Body Of Liberties Vs English Bill Of Rights Essay

The American colonies separated from England on July 4th, 1776 but still have similarities towards the English government. This is because the ideas of English government had influenced the creators of the United States Constitution and the extension of the United States Constitution, The United States Bill of Rights. Two major English documents which influenced the ideas within these US documents were The Massachusetts Body of Liberties and the English Bill of Rights. The Massachusetts Body of Liberties and the English Bill of Rights influenced the US Constitution and the US Bill of Rights with their views on the right to petition, the right to receive due process, and the idea of checks and balances in the government.

The US constitution’s

The Massachusetts Body of Liberties states in section 18, “No mans person shall be restrained or imprisoned by any authority whatsoever, before the law hath sentenced him thereto”. The right that the Massachusetts Body of Liberty is trying to protect with this section is the right to due process, which is the right to not be restrained by any person unless the law has sentenced one to be imprisoned. This same principle is expressed in Amendment V of the US Bill of Rights which states, “No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury.” This Amendmendment expresses the same idea of due process as The Massachusetts Body of Liberties. The Amendment states that no person will receive punishment without being presented to a court. This idea that the government cannot imprison someone or punish someone without the process of law is the same concept between the two documents. The only difference is how the writer worded the right. The similarities between the US Bill of Rights Amendment V and The Massachusetts Body of Liberties’ section 18 leads to the conclusion that The Massachusetts Body of Liberties influenced the creation of the US Bill of