Documents of American Democracy (2010) - Malestrom

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ALSO EDITED BYROGERL. KEMPAND FROM MCFARLAND

Cities and Adult Businesses: A Handbook for Regulatory Planning(2010)

Cities and Sports Stadiums: A Planning Handbook (2009)

Cities and Water: A Handbook for Planning(2009)

Cities and Growth: A Policy Handbook(2008)

Museums, Libraries and Urban Vitality: A Handbook(2008)

Homeland Security for the Private Sector: A Handbook (2007)

Cities and Cars: A Handbook of Best Practices (2007)

Homeland Security Handbook forCitizens and Public Ocials (2006)

Cities and Nature: A Handbook for Renewal(2006)

Cities and the Arts: A Handbook for Renewal(2004)

Community Renewal through Municipal Investment: A Handbookfor Citizens and Public Ocials (2003; paperback 2007)

Model Government Charters: A City, County, Regional ,State, and Federal Handbook(2003; paperback 2007)

Regional Government Innovations: A Handbookfor Citizens and Public Ocials(2003; paperback 2007)

How American Governments Work:

A Handbook of City, County, Regional,State, and Federal Operations (2002; paperback 2007)

The Inner City:A Handbook for Renewal(200; paperback 2007)

Main Street Renewal: A Handbook for Citizensand Public Ocials(2000; paperback 2006)

Local Government Election Practices: A Handbookfor Public Ocials and Citizens (999; paperback 2006)

Forms of Local Government: A Handbook onCity, County and Regional Options (999; paperback 2007)

Managing Americas Cities: A Handbookfor Local Goverment Productivity (998; paperback 2007)

Economic Development in Local Government:A Handbook for Public Ocials and Citizens(995; paperback 2007)

Strategic Planning for Local Government:A Handbook for Ocials and Citizens (993; paperback 2008)

Privatization: The Provision of Public Servicesby the Private Sector (99; paperback 2007)


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Documents ofAmerican Democracy

A Collection of Essential Works

Edited by ROGERL. KEMP

McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers

Jefferson, North Carolina, and London


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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGUING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA

Documents of American democracy : a collection ofessential works / edited by Roger L. Kemp.

p. cm.Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-0-7864-4210-2

softcover: 50# alkaline paper

1. United States Politics and government. 2. United StatesPolitics and government Sources. I. Kemp, Roger L.

JK31.D63 2010973dc22 2010005417

British Library cataloguing data are available

2010 Roger L. Kemp. All rights reserved

No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any formor by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopyingor recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system,

without permission in writing from the publisher.

Front cover images 200 Shutterstock

Manufactured in the United States of America

McFarland & Company, Inc., PublishersBox 611, Jeerson, North Carolina 28640www.mcfarlandpub.com


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To Anika,the best and the brightest


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Grateful acknowledgment is made to the following organizations forgranting permission, and making the resources available, for the materialscontained in this volume.

American Democracy ProjectConnecticut Consortium for Law & Citizenship Education, Inc.

Connecticut State LibraryThe Academy of Political Science

ThinkQuest Education FoundationU. S. National Archives and Records Administration

United Kingdom Parliamentary ArchivesYale University

Acknowledgments

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Acknowledgments v

Preface 1

Section I. The Introduction

1. American DemocracyEric Barr, John Baird, and Taylor Rankin 7

Section II. Foundation

2. Magna Carta (June 15, 1215)King John of England 11

3. Petition of Right (May 27, 1628)Parliament of England 23

4. Bill of Rights (December 16, 1689)Parliament of England 28

Section III. Core Documents

5. Mayflower Compact (November 21, 1620)Pilgrims of the New World 35

6. Fundamental Orders of Connecticut (January 14, 1639)Colony Council 37

7. Declaration and Resolves of the First Continental Congress (October 14, 1774)

Continental Congress 42

8. Declaration of the Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms (July 6, 1775)Continental Congress 46

9. Virginia Declaration of Rights ( June 12, 1776)House of Burgesses 52

10. Declaration of Independence ( July 4, 1776)Continental Congress 55

11. Constitution of Massachusetts (June 15, 1780)State Constitutional Convention Representatives 59

Table of Contents

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12. Articles of Confederation (March 1, 1781)Congress of the Confederation 78

13. Constitution of the United States (September 17, 1787)Congress of the Confederation 84

14. Bill of Rights (December 15, 1791)United States Congress 94

15. Other Amendments to the Constitution of the United States(February 7, 1795, to May 7, 1992)

United States Congress 97

16. Civil Rights Act ( July 2, 1964)United States Congress 104

17. Voting Rights Act (August 6, 1965)

United States Congress 133

Section IV. Territory

18. Treaty of Paris (September 3, 1783)Congress of the Confederation 143

19. Land Ordinance (May 20, 1785)Congress of the Confederation 148

20. Northwest Ordinance (July 13, 1787)Congress of the Confederation 154

21. Louisiana Purchase Treaty (April 30, 1803)United States Congress 160

22. Transcontinental Treaty (February 22, 1819)United States Congress 169

23. Resolution for the Annexation of Texas (March 1, 1845)United States Congress 175

24. Oregon Treaty ( June 15, 1846)United States Congress 180

25. Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (February 2,1

848)United States Congress 183

26. Gadsden Purchase Treaty (December 30, 1853)United States Congress 194

27. Alaska Treaty (March 30, 1867)United States Congress 200

28. Hawaii Resolution ( July 7, 1898)United States Congress 204

Section V. The Future29. The Future of Democracy

Robert M. Gates 209

x TABLE OF CONTENTS


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Appendices

A. Original Thirteen British Colonies 215

B. States and Their Dates of Admission to the Union 216

C. Presidents of the United States 216

D. Formal Declarations of War by the United States 217

E. Number of Governmental Units in the United States 217

F. United States Voting Rights History 218

G. Major Cases in Supreme Court History 219

H. Local Government Historical Document 223

I. Abbreviations and Acronyms 224

J. Glossary 225

K. State Library Resource Directory 227

L. National Resource Directory 228

Bibliography 231

Index 235

Table of Contents xi


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American citizens have a lot to be proudof! They live in one of the oldest democraticforms of government in the world, and thisform of government has helped create a so-

ciety in which citizens are free to get involvedin the political process. Citizens can vote,run for political office, endorse incumbents,promote new public office seekers, or merelyback other people who do so. Also, betweenelections citizens are free to attend publicmeetings, many of which are required by law,speak about their policy and program pref-erences at these meetings, write letters to theeditor, and even organize others to get in-

volved in their political agenda.The involvement of citizens in the

American political process has changed overthe years. For many years, citizens believed in

Jacksonian Democracy, whereby they wouldget directly involved in the political processby attending meetings, advocating for piecesof legislation, or trying to change or invali-date legislation that they did not like. Thispolitical activism on the part of citizens pri-

marily took place before the era of two in-come families, before there came to be littletime for this type of political involvement.Democracy in America was founded on theprinciple of active political involvement onthe part of its citizens.

Most adult households now have bothparents working, and family time is limitedto a few hours in the evenings after work.Many citizens nowadays merely elect their

political representatives, and hold them ac-

countable at voting time from election toelection. This evolving type of democraticinvolvement on the part of citizens is called

Jeffersonian Democracy. Many citizens have

justified this type of political involvement byacknowledging that elections and voting givethe common person a chance to elect the un-common person to represent them. Underthis evolving practice, the typical involve-ment of many citizens in the political processis merely voting at election time.

The political involvement of manyAmericans in years past included picketing,protesting, marching, signing petitions, at-

tending public meetings, and publicly debat-ing the issues. Today Americans may wear apolitical button, display a bumper sticker ontheir car, or place a candidates sign in theirfront yard. Many citizens may also contributefinancially to political campaigns. Because ofother social and economic commitments,

American citizens have evolved throughouthistory from engaging in very active politicalinvolvement to more passive political activi-

ties.Everyone will agree that there is no per-

fect form of government, and the best formis one that has evolved and changed over timeto best serve its citizens. Most citizens todaytake their form of government for granted.

After all, it is the only form of governmentthey have ever known. While history is pro-vided to students in high school and college,little time is spent focusing on how our coun-

trys democratic form of government was es-

Preface

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tablished and, most importantly, how it hasevolved over time to become one of the mostrespected national governments in the world.Many history classes start with the landing of

the Pilgrims, and never cover the backgroundand mind-set of the early settlers from theKingdom of England. They had a form ofgovernment that greatly influenced and im-pacted the early settlers in the New World.

This volume focuses on the basics of theformation of Americas democracy, how thecountry expanded, and the changes that havetaken place over the years through legisla-tion, constitutional amendments, supreme

court decisions, and the impact of the evo-lution of our culture over time on our polit-ical processes. Many of the political changesto our democracy, and its form of govern-ment, resulted over time in response tochanging citizen values and expectations. As

American society evolved, so did many as-pects of its democracy. These changes havemanifested themselves in every changing po-litical process, new and revised laws and reg-

ulations, as well as the magnitude and typeof services provided by its governments.

For ease of reference, this volume is di-vided into five sections. The first section in-troduces the reader to the subject of Americandemocracy. The second section highlights thefoundation of our form of government,

which was influenced by King John as well asthe Parliament of England. Section three,and the longest, contains the core documents

that established our democratic form of gov-ernment. Section four focuses on the territo-rial expansion of the United States, from theestablishment of the colonies to a country

with fifty states. The final section examinesthe future of democracy, as well as its world-

wide implications . Several appendices arealso included to provide the reader with agreater understanding of the complex anddynamic field of Americas democracy.

Based upon this background informa-tion, and the conceptual schema developedto assemble and present this material, the five

primary sections of this volume are high-lighted and briefly examined below.

IntroductionThis chapter provides the reader with

an introduction to the field of Americandemocracy. It examines the origins of democ-racy in the world, the path leading to mod-ern democracy, and democracy in the UnitedStates. The concluding portion of the chap-ter is an overview of theories of government.This chapter will give the reader insight intothe origins of the history of democracy, its

world-wide implications, and provide thefoundation upon which to examine and un-derstand the subsequent sections of this vol-ume.

The Foundation

Our founding fathers, when they landedin the New World, had historical precedent

for the requirements of government, as wellas the liberties that should be given to citi-zens. The Pilgrims were from the Kingdomof England, and they had knowledge of sev-eral documents that formed the basis of thegovernment in their homeland, as well as thefreedoms and rights granted to its citizens.The documents examined in this section,

which provide the foundation for Americasdemocracy, are highlighted below.

The Magna Carta, which was sealed byKing John of England on June 15, 1215.This document is the first one of its kindin England, as well as the rest of the world,to acknowledge the freedoms and rightsof citizens.

The Petition of Right,which was approvedby the Parliament of England on May 27,1628. This was the first document ap-proved by the Parliament of England that

set forth and acknowledged the rights andliberties of citizens in the Americancolonies.

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The English Bill of Rights, which wasapproved by the Parliament of England onDecember 16, 1689. This document setforth the rights and liberties of citizens,

and residents from other countries, andrequired for the Crown to seek the consentof the Parliament before taking certain ac-tions impacting citizens.

The Core Documents

Various documents helped form Amer-icas democratic form of government, start-ing with those created by the Pilgrims soonafter their landing in an unfamiliar part ofthe world far from their home. The originalcolonists were loyal to England, and it tooka war to emancipate the colonies and theirresidents, the colonists, from the governmentof their homeland. During this time coloniesemerged, citizens were elected to hold pub-lic office, wars were fought, treaties were ne-gotiated, and even amendments were made tothe basic documents of government over the

years. The documents examined in this sec-tion include:

TheMayflower Compact, which was signedby the Pilgrims of the New World on No-vember 21, 1620. The first document in theNew World was signed to preserve orderand establish rules for self-governance.

The Fundamental Orders of Connecticut,which were approved by the Colony

Council on January 14, 1639. This docu-ment is considered the first written consti-tution establishing a formal governmentin the New World.

The Declaration and Resolves of the FirstContinental Congress, which were ap-proved by the Continental Congress onOctober 14, 1774. This document was cre-ated to make the King and Parliament ofEngland officially aware of the grievances

of the colonies. The Declaration of the Causes and Necessity

of Taking Up Arms, which was approved

by the Continental Congress on July 6,1775. This document was prepared to ex-plain why the Thirteen Colonies had takenup arms against England in a battle that

was later called the American Revolution. The Virginia Declaration of Rights, which

was approved by the House of Burgesseson June 12, 1776. This document reflectsthe first declaration of the rights of citizensby a colony in the New World.

The Declaration of Independence, whichwas approved by the Continental Congresson July 4, 1776. This document is theproduct of the early days of the Revolu-

tionary War, and officially declared the in-dependence of the American coloniesfrom Great Britain.

The Constitution of Massachusetts, whichwas approved by the State ConstitutionalConvention Representatives on June 15,1780. This document is the oldest func-tioning written constitution in continu-ous use by any government in the world.

The Articles of Confederation, which were

approved by the Congress of the Confed-eration on March 1, 1781. This documentis historically recognized as the first con-stitution of the United States of America.

The Constitution of the United States, whichwas approved by the Congress of the Con-federation on September 17, 1787. Theoriginal constitution is known as thesupreme law of the United States. It pro-vides the foundation, and source of legal

authority, as well as built-in checks-and-balances, for the United States and its fed-eral government.

The Bill of Rights, which was approved bythe United States Congress on December15, 1791. This document reflects the firstten amendments to the United StatesConstitution. While introduced by JamesMadison in the First United States Con-gress in 1789, they were not effective untilapproved by three-fourths of the statestwo years later.

The Other Amendments to the Constitution

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of the United States, which were approvedby the United States Congress betweenFebruary 7, 1795 and May 7, 1992. TheConstitution of the United Statescontains

an amendment process. This documentincludes those amendments made to theConstitution since the passage of the Billof Rights in 1791.

The Civil Rights Act, which was approvedby the United States Congress on July 2,1964. This document mandated an en-forcement process to prevent discrimina-tion in voting, the use of public housing,public education, and federally assisted

programs. The Voting Rights Act, which was approved

by the United States Congress on August6, 1965. This document reflects the mostsignificant statutory change in the rela-tionship between the federal and stategovernments in the area of voting sincethe Civil War.

TerritoryThe nation started with the English

Colony of Roanoke, which was established in1585. This colony ceased to exist as the resi-dents either went their own way to avoid theaboriginal people, and to find suitable farm-land to grow food. The Virginia Company ofPlymouth, England, was granted rights toland in what became the Colony of Virginia.The people they brought over lived in a set-

tlement subsequently called Jamestown. Thefirst citizens not involved in a private venturesuch as the Virginia Company were the Pil-grims, who landed in what later becameknown as the Colony of Massachusetts. The

American War of Independence ultimatelyled to the recognition of the original 13colonies in the New World. What was Colo-nial America ultimately became the UnitedStates of America, which now consists of 50states. The documents included within rela-tive to the territorial formation of Americaare listed below.

The Treaty of Paris, which was approvedby the Congress of the Confederation onSeptember 3, 1783. This document led tothe recognition of the original 13 colonies

in the New World. The Land Ordinance, which was approved

by the Congress of the Confederation onMay 20, 1785. This document led to the

westward expansion of the originalcolonies.

The Northwest Ordinance, which was ap-proved by the Congress of the Confeder-ation on July 13, 1787, and led to the ul-timate colonization of the land northwest

of the Ohio River. The Louisiana Purchase Treaty, which was

approved by the United States Congresson April 30, 1803. This document led tothe expansion of the nation to the southand southwest of the original ThirteenColonies.

The Transcontinental Treaty, approved bythe United States Congress on February22, 1819. This document led to the expan-

sion of the nation in parts of what wouldlater be called the state of Florida.

The Resolution for the Annexation of Texas,which was approved by the United StatesCongress on March 1, 1845. This docu-ment approved the voluntary annexationfor the Republic of Texas to become a partof the United States of America.

The Oregon Treaty, which was approved bythe United States Congress on June 15,

1846. This document between the UnitedKingdom of Great Britain and Ireland set-tled the border dispute for what was thenknown as Oregon Country, which is lo-cated in the northwest section of theUnited States.

The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, whichwas approved by the United States Con-gress on February 22, 1848. This docu-ment gave the United States legal rights tosouthwestern and western portions of theUnited States.

The Gadsden Purchase Treaty, which was

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approved by the United States Congresson December 30, 1853. This documentsettled the ongoing border dispute be-tween the United States and Mexico in the

territory that now forms the states of Ari-zona and New Mexico.

TheAlaska Treaty, which was approved bythe United States Congress on March 30,1867. This document approved the trans-fer of the Territory of Alaska from Russiato the United States of America.

The Hawaii Resolution, which was ap-proved by the United States Congress on

July 7, 1898. This document approved the

annexation of the Hawaiian Islands as aterritory, and granted legal possession ofthis area to the United States of America.

The Future

The final chapter of this volume, TheFuture of Democracy, examines the impactthat democracy has had on the United Statesof America, as well as the goal of its govern-

ment to advance freedom and democracythroughout the world over the years. The au-thor discusses the history of Americasdemocracy, including past problems andthreats, and goes on to examine internationalthreats facing our nation and its citizens, as

well as their form of government. The authorstates that the underlying theme of Americanhistory has been the willingness of our gov-ernment, as influenced by its politicians, to

defend our security and our interests in waysthat, in the long run, have led to the expan-sion of democratic values and institutions.He concludes by stating that America, and itsform of government, is looked upon as amodel to emulate by citizens of other coun-tries throughout the world.

Appendices

Many hours were spent researching thevaluable resource materials contained in thisvolume. Since this volume focuses on docu-

ments, every effort was made to providebackground information for the reader to be-come more familiar with the history of

Americas democratic form of governance. To

this end, some thirteen appendices are in-cluded to further examine the formation ofthe Thirteen Colonies, their colonial expan-sion, the number of states in the UnitedStates, the Presidents of the United States,and formal Declarations of War approved bythe U. S. Congress. Other appendices includethe number of government units in America,the voting rights history that has evolved inthe United States, and major decisions by the

Supreme Court throughout our history. Alsoincluded is a listing of abbreviations andacronyms, a glossary of terms, and a listingof state libraries. Finally, and of great value,are a listing of important national resourcesand a bibliography of books and periodi-cals in this field. The resource materials con-tained in the appendices are briefly examinedbelow.

Original Thirteen British ColoniesListedby the name of the colony, the year each

was founded, as well as the name of thefounder.

States and Their Dates of Admission to theUnionEach state is listed in rank orderbased on the date of its admission to theUnited States, along with the date on

which each state was admitted to theUnion.

Presidents of the United StatesListed bythe name of each president, their numberof years in office, and their political partyaffiliation.

Formal Declarations of War by the UnitedStatesListed by the name given to each

war, the countries we fought against ineach war, who was president at the timethat each declaration was approved, andthe name and date of the document thatconcluded each war.

Number of Governmental Units in theUnited StatesListed categorically for the

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federal, state, and local governments. Thenumber of units is shown for 1962 and2007, along with the changes that havetaken place over the years in each cate-

gory. United States Voting Rights HistoryVoting

rights, or the expansion of them, are listedby year, the document approved and/oraction taken, and the legal impact of thelaw or court decision that was made togrant or acquire them.

Major Cases in Supreme Court HistoryListed by the name of each major courtcase, the year in which each case was de-

cided, and a summary of the legal impactof the court decision made.

Local Government Historical DocumentThe first local government in the Ameri-can colonies to declare its independencefrom Great Britain was MecklenburgCounty, North Carolina, on May 20, 1775.Because of its significance, this documentis shown in its entirety.

Abbreviations and AcronymsNumerous

abbreviations and acronyms are listed thatrelate to American democracy and the fed-eral government.

GlossaryA list of words and terms thatrelate to American democracy and ourfederal government.

State Library Resource DirectoryThe pub-lic library for each state is listed in alpha-betical order by state. Each library has a

wealth of information about the history

of the state, as well as our federal govern-ment.

National Resource DirectoryThis direc-tory reflects organizations and associationslisted categorically for the public, non-profit, and educational sectors. The list-ings in each category are shown in alpha-betical order.

BibliographyBooks that relate to Amer-icas democracy and form of governmentand related subjects. A list of periodicalsthat relate to Americas democracy and

form of government and related subjects,is included in the bibliography.

I would like to emphasize that manyvolumes that contain important documentsof government and governance do not in-clude the history that led to their prepara-tion, consideration, and approval. In somecases, citizens have been involved in petitionsigning, protest marches, political demon-

strations, and even battles and wars, such aswhen the colonies were granted their inde-pendence. For example, it is common knowl-edge that the civil rights movement in theearly 1960s and the activities that took placethroughout the nation during this time led tothe adoption of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.For this reason, every document in this vol-ume contains a section titled The Historythat precedes that portion of the chapter ti-

tled The Document. The purpose of thisformat is to place every document in itsproper historical and political context at thetime of its approval.

Lastly, I would like to personally thankrepresentatives from several organizations forproviding resources and advice during thepreparation of this volume. These organiza-tions include civic education associations,professional organizations, nonprofit foun-

dations, national government agencies (in theUnited States and United Kingdom), as wellas educational institutions. All of these or-ganizations, and particularly their staffs, pro-vided valuable input and documents signifi-cant and important to this volume. Theseorganizations are listed in the Acknowledg-ments.

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Origins of Democracy*

The word democracy, as well as theconcept it represents, can be traced back tothe area surrounding the Mediterranean Sea.The beginnings of democracy can be creditedto the Greeks of the sixth century, B.C. The

word comes from two Greek words: demos,meaning the people, and kratein, meaningto rule. These two words are joined to-gether to form democracy, literally meaningrule of the people (Pious). The Greek sys-

tem of government was perhaps closer to atrue democracy or rule by the people thanany other in history. The Greeks viewed dic-tatorship as the worst possible form of gov-ernment, so their government evolved as theexact opposite. Their civilization was brokendown into small city-states (never more than10,000 citizens), and all the men voted on allissues of government. There were no repre-sentatives in the Greek system of govern-

ment. Instead, they ruled themselves directly;each man was a life long member of the de-cision making body. This was almost a totaldemocracy except for the fact that womenand slaves (over 50 percent of the popula-tion) were not considered citizens and werenot allowed to vote. Despite this, no othercivilization has come as close to democracy asits creators, the Greeks, and many later civ-

ilizations have incorporated this Greek ideaas part of the foundation of their government(Lee; Lefebvre).

Ideas of democracy similar to that of theGreeks were used by the Romans, though notto the same extent. The Roman Empire(50927 B.C.) took some of their govern-mental ideals from the Greeks. Their gov-ernment was a representative democracy,

which had representatives from the nobilityin the Senate and representatives from the

commoners in the Assembly. Governmentalpower was divided between these twobranches and they voted on various issues.Many Roman political thinkers were fond ofdemocracy. The Roman Statesman Cicero

was one. Cicero suggested that all peoplehave certain rights that should be preserved.He and other political philosophers of thetime taught that governmental and politicalpower should come from the people (Lefeb-

vre; Lee). After the trend of democracy wasstarted by the Greeks and carried on by theRomans, it has been seen in many later gov-ernmental systems throughout history.

Democracy in the Middle Ages

Though democracy was not directly in-stituted in the Middle Ages, many democratic

7

SECTIONI: THEINTRODUCTION

CHAPTER 1

American Democracy

Eric Barr, John Baird, andTaylor Rankin

*Originally published as portions of A More Perfect Union: An Exploration of American Democracy, Oracle Educa-tion Foundation, Redwood Shores, California, 1999. Reprinted with permission of the publisher.


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ideas were prevalent throughout the period.Because Christianity, which taught that men

were created equal in the eyes of God, wasdeeply ingrained into the society of the Mid-

dle Ages, the democratic idea of equality wasunderstood by many of the people. The Mid-dle Ages, however, utilized another form ofgovernment, which was developed duringthis period, called feudalism. Feudalismstressed that all people have certain rights anddeveloped a system of courts to defend theserights. From these courts came the modernday judicial branch of the American govern-ment along with many of the ideas such as

kings councils, assemblies and eventuallyparliamentary systems (Sanford 2027).

Democracy in England

In A.D. 1215, the Magna Carta openedthe door to a more democratic system in En-gland. Nobles forced King John to sign thisGreat Charter that created the EnglishParliament, or law-making body, and

stated that the written laws held a higherpower than the king, thereby limiting thepower of the Royal family and giving someof that power to the people. Later, the Peti-tion of Right (1628) stipulated that the Kingcould no longer tax without parliaments per-mission and the Bill of Rights (1689) pro-vided freedom of speech and banned cruel orunusual punishment. These strengthenedParliament further and gave the people more

right to express themselves. Though these re-forms did not make England a true democ-racy in any sense, they did incorporate dem-ocratic ideals, which would later be used toform the government of the United States(Lefebvre; Pious).

The concept of democracy continued tobe prevalent in Europe with the philosophiesof an English philosopher by the name of

John Locke and a French philosopher namedJean Jacques Rousseau. Lockes book, TwoTreatises (published in 1690), stated thatunder the social contract, the governments

job was to protect natural rights, which in-cluded the right to life, liberty, and the own-ership of property. Rousseau expanded onthis idea with his book, The Social Contract,

in 1762. In essence, these two philosopherssaid that the people should have input onhow their government is run. This school ofthought paved the way for modern day

American Democracy (Lefebvre).

The Path of Modern Democracy

The American Revolution is anotherimportant event in the history of democracy.

The first step, of course, in Americas pursuitof democracy was the Declaration of Inde-pendence in 1776. In this great document,

written by Thomas Jefferson, many ideas aretaken from the aforementioned philosophers,Locke and Rousseau. From Locke, Jeffersonborrowed the idea that all men are createdequal, and he altered the right to life, libertyand property to the right to life, liberty andthe pursuit of happiness. Jefferson borrowed

a little from Rousseau as well when he saidthat all men should have the right to take uparms against the government if it did not re-spect these rights (Jefferson).

In the French Revolution, a similar causewas espoused. Political thinkers and philoso-phers such as Montesquieu, Voltaire, andRousseau inspired the people by building offof American ideas and insisting that freedomcomes only after the legislative, judicial and

executive branches of the government areseparated. The people of France overthrewthe king, then set forth the Declaration ofthe Rights of Man, which changed Lockesright to life, liberty and property to the rightto liberty, property, security, and resistanceto oppression. (The resistance to oppressionprobably came from Rousseau.) These ideas,like the ones in the American Declaration ofIndependence, lended themselves to a par-tially democratic system where the powers ofthe king are limited and the people have somesay in their government (Pious; Lefebvre).

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All over the world, revolutions began tospring up against monarchies, and demo-cratic governments began to develop. Beforethe end of the 19th century, almost all of the

Western European monarchies had adopteda constitution allowing the power of theRoyal Family and giving some power to thepeople. Parliamentary type representativelegislatures were also developed in many ofthese countries, giving the people morepower to rule (Pious).

With the growing success of democracyin the United States and in other countriesthroughout the world, democracy became

more and more popular. By the 1950s, al-most every independent country on theplanet had a government that embodiedsome of the principles and ideals put forth indemocracy. The model nation for these prin-ciples became the United States (Pious; San-ford 2027).

Democracy in America

Modern American democracy is in theform of a democratic republic or a represen-tative democracy. A representative democ-racy came about in the United States becausethe colonists were tired of taxation withoutrepresentation and wanted a more fair sys-tem where the people had more say in therule of the country. They did not desire the

Athenian form of democracy, however, asthey feared it would give the people too much

power and would lend control of the govern-ment to the uneducated masses. What theycame up with was a representative democ-racy wherein elected representatives ratherthan direct rule by the people rule the gov-ernment. These representatives are elected

with the idea that they will accurately repre-sent their constituents, but in case somedont, the U.S. government is divided intothree branches to keep corruption in check.These three branches are the Executive, Leg-islative, and Judicial branches; no one branchcontains absolute power, rather, each branch

is balanced off of the others creating a systemof checks and balances to protect the princi-pals of democracy. This system is in no wayperfect, and this is why we must pursue a

more perfect form of democracy and a moreperfect union between our citizens, states andcountry (Pious; Sanford 2027).

Theories of Government

A discussion of American democracypresupposes a basic understanding of whatgovernment is and what purposes it fulfills.But in reality, as one cannot comprehend

what hot means without experiencing cold,one cannot achieve the fullest understandingof American democracy without a basicknowledge of other theories of government.

One method by which governmentsmay be classified is according to distributionof power. In a unitary government, the cen-tral government possesses much authorityand decision-making power. Local govern-ment bodies simply serve as administrative

arms of the central government. Great Brit-ain is a familiar example of a unitary govern-ment; individual British countries have littleof the power commonly exercised by Amer-ican states. France, with 90 departmentsgrouped in 36 provinces, also has a unitaryform of government. It is important, how-ever, to note that unitary governments arenot inherently less democratic than otherforms (Sanford 10).

Power is distributed completely oppo-site of a unitary government in a confederategovernment. Local governments protect andpreserve their own authority by forming a

weak central government. The United Stateshas briefly employed confederate systems ofgovernment, in the Articles of Confedera-tion, whose weaknesses led to the currentfederal system, and in the southern states at-tempts to form the Confederate States of

America (Sanford 10).In a federal government, power is split

between a central government authority and

1. American Democracy 9


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its constituent states. Usually, an overridinglaw of the land, known as a constitution, al-locates duties, rights, and privileges to eachlevel of government. The constitution usually

defines how power is shared between na-tional, state, and local governments; thepower to amend this constitution is usuallygranted to the citizens or their governmentalrepresentatives (Sanford 1011).

A second way by which governmentsmay be classified is according to decision-making power. There are two basic categoriesin which governments are classified. In a to-talitarian government, the power of rulers is

not limited by outside forces, such as elec-tions or public opinion. Totalitarian systemsalso restrict personal freedom in most cases.

Principles and Models

To better understand the problemsdemocracy faces, we must first understandthe principles of democracy. Democracy isa system of rule that permits citizens to play

a significant part in the governmentalprocess, according toAmerican Governmentby Theodore Lowi and Benjamin Ginsberg(A32). There are various interpretations ofthis definition and consequently many mod-

els of democracy. These models can be sepa-rated into two categories, direct and indirect.In direct democracies, all citizens are activelyinvolved in making decisions, while in indi-

rect democracies, citizens elect representa-tives to make laws and administer govern-mental affairs (Green 27).

REFERENCESGinsberg, Benjamin and Theodore J. Lowi.American Gov-

ernment: Freedom and Power. New York: W.W. Nortonand Company, 1996.

Green, Carl R. and William R. Sanford. Basic Principles ofAmerican Government. New York: Amsco School Publi-cations, 1977.

Jefferson, Thomas . The Declaration of Independence.

Indiana School of Law Bloomington. http://www.law.indiana.edu/uslawdocs/declaration.html. 14 March1999.

Lee, John, Emily Wichman, and Robert Herman. A QuickHistory of Democracy. The Future of Democracy. http://tqd.advanced.org/3154/info/history.html. 5 March 1999.

Lefebvre, Eliot. The World History of Democracy. http://www.geocities .com/Area51/Cavern/6381/history2.html.5 March 1999.

Pious, Richard M. Democracy.Microsoft Encar ta 98 En-cyclopedia. Microsoft Corporation, 1997.

NOTE

For additional information about the democratic formof government, including comments by leading sociolo-gists, please refer to A More Perfect Union: An Explorationof American Democracy . This website was designed for educational use byboth adults and children.

10 I. INTRODUCTION

At the time this was written, John Baird, Eric Barr and Taylor Rankin were members of the ThinkQuestTeam Project, Oracle Education Foundation, Redwood Shores, California.


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The History

Magna Carta and ItsAmerican Legacy*

Before penning the Declaration of Inde-pendencethe first of the American Char-ters of Freedom in 1776, the Founding Fa-thers searched for a historical precedent for

asserting their rightful liberties from KingGeorge III and the English Parliament. Theyfound it in a gathering that took place 561years earlier on the plains of Runnymede, notfar from where Windsor Castle stands today.There, on June 15, 1215, an assembly of baronsconfronted a despotic and cash-strappedKing John and demanded that traditionalrights be recognized, written down, con-firmed with the royal seal, and sent to each

of the counties to be read to all freemen. Theresult was Magna Cartaa momentousachievement for the English barons and,nearly six centuries later, an inspiration forangry American colonists.

Magna Carta was the result of theAngevin kings disastrous foreign policy andoverzealous financial administration. John

had suffered a staggering blow the previousyear, having lost an important battle to KingPhilip II at Bouvines and with it all hope ofregaining the French lands he had inherited.

When the defeated John returned from theContinent, he attempted to rebuild his cof-fers by demanding scutage (a fee paid in lieuof military service) from the barons who hadnot joined his war with Philip. The barons in

question, predominantly lords of northernestates, protested, condemning Johns poli-cies and insisting on a reconfirmation ofHenry Is Coronation Oath (1100), which

would, in theory, limit the kings ability toobtain funds. (As even Henry ignored the pro-visions of this charter, however, a reconfirma-tion would not necessarily guarantee fewertaxes.) But John refused to withdraw his de-mands, and by spring most baronial families

began to take sides. The rebelling baronssoon faltered before Johns superior resources,but with the unexpected capture of London,they earned a substantial bargaining chip.

John agreed to grant a charter.The document conceded by John and

set with his seal in 1215, however, was notwhat we know today as Magna Carta but

SECTIONII: THEFOUNDATION

CHAPTER2

Magna Carta( June 15, 1215)

King John of England

11

*Originally published as Magna Carta and Its American Legacy, Featured Documents, U.S. National Archives andRecords Administration, Washington, DC, 2008. For additional information see Magna Carta and Its American

Legacy, Featured Documents, U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, College Park, Maryland, 2008.This agency is listed in the National Resource Directorysection of this volume.


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rather a set of baronial stipulations, now lost,known as the Articles of the barons. After

John and his barons agreed on the final pro-visions and additional wording changes, they

issued a formal version on June 19, and it isthis document that came to be known asMagna Carta. Of great significance to futuregenerations was a minor wording change, thereplacement of the term any baron withany freeman in stipulating to whom theprovisions applied. Over time, it would help

justify the application of the Charters pro-visions to a greater part of the population.

While freemen were a minority in 13th-cen-

tury England, this term would eventually in-clude all English, just as We the People

would come to apply to all Americans in thiscentury.

While Magna Carta would one day be-come a basic document of the British Con-stitution, democracy and universal protec-tion of ancient liberties were not among thebarons goals. The Charter was a feudal doc-ument and meant to protect the rights and

properties of the few powerful families thattopped the rigidly structured feudal system.In fact, the majority of the population, thethousands of unfree laborers, is only men-tioned once, in a clause concerning the useof court-set fines to punish minor offenses.Magna Cartas primary purpose was restora-tive: to force King John to recognize the su-premacy of ancient liberties, to limit his abil-ity to raise funds, and to reassert the principle

of due process. Only a final clause, whichcreated an enforcement council of tenants-in-chief and clergymen, would have severelylimited the kings power and introducedsomething new to English law: the principleof majority rule. But majority rule was anidea whose time had not yet come; in Sep-tember, at Johns urging, Pope Innocent IIannulled the shameful and demeaningagreement, forced upon the king by violenceand fear. The civil war that followed endedonly with Johns death in October 1216.

On indefinite loan from the Perot

Foundation, a 1297 version of Magna Cartashares space with the Charters of Freedom inthe National Archives Rotunda.

To gain support for the new monarch

Johns 9-year-old son, Henry III the youngkings regents reissued the charter in 1217.Neither this version nor that issued by Henry

when he assumed personal control of thethrone in 1225 were exact duplicates of Johnscharter; both lacked some provisions, in-cluding that providing for the enforcementcouncil, found in the original. With the 1225issuance, however, the evolution of the doc-ument ended. While English monarchs, in-

cluding Henry, confirmed Magna Carta sev-eral times after this, each subsequent issuefollowed the form of this final version. Witheach confirmation, copies of the document

were made and sent to the counties so thateveryone would know their rights and obli-gations. Of these original issues of MagnaCarta, 17 survive : 4 from the reign of John;8 from that of Henry III; and 5 from EdwardI, including the version now on display at the

National Archives.Although tradition and interpretation

would one day make Magna Carta a docu-ment of great importance to both Englandand the American colonies, it originallygranted concessions to few but the powerfulbaronial families. It did include concessionsto the Church, merchants, townsmen, andthe lower aristocracy for their aid in the re-bellion, but the majority of the English pop-

ulation would remain without an active voicein government for another 700 years.

Despite its historical significance, how-ever, Magna Carta may have remained legallyinconsequential had it not been resurrectedand reinterpreted by Sir Edward Coke in theearly 17th century. Coke, Attorney Generalfor Elizabeth, Chief Justice during the reignof James, and a leader in Parliament in op-position to Charles I, used Magna Carta as a

weapon against the oppressive tactics of theStuart kings. Coke argued that even kingsmust comply to common law. As he pro-

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claimed to Parliament in 1628, Magna Carta... will have no sovereign.

Lord Cokes view of the law was partic-ularly relevant to the American experience

for it was during this period that the chartersfor the colonies were written. Each includedthe guarantee that those sailing for the New

World and their heirs would have all therights and immunities of free and naturalsubjects. As our forefathers developed legalcodes for the colonies, many incorporatedliberties guaranteed by Magna Carta and the1689 English Bill of Rights directly into theirown statutes. Although few colonists could

afford legal training in England, they re-mained remarkably familiar with Englishcommon law. During one parliamentary de-bate in the late 18th century, Edmund Burkeobserved, In no country, perhaps in the

world, is law so general a study. ThroughCoke, whose four-volume Institutes of theLaws of England was widely read by Ameri-can law students, young colonists such as

John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and James

Madison learned of the spirit of the charterand the common lawor at least Cokes in-terpretation of them. Later, Jefferson would

write to Madison of Coke : a sounder whignever wrote, not of profounder learning inthe orthodox doctrines of the British consti-tution, or in what were called English liber-ties. It is no wonder then that as thecolonists prepared for war they would look toCoke and Magna Carta for justification.

By the 1760s the colonists had come tobelieve that in America they were creating aplace that adopted the best of the Englishsystem but adapted it to new circumstances;a place where a person could rise by merit,not birth; a place where men could voicetheir opinions and actively share in self-gov-ernment. But these beliefs were soon tested.Following the costly Seven Years War, GreatBritain was burdened with substantial debtsand the continuing expense of keeping troopson American soil. Parliament thought thecolonies should finance much of their own

defense and levied the first direct tax, theStamp Act, in 1765. As a result, virtually everydocumentnewspapers, licenses, insurancepolicies, legal writs, even playing cards

would have to carry a stamp showing that re-quired taxes had been paid. The colonists re-belled against such control over their dailyaffairs. Their own elected legislative bodieshad not been asked to consent to the Stamp

Act. The colonists argued that without ei-ther this local consent or direct representationin Parliament, the act was taxation withoutrepresentation. They also objected to thelaws provision that those who disobeyed

could be tried in admiralty courts without ajury of their peers. Cokes influence on Amer-icans showed clearly when the Massachusetts

Assembly reacted by declaring the Stamp Actagainst the Magna Carta and the naturalrights of Englishmen, and therefore, accord-ing to Lord Coke, null and void.

But regardless of whether the charterforbade taxation without representation or ifthis was merely implied by the spirit, the

colonists used this misinterpretation tocondemn the Stamp Act. To defend their ob-

jections, they turned to a 1609 or 1610 defenseargument used by Coke: superiority of thecommon law over acts of Parliament. Cokeclaimed When an act of parliament isagainst common right or reason, or repug-nant, or impossible to be performed, thecommon law will control it and adjudge suchan act void. Because the Stamp Act seemed

to tread on the concept of consensual taxa-tion, the colonists believed it, according toLord Coke, invalid.

The colonists were enraged. BenjaminFranklin and others in England eloquentlyargued the American case, and Parliamentquickly rescinded the bill. But the damage

was done; the political climate was chang-ing. As John Adams later wrote to Thomas

Jefferson, The Revolution was in the minds

of the people, and this was effected, from1760 to 1775, in the course of 15 years beforea drop of blood was shed at Lexington.

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Relations between Great Britain and thecolonies continued to deteriorate. The moreParliament tried to raise revenue and suppressthe growing unrest, the more the colonists

demanded the charter rights they had broughtwith them a century and a half earlier. At theheight of the Stamp Act crisis, William Pittproclaimed in Parliament, The Americans arethe sons not the bastards of England. Par-liament and the Crown, however, appearedto believe otherwise. But the Americans

would have their rights, and they would fightfor them. The seal adopted by Massachusettson the eve of the Revolution summed up the

mooda militiaman with sword in onehand and Magna Carta in the other.

Armed resistance broke out in April1775. Fifteen months later, the final break

was made with the immortal words of theDeclaration of Independence: We holdthese truths to be self-evident, that all Menare created equal, that they are endowed bytheir Creator with certain unalienable Rights,that among these are Life, Liberty and the

Pursuit of Happiness. Although the colonieshad finally and irrevocably articulated theirgoal, Independence did not come swiftly.Not until the surrender of British forces at

Yorktown in 1781 was the military strugglewon. The constitutional battle, however, wasjust beginning.

In the wars aftermath, many Americansrecognized that the rather loose confederationof States would have to be strengthened if the

new nation were to survive. James Madisonexpressed these concerns in a call for a con-vention at Philadelphia in 1787 to revise theArticles of Confederation: The good peopleof America are to decide the solemn question,

whether they will by wise and magnanimousefforts reap the just fruits of that Indepen-dence which they so gloriously acquired ... or

whether by giving way to unmanly jealousiesand prejudices, or to partial and transitoryinterests, they will renounce the auspiciousblessings prepared for them by the Revolu-tion. The representatives of the states lis-

tened to Madison and drew heavily from hisideas. Instead of revising the Articles, theycreated a new form of government, embod-ied in the Constitution of the United States.

Authority emanated directly from the people,not from any governmental body. And theConstitution would be the supreme Law ofthe Landjust as Magna Carta had beendeemed superior to other statutes.

In 1215, when King John confirmedMagna Carta with his seal, he was acknowl-edging the now firmly embedded conceptthat no mannot even the kingis abovethe law. That was a milestone in constitu-

tional thought for the 13th century and forcenturies to come. In 1779 John Adams ex-pressed it this way: A government of laws,and not of men. Further, the charter estab-lished important individual rights that havea direct legacy in the America Bill of Rights.

And during the United States history, theserights have been expanded. The U.S. Consti-tution is not a static document. Like MagnaCarta, it has been interpreted and reinter-

preted throughout the years. This has allowedthe Constitution to become the longest-last-ing constitution in the world and a model forthose penned by other nations. Through ju-dicial review and amendment, it has evolvedso that today Americansregardless of gen-der, race, or creedcan enjoy the libertiesand protection it guarantees. Just as MagnaCarta stood as a bulwark against tyranny inEngland, the U.S. Constitution and Bill of

Rights today serve similar roles, protectingthe individual freedoms of all Americansagainst arbitrary and capricious rule.

The Document*

Magna Carta

John, by the grace of God, king of En-

gland, lord of Ireland, duke of Normandy

14 II. FOUNDATION

*Words and terms included in the glossary that followsthe document are marked with a asterisk.


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and Aquitaine, and count of Anjou, to thearchbishops, bishops, abbots, earls, barons,

justiciaries, foresters, sheriffs, stewards, ser-vants, and to all his bailiffs and liege subjects,

greetings. Know that, having regard to Godand for the salvation of our soul, and thoseof all our ancestors and heirs, and unto thehonor of God and the advancement of hisholy Church and for the rectifying of ourrealm, we have granted as underwritten byadvice of our venerable fathers, Stephen,archbishop of Canterbury, primate of all En-gland and cardinal of the holy Roman Church,Henry, archbishop of Dublin, William of

London, Peter of Winchester, Jocelyn of Bathand Glastonbury, Hugh of Lincoln, Walter of

Worcester, William of Coventry, Benedict ofRochester, bishops; of Master Pandulf, sub-deacon and member of the household of ourlord the Pope, of brother Aymeric (master ofthe Knights of the Temple in England), andof the illustrious men William Marshal, earlof Pembroke, William, earl of Salisbury,

William, earl of Warenne, William, earl of

Arundel, Alan of Galloway (constable ofScotland), Waren Fitz Gerold, Peter Fitz Her-bert, Hubert De Burgh (seneschal of Poitou),Hugh de Neville, Matthew Fitz Herbert,Thomas Basset, Alan Basset, Philip dAubigny,Robert of Roppesley, John Marshal, John FitzHugh, and others, our liegemen.

1. In the first place we have granted toGod, and by this our present charter con-

firmed for us and our heirs forever that theEnglish Church shall be free, and shall haveher rights entire, and her liberties inviolate;and we will that it be thus observed; whichis apparent from this that the freedom ofelections, which is reckoned most importantand very essential to the English Church, we,of our pure and unconstrained will, didgrant, and did by our charter confirm anddid obtain the ratification of the same fromour lord, Pope Innocent III, before the quar-rel arose between us and our barons; and this

we will observe, and our will is that it be ob-

served in good faith by our heirs forever. Wehave also granted to all freemen of our king-dom, for us and our heirs forever, all the un-derwritten liberties, to be had and held by

them and their heirs, of us and our heirs for-ever.

2. If any of our earls or barons, or oth-ers holding of us in chief by military serviceshall have died, and at the time of his deathhis heir shall be full of age and owe relief,he shall have his inheritance by the old relief,to wit, the heir or heirs of an earl, for the

whole baroncy of an earl by 100; the heir orheirs of a baron, 100 for a whole barony;

the heir or heirs of a knight, 100s, at most,and whoever owes less let him give less, ac-cording to the ancient custom of fees.

3. If, however, the heir of any one ofthe aforesaid has been under age and in ward-ship, let him have his inheritance without re-lief and without fine when he comes of age.

4. The guardian of the land of an heirwho is thus under age, shall take from theland of the heir nothing but reasonable pro-

duce, reasonable customs, and reasonableservices, and that without destruction or

waste of men or goods; and if we have com-mitted the wardship of the lands of any suchminor to the sheriff, or to any other who isresponsible to us for its issues, and he hasmade destruction or waste of what he holdsin wardship, we will take of him amends, andthe land shall be committed to two lawfuland discreet men of that fee, who shall be re-

sponsible for the issues to us or to him towhom we shall assign them; and if we havegiven or sold the wardship of any such landto anyone and he has therein made destruc-tion or waste, he shall lose that wardship, andit shall be transferred to two lawful and dis-creet men of that fief, who shall be responsi-ble to us in like manner as aforesaid.

5. The guardian, moreover, so long ashe has the wardship of the land, shall keep up

the houses, parks, fishponds, stanks, mills,and other things pertaining to the land, outof the issues of the same land; and he shall

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restore to the heir, when he has come to fullage, all his land, stocked with ploughs and

wainage, according as the season of hus-bandry shall require, and the issues of the

land can reasonable bear.6. Heirs shall be married without dis-

paragement, yet so that before the marriagetakes place the nearest in blood to that heirshall have notice.

7. A widow, after the death of her hus-band, shall forthwith and without difficultyhave her marriage portion and inheritance;nor shall she give anything for her dower, orfor her marriage portion, or for the inheri-

tance which her husband and she held on theday of the death of that husband; and shemay remain in the house of her husband forforty days after his death, within which timeher dower shall be assigned to her.

8. No widow shall be compelled tomarry, so long as she prefers to live without ahusband; provided always that she gives secu-rity not to marry without our consent, if sheholds of us, or without the consent of the lord

of whom she holds, if she holds of another.9. Neither we nor our bailiffs will seize

any land or rent for any debt, as long as thechattels* of the debtor are sufficient to repaythe debt; nor shall the sureties of the debtorbe distrained* so long as the principal debtoris able to satisfy the debt; and if the princi-pal debtor shall fail to pay the debt, havingnothing wherewith to pay it, then the suretiesshall answer for the debt; and let them have

the lands and rents of the debtor, if they de-sire them, until they are indemnified for thedebt which they have paid for him, unlessthe principal debtor can show proof that heis discharged thereof as against the saidsureties.

10. If one who has borrowed from theJews any sum, great or small, die before thatloan be repaid, the debt shall not bear inter-est while the heir is under age, of whomso-ever he may hold; and if the debt fall into ourhands, we will not take anything except theprincipal sum contained in the bond.

11. And if anyone die indebted to theJews, his wife shall have her dower and paynothing of that debt; and if any children ofthe deceased are left under age, necessaries

shall be provided for them in keeping withthe holding of the deceased; and out of theresidue the debt shall be paid, reserving,however, service due to feudal lords; in likemanner let it be done touching debts due toothers than Jews.

12. No scutage* nor aid shall be im-posed on our kingdom, unless by commoncounsel of our kingdom, except for ransom-ing our person, for making our eldest son a

knight, and for once marrying our eldestdaughter; and for these there shall not belevied more than a reasonable aid. In likemanner it shall be done concerning aids fromthe city of London.

13. And the city of London shall haveall it ancient liberties and free customs, as

well by land as by water; furthermore, we de-cree and grant that all other cities, boroughs,towns, and ports shall have all their liberties

and free customs.14. And for obtaining the common

counsel of the kingdom anent the assessing ofan aid (except in the three cases aforesaid) orof a scutage, we will cause to be summonedthe archbishops, bishops, abbots, earls, andgreater barons, severally by our letters; and

we will moreover cause to be summoned gen-erally, through our sheriffs and bailiffs, andothers who holds of us in chief, for a fixed

date, namely, after the expiry of at least fortydays, and at a fixed place; and in all letters ofsuch summons we will specify the reason ofthe summons. And when the summons hasthus been made, the business shall proceedon the day appointed, according to the coun-sel of such as are present, although not all

who were summoned have come.15. We will not for the future grant to

anyone license to take an aid from his own

free tenants, except to ransom his person, tomake his eldest son a knight, and once tomarry his eldest daughter; and on each of

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these occasions there shall be levied only areasonable aid.

16. No one shall be distrained for per-formance of greater service for a knights fee,

or for any other free tenement, than is duetherefrom.

17. Common pleas shall not follow ourcourt, but shall be held in some fixed place.

18. Inquests of novel disseisin*, of MortdAncestor*, and of darrein presentment*shall not be held elsewhere than in their owncounty courts, and that in manner follow-ing; We, or, if we should be out of the realm,our chief justiciar, will send two justiciaries

through every county four times a year, whoshall alone with four knights of the countychosen by the county, hold the said assizes*in the county court, on the day and in theplace of meeting of that court.

19. And if any of the said assizes can-not be taken on the day of the county court,let there remain of the knights and freehold-ers, who were present at the county court onthat day, as many as may be required for the

efficient making of judgments, according asthe business be more or less.

20. A freeman shall not be amerced*for a slight offense, except in accordance withthe degree of the offense; and for a grave of-fense he shall be amerced in accordance withthe gravity of the offense, yet saving alwayshis contentment; and a merchant in thesame way, saving his merchandise and a vil-lain shall be amerced in the same way, saving

his wainage if they have fallen into ourmercy; and none of the aforesaid amerce-ments shall be imposed except by the oath ofhonest men of the neighborhood.

21. Earls and barons shall not beamerced except through their peers, and onlyin accordance with the degree of the offense.

22. A clerk shall not be amerced in re-spect of his lay holding except after the man-ner of the others aforesaid; further, he shallnot be amerced in accordance with the extentof his ecclesiastical benefice.

23. No village or individual shall be

compelled to make bridges at river banks, ex-cept those who from of old were legallybound to do so.

24. No sheriff, constable, coroners, or

others of our bailiffs, shall hold pleas of ourCrown.

25. All counties, hundred, wapentakes,and trithings (except our demesne manors)shall remain at the old rents, and without anyadditional payments.

26. If anyone holding of us a lay fiefshall die, and our sheriff or bailiff shall exhibitour letters patent of summons for a debt

which the deceased owed us, it shall be law-

ful for our sheriff or bailiff to attach and en-roll the chattels of the deceased, found uponthe lay fief, to the value of that debt, at thesight of law worthy men, provided alwaysthat nothing whatever be thence removeduntil the debt which is evident shall be fullypaid to us; and the residue shall be left to theexecutors to fulfill the will of the deceased;and if there be nothing due from him to us,all the chattels shall go to the deceased, sav-

ing to his wife and children their reasonableshares.

27. If any freeman shall die intestate*,his chattels shall be distributed by the handsof his nearest kinsfolk and friends, undersupervision of the Church, saving to everyone the debts which the deceased owed tohim.

28. No constable or other bailiff of oursshall take corn or other provisions from any-

one without immediately tendering moneytherefor, unless he can have postponementthereof by permission of the seller.

29. No constable shall compel anyknight to give money in lieu of castle-guard,

when he is willing to perform it in his ownperson, or (if he himself cannot do it fromany reasonable cause) then by another re-sponsible man. Further, if we have led or senthim upon military service, he shall be re-

lieved from guard in proportion to the timeduring which he has been on service becauseof us.

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30. No sheriff or bailiff of ours, or otherperson, shall take the horses or carts of anyfreeman for transport duty, against the willof the said freeman.

31. Neither we nor our bailiffs shalltake, for our castles or for any other work ofours, wood which is not ours, against the willof the owner of that wood.

32. We will not retain beyond one yearand one day, the lands those who have beenconvicted of felony, and the lands shall there-after be handed over to the lords of the fiefs.

33. All kydells for the future shall beremoved altogether from Thames and Med-

way, and throughout all England, exceptupon the seashore.

34. The writ which is called praecipe*shall not for the future be issued to anyone,regarding any tenement whereby a freemanmay lose his court.

35. Let there be one measure of winthroughout our whole realm; and one meas-ure of ale; and one measure of corn, to wit ,the London quarter; and one width of cloth

(whether dyed, or russet, or halberget), towit, two ells within the selvedges; of weightsalso let it be as of measures.

36. Nothing in future shall be given ortaken for a writ of inquisition of life or limbs,but freely it shall be granted, and never de-nied.

37. If anyone holds of us by fee-farm,either by socage* or by burage*, or of anyother land by knights service, we will not

(by reason of that fee-farm, socage, or burage),have the wardship of the heir, or of such landof his as if of the fief of that other; nor shall

we have wardship of that fee-farm, socage, orburgage, unless such fee-farm owes knightsservice. We will not by reason of any smallserjeancy which anyone may hold of us bythe service of rendering to us knives, arrows,or the like, have wardship of his heir or of theland which he holds of another lord ofknights service.

38. No bailiff for the future shall, uponhis own unsupported complaint, put anyone

to his law, without credible witnessesbrought for this purposes.

39. No freemen shall be taken or im-prisoned or disseised* or exiled or in any way

destroyed, nor will we go upon him nor sendupon him, except by the lawful judgment ofhis peers or by the law of the land.

40. To no one will we sell, to no onewill we refuse or delay, right or justice.

41. All merchants shall have safe andsecure exit from England, and entry to En-gland, with the right to tarry there and tomove about as well by land as by water, forbuying and selling by the ancient and right

customs, quit from all evil tolls, except (intime of war) such merchants as are of the landat war with us. And if such are found in ourland at the beginning of the war, they shallbe detained, without injury to their bodies orgoods, until information be received by us, orby our chief justiciar, how the merchants ofour land found in the land at war with us aretreated; and if our men are safe there, theothers shall be safe in our land.

42. It shall be lawful in future for any-one (excepting always those imprisoned oroutlawed in accordance with the law of thekingdom, and natives of any country at war

with us, and merchants, who shall be treatedas if above provided) to leave our kingdomand to return, safe and secure by land and

water, except for a short period in time ofwar, on grounds of public policy reservingalways the allegiance due to us.

43. If anyone holding of some escheat*(such as the honor of Wallingford, Notting-ham, Boulogne, Lancaster, or of other es-cheats which are in our hands and are bar-onies) shall die, his heir shall give no otherrelief, and perform no other service to usthan he would have done to the baron if thatbarony had been in the barons hand; and weshall hold it in the same manner in which thebaron held it.

44. Men who dwell without the forestneed not henceforth come before our justi-ciaries of the forest upon a general summons,

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unless they are in plea, or sureties of one ormore, who are attached to the forest.

45. We will appoint as justices, consta-bles, sheriffs, or bailiffs only such as know

the law of the realm and mean to observe itwell .

46. All barons who have foundedabbeys, concerning which they hold chartersfrom the kings of England, or of which theyhave long continued possession, shall havethe wardship of them, when vacant, as theyought to have.

47. All forests that have been madesuch in our time shall forthwith be disaf-

forested; and a similar course shall be fol-lowed with regard to river banks that havebeen placed in defense by us in our time.

48. All evil customs connected withforests and warrens, foresters and warreners,sheriffs and their officers, river banks andtheir wardens, shall immediately by inquiredinto in each county by twelve sworn knightsof the same county chosen by the honest menof the same county, and shall within forty

days of the said inquest, be utterly abolished,so as never to be restored, provided alwaysthat we previously have intimation thereof, orour justiciar, if we should not be in England.

49. We will immediately restore allhostages and charters delivered to us by Eng-lishmen, as sureties of the peace of faithfulservice.

50. We will entirely remove from theirbailiwicks, the relations of Gerard of Athee

(so that in future they shall have no bailiwickin England); namely, Engelard of Cigogne,Peter, Guy, and Andrew of Chanceaux, Guyof Cigogne, Geoffrey of Martigny with hisbrothers, Philip Mark with his brothers andhis nephew Geoffrey, and the whole broodof the same.

51. As soon as peace is restored, we willbanish from the kingdom all foreign bornknights, crossbowmen, serjeants, and merce-nary soldiers who have come with horses andarms to the kingdoms hurt.

52. If anyone has been dispossessed or

removed by us, without the legal judgmentof his peers, from his lands, castles, fran-chises, or from his right, we will immediatelyrestore them to him; and if a dispute arise

over this, then let it be decided by the fiveand twenty barons of whom mention is madebelow in the clause for securing the peace.Moreover, for all those possessions, from

which anyone has, without the lawful judg-ment of his peers, been disseised or removed,by our father, King Henry, or by our brother,King Richard, and which we retain in ourhand (or which as possessed by others, to

whom we are bound to warrant them) we

shall have respite until the usual term of cru-saders; excepting those things about which aplea has been raised, or an inquest made byour order, before our taking of the cross; butas soon as we return from the expedition, we

will immediately grant full justice therein.53. We shall have, moreover, the same

respite and in the same manner in renderingjustice concerning the disafforestation or re-tention of those forests which Henry our fa-

ther and Richard our brother afforested, andconcerning the wardship of lands which areof the fief of another (namely, such wardshipsas we have hitherto had by reason of a fief

which anyone held of us by knights service),and concerning abbeys founded on other fiefsthan our own, in which the lord of the feeclaims to have right; and when we have re-turned, or if we desist from our expedition,

we will immediately grant full justice to all

who complain of such things.54. No one shall be arrested or impris-

oned upon the appeal of a woman, for thedeath of any other than her husband.

55. All fines made with us unjustly andagainst the law of the land, and all amerce-ments, imposed unjustly and against the lawof the land, shall be entirely remitted, or elseit shall be done concerning them accordingto the decision of the five and twenty barons

whom mention is made below in the clausefor securing the pease, or according to the

judgment of the majority of the same, along

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with the aforesaid Stephen, archbishop ofCanterbury, if he can be present, and suchothers as he may wish to bring with him forthis purpose, and if he cannot be present the

business shall nevertheless proceed withouthim, provided always that if any one or moreof the aforesaid five and twenty barons are ina similar suit, they shall be removed as far asconcerns this particular judgment, othersbeing substituted in their places after havingbeen selected by the rest of the same five andtwenty for this purpose only, and after hav-ing been sworn.

56. If we have disseised or removed

Welshmen from lands or liberties, or otherthings, without the legal judgment of theirpeers in England or in Wales, they shall beimmediately restored to them; and if a dis-pute arise over this, then let it be decided inthe marches by the judgment of their peers;for the tenements in England according tothe laws of England, for tenements in Walesaccording to the law of Wales, and for tene-ments in the marches according to the law of

the marches. Welshmen shall do the same tous and ours.

57. Further, for all those possessionsfrom which any Welshman has, without thelawful judgment of his peers, been disseisedor removed by King Henry our father, orKing Richard our brother, and which we re-tain in our hand (or which are possessed byothers, and which we ought to warrant), we

will have respite until the usual term of cru-

saders; excepting those things about which aplea has been raised or an inquest made byour order before we took the cross; but assoon as we return (or if perchance we desistfrom our expedition), we will immediatelygrant full justice in accordance with the lawsof the Welsh and in relation to the foresaidregions.

58. We will immediately give up theson of Llywelyn and all the hostages of Wales,and the charters delivered to us as security forthe peace.

59. We will do towards Alexander, king

of Scots, concerning the return of his sistersand his hostages, and concerning his fran-chises, and his right, in the same manner as

we shall do towards our owner barons of En-

gland, unless it ought to be otherwise accord-ing to the charters which we hold from

William his father, formerly king of Scots;and this shall be according to the judgmentof his peers in our court.

60. Moreover, all these aforesaid cus-toms and liberties, the observances of which

we have granted in our kingdom as far as per-tains to us towards our men, shall be ob-served by all of our kingdom, as well clergy

as laymen, as far as pertains to them towardstheir men.

61. Since, moreover, for God and theamendment of our kingdom and for the bet-ter allaying of the quarrel that has arisen be-tween us and our barons, we have granted allthese concessions, desirous that they shouldenjoy them in complete and firm enduranceforever, we give and grant to them the under-

written security, namely, that the barons

choose five and twenty barons of the king-dom, whomsoever they will, who shall bebound with all their might, to observe andhold, and cause to be observed, the peace andliberties we have granted and confirmed tothem by this our present Charter, so that if

we, or our justiciar, or our bailiffs or any oneof our officers, shall in anything be at faulttowards anyone, or shall have broken any oneof the articles of this peace or of this security,

and the offense be notified to four barons ofthe foresaid five and twenty, the said fourbarons shall repair to us (or our justiciar, if

we are out of the realm) and, laying the trans-gression before us, petition to have that trans-gression redressed without delay. And if weshall not have corrected the transgression (or,in the event of our being out of the realm, ifour justiciar shall not have corrected it)

within forty days, reckoning from the time it

has been intimated to us (or to our justiciar,if we should be out of the realm), the fourbarons aforesaid shall refer that matter to the

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rest of the five and twenty barons, and thosefive and twenty barons shall, together withthe community of the whole realm, distrainand distress us in all possible ways, namely,

by seizing our castles, lands, possessions, andin any other way they can, until redress hasbeen obtained as they deem fit, saving harm-less our own person, and the persons of ourqueen and children; and when redress hasbeen obtained, they shall resume their old re-lations towards us. And let whoever in thecountry desires it, swear to obey the orders ofthe said five and twenty barons for the exe-cution of all the aforesaid matters, and along

with them, to molest us to the utmost of hispower; and we publicly and freely grant leaveto everyone who wishes to swear, and weshall never forbid anyone to swear. All those,moreover, in the land who of themselves andof their own accord are unwilling to swear tothe twenty five to help them in constrainingand molesting us, we shall by our commandcompel the same to swear to the effect fore-said. And if any one of the five and twenty

barons shall have died or departed from theland, or be incapacitated in any other man-ner which would prevent the foresaid provi-sions being carried out, those of the saidtwenty five barons who are left shall chooseanother in his place according to their own

judgment, and he shall be sworn in the sameway as the others. Further, in all matters, theexecution of which is entrusted to thesetwenty five barons, if perchance these twenty

five are present and disagree about anything,or if some of them, after being summoned,are unwilling or unable to be present, that

which the majority of those present ordain orcommand shall be held as fixed and estab-lished, exactly as if the whole twenty five hadconcurred in this; and the said twenty fiveshall swear that they will faithfully observe allthat is aforesaid, and cause it to be observed

with all their might. And we shall procurenothing from anyone, directly or indirectly,

whereby any part of these concessions andliberties might be revoked or diminished; and

if any such things has been procured, let it bevoid and null, and we shall never use it per-sonally or by another.

62. And all the will, hatreds, and bit-

terness that have arisen between us and ourmen, clergy and lay, from the date of thequarrel, we have completely remitted andpardoned to everyone. Moreover, all tres-passes occasioned by the said quarrel, fromEaster in the sixteenth year of our reign tillthe restoration of peace, we have fully remit-ted to all, both clergy and laymen, and com-pletely forgiven, as far as pertains to us. Andon this head, we have caused to be made for

them letters testimonial patent of the lordStephen, archbishop of Canterbury, of thelord Henry, archbishop of Dublin, of thebishops aforesaid, and of Master Pandulf astouching this security and the concessionsaforesaid.

63. Wherefore we will and firmly orderthat the English Church be free, and that themen in our kingdom have and hold all theaforesaid liberties, rights, and concessions,

well and peaceably, freely and quietly, fullyand wholly, for themselves and their heirs, ofus and our heirs, in all respects and in allplaces forever, as is aforesaid. An oath, more-over, has been taken, as well on our part ason the part of the barons, that all these con-ditions aforesaid shall be kept in good faithand without evil intent. Given under ourhandthe above named and many othersbeing witnessedin the meadow which is

called Runnymede, between Windsor andStaines, on the fifteenth day of June, in theseventeenth year of our reign.

GLOSSARYAmerceTo impose a fine. Also to publish by fine or

penalty.AssizeA court, usually but not always consisting of

twelve men, summoned together to try a disputed case.They performed the functions of jury, except the verdict

was rendered from their own investigation and knowl-edge and not from upon evidence adduced.

BurageOne of three species of free socage holdings. Atenure where houses and lands formerly the site of housesin an ancient borough are held of some lord by a certainrent.

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The History*

The Petition of Right is a major Englishconstitutional document, which sets outspecific liberties of the subject that the kingis prohibited from infringing. The Petition ofRight was produced by the English Parlia-ment in the run-up to the English Civil War.It was passed by Parliament in May 1628, and

given the royal assent by Charles I in June ofthat year. The Petition is most notable for itsconfirmation of the principles that taxes canbe levied only by Parliament, that martial lawmay not be imposed in time of peace, andthat prisoners must be able to challenge thelegitimacy of their detentions through the

writ of habeas corpus. Additionally, the Pe-titions ban on the billeting of troops isreflected in the Third Amendment of the

United States Constitution.Parliament passed the Petition of Rightin 1628 in response to a number of perceivedviolations of the law by Charles I in the firstyears of his reign. In 1626, Charles had con-vened Parliament in an effort to obtain des-perately needed funds for the continuationof his unsuccessful war with Spain. Unhappy

with the prosecution of the war, however,Parliament swiftly began impeachment pro-ceedings against Charles favorite and prin-cipal counselor, the Duke of Buckingham.In order to protect Buckingham, Charles wasforced to dissolve Parliament before it hadvoted any subsidies.[1] Left without recourseto parliamentary taxation, Charles resortedto two forms of extra-parliamentary taxation

to raise the funds he needed a benevolenceand a Forced Loanthat were of doubtfullegality at best. He also began to billet sol-diers in civilian homes, both as a cost-savingmeasure and as a means of punishing his po-litical opponents.

Citing the Forced Loans illegality, anumber of gentlemen refused to pay, andmany of them were imprisoned as a result.Ultimately, five of the imprisoned gentle-

menthe so-called Five Knights (sincethey were all knights) petitioned the Court ofKings Bench for writs of habeas corpus toforce the government to specify the reasonfor their imprisonment. Seeking to avoid adirect challenge of the legality of the Loan,Charles refused to charge the prisoners witha specific crime, instead declaring on the re-

CHAPTER3

Petition of Right(May 27, 1628)

Parliament of England

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