English Bill Of Rights Essay

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The English Bill of Rights is a foundational document for the freedoms we hold dear today, and set the tone for the relationship between government and people inspired by ancient Greece, Rome, and religion. The English bill of rights reformed the English government from a tyrannical one to one with restraints on the monarchy, establishing a parliament, and removing the King, James the Second. The proclamation of rights was drafted in 1689 following the downfall of King James II , due to his excessive abuses of the crown, his overthrow the revolution that preceded it is known as the ‘glorious revolution of 1688’. Within the Bill of rights laid a list of rights the government seceded to its constituents, within it were a list of grievances by …show more content…

The Magna Carta is a foundational and core document which led to the declaration of independence, but more importantly set the groundwork for The English Bill of rights. It was drafted and issued in 1215 as a peace deal between rebels of King John’s rule, and for the first time established the monarchy was not above the law, “No free man shall be seized or imprisoned, or stripped of his rights or possessions, or outlawed or exiled, or deprived of his standing in any other way, nor will we proceed with force against him, or send others to do so, except by the lawful judgment of his equals or by the law of the land. To no one will we sell, to no one deny or delay right or justice” (Magna Carta, 1215). The document came about because of John’s unhinged and tyrannical rule and set the precedent for those revolutionaries in 1688 who later drafted the English Bill of rights. The Magna Carta set these parameters for the Bill of rights to build off, equal application of the law, Jury led trials (not by monarch), and lastly greatly improved property rights and taxes by requiring the King to discuss taking taxes and property with the Great Council prior. The Bill of Rights further stripped the monarch of power by guaranteeing a parliament that is elected, free speech, forbidding cruel and unusual punishment, and enforcing a representative