Origins
This year marked the signing of the Magna Carta.
What is 1215?
This legal protection ensures that no one can be imprisoned without lawful cause.
What is habeas corpus?
This 17th-century jurist revived the Magna Carta as a foundation of English common law.
Who is Sir Edward Coke?
This king violated Magna Carta principles in the American colonies.
Who is King George III?
Unlike the U.S. Constitution, this nation relies on an unwritten constitution made up of laws and traditions.
What is Great Britain (England)?
This English king was forced to sign the Magna Carta.
Who is King John?
The Magna Carta guaranteed this type of trial, judged by one’s peers.
What is trial by jury?
Coke emphasized this idea: the law is above this person.
Who is the king?
Colonial anger over taxation was summed up in this famous slogan
What is “No taxation without representation”?
This U.S. amendment guarantees due process at the federal level.
What is the Fifth Amendment?
Angry over taxes, lost wars, and abuses of power, these nobles demanded the Magna Carta.
Who were the barons?
The Magna Carta limited the king’s ability to impose these without consent.
What are taxes?
Coke highlighted these two rights found in the Magna Carta.
What are due process and trial by jury?
Colonists were denied jury trials in these types of courts.
What are admiralty courts?
This U.S. amendment extended due process protections to actions by state governments.
What is the Fourteenth Amendment?
The Magna Carta was signed at this location near London.
What is Runnymede?
Besides barons, this institution’s rights were also protected by the Magna Carta.
What is the Church?
Coke argued that Magna Carta applied to all people, not just this group.
Who are the nobles (barons)?
One violation of Magna Carta principles by King George was forcing colonists to house these people.
Who are soldiers (quartering troops)?
The Scottsboro Boys case reaffirmed this Magna Carta principle.
What is the right to a fair trial (due process and counsel)?
The central idea of the Magna Carta is that the monarch must obey this.
What is the law (rule of law)?
Modern democracy inherited this principle from the Magna Carta, meaning no one is above the law.
What is the rule of law?
Coke’s interpretation of Magna Carta helped inspire these future revolutionaries.
Who were the American colonists?
Colonial protests led to this founding document in 1776.
What is the Declaration of Independence?
The Nixon/Watergate case showed that even the president is subject to this.
What is the rule of law?