A Revolutionary Document: The Magna Carta

The Magna Carta was a revolutionary document that established general principles that shaped England today by establishing a parliament, not allowing the king to tax without consent of the people, not allowing unqualified people to hold public office, and allowing free men be judged guilty by a jury of his peers. The charter established a council of barons, made up of common citizens, to limit the King's power and to serve as the people’s legislature. “ Not all fines that have been made by us unjustly, or contrary to the laws of the land; and all the fines that have been imposed unjustly, or contrary to the laws of the land, shall be wholly remitted, or ordered by the verdict of the twenty-five Barons”. Therefore, the King could not levy taxes without the consent of his subjects. …show more content…
The charter also set limits on who can hold public office, denying anyone who is unqualified. “Note we will not make Judiciaries, Constables, Sheriffs, or Bailiffs, accepting of such as know the laws of the land, and are well disposed to the observe them”. Ultimately, free men could be judged guilty by a jury of other fellow citizens instead of nobles. “ Note no freeman shall be seized, or imprisoned, or dispossessed, or outlawed, or in any way destroyed; nor will we condemn him, nor will we commit him to prison, excepting by the legal judgment of his peers, or by the laws of the land”. The Magna Carta was a revolutionary document that gradually transformed England from a Feudal Monarchy to a Constitutional Monarchy that prevailed