What Were The Causes Of Treason Dbq

Another possible reason for the mention of treason is that under English common law, people were often tried for treason against the monarchy on a whim and could be hung with little to no proof. The framers knew, that in the eyes of the British government, America was founded by traitors and they wanted to ensure that 1) peaceful opposition to the government was allowed 2) if someone truly was guilty of treason, which specifically meant the act of levying war against the U.S., that the Constitution defined their punishment which was death. If you take a look at the Magna Carta of 1215, much of the wording is reminiscent of the Constitution such as the separation of power and the right to be tried before a jury of one’s peers. Today people are concerned …show more content…
Naturally, the most serious type of treason was always disloyalty toward the king, specifically any act of ‘compassing’ or imagining the king's death, which was considered to be high treason and always punishable by death. Usually, an overt act meant that something had to have been spoken or written to prove intent. However, during the reign of Edward III he added six statutes to the Magna Carta such as Due Process of Law and he clarified what might constitute an act of high treason or ‘petit treason’ as it was known:

“High treason, by which the forfeiture of escheats went to the king, was defined as: to compass or imagine the death of the king, queen, or heir; to violate the king's eldest daughter or the wife of the king's heir; to levy war against the king; to adhere to the king's enemies or give them aid and comfort; to counterfeit the king's seal or money; and to slay the chancellor, treasurer, or king's justices. Petit treason, by which forfeiture of escheats went to the lord of the fee, was defined as: a servant slaying his master; a wife slaying her husband; and a religious man slaying his