While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies.
Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.
The tyrannical rule of King John and his increasing assumption of powers created resentment among many in England, particularly his barons.
The English barons sought to protect themselves and the public at large from encroachments of royal authority.
Among the main grievances against the king was that he demanded too much money from the people in taxes.
The barons were also aware of the king’s waning power. After John waged a disastrous war in France, the barons swore to compel him to respect the rights of his subjects.
The barons presented John with a series of demands. John sought to avoid giving in to them, leading the barons to renounce their allegiance to him. They marched against him in May 1215 and soon captured London.
Magna Carta: signingAn engraving shows English barons presenting the Magna Carta to King John on June 15, 1215, at Runnymede, England.
Careful provision was made in the Magna Carta for limiting royal taxes and assessments and for reforming laws and judicial procedures.
In addition, the Magna Carta provided certain guarantees for the people as a whole. Although much of the document dealt with feudal rights and duties, it also included provisions to protect the rights of the church, merchants, and townspeople.
The Magna Carta stated that people could not be punished for crimes unless they were lawfully convicted.
The charter also gave the barons the right to declare war on the king if he did not follow its provisions.
Know about the necessary precautions to bring the whole series of the Magna Carta together at the Robing Room of the Palace of Westminster to celebrate the 800th anniversary of the charter's issueLearn about the precautions necessary to bring the four surviving original copies of the 1215 Magna Carta to the same place, the Robing Room of the Palace of Westminster, in February 2015 for the 800th anniversary of the charter's issue.
In the 17th century, when England’s North American colonies were shaping their own fundamental laws, the words of the Magna Carta were worked into them. The basic rights later embodied in the Constitution of the United States and the Bill of Rights echo the charter, and the Fourteenth Amendment can trace its ancestry to the Magna Carta as well.
