Magna Carta, the Glorious Revolution, and American Democracy
Continuities?
Late in 1774, the First Continental Congress met on a matter of great importance. The men who gathered were representatives of North America’s British colonies. The decisions they made eventually led to the American War of Independence. Together, the representatives wrote a Declaration of Rights and Grievances that demanded better treatment from Britain’s King George III. They demanded the liberties they believed were guaranteed by “the principles of the English Constitution, and several charters.” These included:
- freedom from taxation without representation
- the right to a trial by a jury of peers
- protection of life, liberty, and property
These phrases were taken from British legal and political documents. They all showed up later in the US Constitution. So, would it be fair to say that American democracy is based on British ideas of liberty and rights? Let’s take a look at some of the more important documents and events in British history.
Magna Carta
In its 1774 Declaration, the Continental Congress referred to Britain’s “constitution.” But actually, Britain didn’t have a constitution. Rather, it had a number of “charters or compacts” between the king and various parts of the population.
The first of these documents was the Magna Carta, which means “Great Charter” in Latin. King John was forced to sign this charter by a group of nobles on June 15, 1215. The Magna Carta guaranteed certain rights and freedoms, mostly to the nobles. The nobles were unhappy that both John and his father, Henry II, had taxed them and taken away a lot of their power. Henry II had been too powerful a king for the nobles to resist. But John was a weaker king, so the nobles were able to force him to agree to some reforms. These reforms limited the taxes they could be forced to pay. They also guaranteed the nobles fair treatment should they be charged with any crime.
This is exactly the kind of stuff you find in the US Constitution and Bill of Rights.
Note these comparisons:
Magna Carta |
US Constitution |
Paragraph 34 of the Magna Carta: “The writ … shall not in the future be issued … if a free man could thereby be deprived of the right of trial in his own lord’s court.” |
US Constitution, Sixth Amendment: “In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial … [in] the state or district wherein the crime shall have been committed which district shall have been ascertained by law …” |
Paragraph 52 of the Magna Carta: “To any man who we have deprived … of lands, castles, liberties or rights without the lawful judgments of his equals, we will at once restore these.” |
US Constitution, Sixth Amendment: “In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a |
So, some of the rights the founders of the United States would emphasize were indeed found in the Magna Carta. But remember, the rights the Magna Carta promised largely applied only to important and powerful men.
English Civil War
A second important event in British history was the English Civil War of 1642-1651. This war was fought between those who supported King Charles I and those who supported the English Parliament, whose members were partly elected. A war like this, between a king and a parliament, can easily be seen as a model for the American War of Independence. After all, it was a fight for democracy.
There is another similarity between the two wars: The English Civil War was mostly caused by anger over taxes. The taxes had been imposed by the king without the support of Parliament. It was this fact that made many people particularly angry. Years later, anger over the same thing helped cause the American Revolution. (Think of the colonists’ demand that there be “no taxation without representation.”)
The English Civil War gave rise to a few groups that were very democratic. One was the Levellers. The Levellers were radical supporters of the Parliamentary side. They called for:
- rule by the people (a phrase that would come back in the American Revolution)
- a widespread right to vote
- religious tolerance
But the Levellers did not win the war, partly because they were too radical. By 1660, Charles I’s son – Charles II – was restored to the throne.
Glorious Revolution
Now for a third important event in English political history: the Glorious Revolution of 1688. This bloodless revolution is often seen as a big influence on the American Revolution. It replaced James II, Charles II’s son, with William of Orange and his wife, Mary.
The Glorious Revolution took place partly because James II suspended Parliament and tried to rule all by himself. This unpopular move got him replaced. When the rebels put William and Mary on the throne, they didn’t want this kind of thing to happen again. So, the rebels got William and Mary to sign a document called the Bill of Rights. This English Bill of Rights of 1689 had a lot of similarities to the later American Constitution and Bill of Rights.
For example:
English Bill of Rights |
US Revolution and Constitution |
Makes it illegal for the King to institute taxes without the consent of Parliament |
American revolutionary cry of no taxation without representation |
Provides free elections |
US Constitution provides for certain groups of people to elect members of Congress |
Freedom of debate and speech, at least in Parliament |
First Amendment of the US Bill of Rights guarantees free speech |
Makes cruel and unusual punishments illegal |
Eighth Amendment of the US Bill of Rights also prohibits cruel and unusual punishments |
But, some argue the Glorious Revolution was not really revolutionary. It was mostly organized by a group of wealthy men who replaced one king with another. The new ruler, King William, was no democrat. He only agreed to provide a few rights for others in order to win the throne.
Limitations of the argument
It is possible to argue that at the time of the American Revolution, there was no tradition of democratic rule in England. The Magna Carta only recognized the power of the nobles. The English Civil War ended with the return of a king. The English Bill of Rights was very limited.
Indeed, the English and Scottish political thinkers who most inspired the Americans were those who had lost in these struggles. They were strongly democratic. They called for local rule, for rights for anyone who owned land, and for religious tolerance. But these thinkers were not in power and back in Britain, their work was not widely read.
However, these thinkers were very popular in the American colonies. The writings of Thomas Paine and other American rebels drew on the ideas of the Levellers and other British radicals.
Why were these ideas so popular in the American colonies? Unlike England, the colonies had many people who owned land, instead of just a few. Also, they were far away from the British government and had to make decisions on their own. As a result, they had elected local governments to make decisions at least on local matters. Finally, many different religious groups lived together in the colonies. All this made the ideas of the radical writers very appealing.
This isn’t to say that the English legal and political tradition wasn’t important to the American Revolution. It’s just that the radicals who had the most influence on American laws and documents had little power in Britain.
Sources
Bailyn, Bernard. The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution. Boston: Harvard University Press, 1992.
Magna Carta: Muse and Mentor, Library of Congress Exhibition, November 6, 2014-January 19, 2015. Accessed May 24, 2020, https://www.loc.gov/exhibits/magna-carta-muse-and-mentor/magna-carta-and-the-us-constitution.html
Trevor Getz
Trevor Getz is a professor of African and world history at San Francisco State University. He has been the author or editor of 11 books, including the award-winning graphic history Abina and the Important Men, and has coproduced several prize-winning documentaries. Trevor is also the author of A Primer for Teaching African History, which explores questions about how we should teach the history of Africa in high school and university classes. Bennett Sherry holds a PhD in History from the University of Pittsburgh and has undergraduate teaching experience in world history, human rights, and the Middle East at the University of Pittsburgh and the University of Maine at Augusta. Additionally, he is a Research Associate at Pitt’s World History Center. Bennett writes about refugees and international organizations in the twentieth century.
Image credits
This work is licensed under CC BY 4.0 except for the following:
Cover image: Charles I on his way to be executed, 1649. © Culture Club / Getty Images.
A copy of the Magna Carta on display at the US Capitol building. Although an English document, it has been celebrated as a step on the way to American democracy. © Molly Riley / Getty Images for ANOC.
Representatives of the Levellers putting their proposals before Parliament. Bodleian Library, Oxford and Google Books. Public domain. https://books.google.com/books?id=jOdbAAAAQAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false
The Bill of Rights ratified at the Revolution by King William, and Queen Mary, previous to their Coronation. © National Portrait Gallery, London.
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