our country’s ongoing efforts to guarantee equal rights and equal representation for all Americans.

The Fourth of July is an ideal time to take stock of our ongoing efforts to live up to what Abraham Lincoln called “government of the people, by the people, and for the people,” an ideal influenced by Magna Carta and enshrined in the U.S. Constitution.

This post originally appeared on Medium.