Today I am exploring the similarities and differences between The Great Charter and the American Declaration of Indepedence. Enjoy!
A quick note before we begin: my little brother has started doing this thing whereby when he sees two bugs, creatures, people, whatever, he announces grandly “X versus Y” for example “Woollybear caterpillar versus red ant!” or even “Sister (insert names here) versus cousin” and then proceeds to tell you which one would win (sister, she would flip cousin onto floor). Because of this, all the small people in my family hear the word ‘versus’ or ‘vs’ and assume we mean fighting against, so I thought I would clarify: in this context versus is best translated as “as compared to or in contrast with” and not “against.” Alright, with that out of the way, onto the essay!
According to John Locke, “Every man hath a right to punish the offender, and be executioner of the Law of Nature.”[1]Throughout history men have taken Locke’s idea, with or without his words, to heart when faced with an offender and have delt out just retribution. In the twelfth century, English noblemen stood up against tyrannical King John to enforce obedience to the Laws of Nature. Again, in the 1700s, American colonists stood up against oppressive King George III to punish him as the Law of Nature required. The Magna Carta Libertatum and the Declaration of Independence, although written 561 years apart by different authors against different kings, both serve as instrumental documents, setting in stone what is meant by freedom, God-given rights, and powers of the people.
To provide background, Magna Carta Libertatum is Latin for The Great Charter of Freedoms. In June of 1215 the English barons drafted up the first rendition of the Magna Carta Libertatum and forced King John to sign on pain of civil war. The charter was a set of 63 clauses which spelt out the laws regarding what a king can or cannot do. Although the original draft of the Magna Carta Libertatum failed to accomplish the changes the barons had hoped for, the document survived and is highly revered in modern society. Today when referencing the Great Charter, the name is shortened to the Magna Carta. The Magna Carta, drafted in 1215 by English barons, cast aside months later, and finally redrafted into a less impactful document, was the first document to place limits on a king’s power.
Unlike the Magna Carta, the Declaration of Independence is not a mere settling of laws, but rather, as the title implies, a declaration of independence from England. In July of 1776 Thomas Jefferson, with editing help from John Adams and others, wrote and published the Declaration of Independence. The document consisted of two paragraphs stating why the American colonies had the right to secede from England, a list of 27 grievances against King George III, and a unanimous declaration of independence. In contrast to the Magna Carta, the Declaration of Independence attained the hoped-for outcomes, and, similar to the Magna Carta, has been revered ever since. Today the Declaration of Independence is often called the Declaration for short. The Declaration and the Magna Carta are both influential documents which shaped the way countries and people function today.
The barons wrote the Magna Carta in retaliation against King John, who abused his power as a monarch. John was greedy and cruel, using financial extortions to withhold castles, land, and privileges from the barons. Moreover, King John was incompetent on the battlefield, making him even more despicable to the people. Due to the long suffering in silence from the former tyrannical acts and the latter incompetency, the barons drew up the Magna Carta as a protection of property, a protection of rights, and a limiting of the power of a monarch. When presented with the Magna Carta, King John was forced to sign the charter lest civil war break out in England. The Great Charter was created in retaliation for King John’s missteps in an attempt to prevent further tyrannical acts from the kings of England and to protect property and rights.
Similarly, the Declaration was also written in retaliation against a king of England: King George III. Like King John, George was cruel, maltreating the colonies, cutting off trade with the outside world, and prohibiting fair trial by jury among other evils. The Declaration set in plain words the crimes committed by King George against the colonies. In the Declaration, Thomas Jefferson states, “…that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed.”[2] As with the English barons in 1215, the colonists suffered a long time in silence before standing up against the king. When the colonists chose to stand up against the king, however, they stood under the words of the Declaration of Independence, and ceded from Great Britian forever. In ceding from Great Britian, the colonists, unlike the barons of 1215, were liberated entirely from the cruel power of the king.
The Magna Carta Libertatum was the first document in history to question the authority of a monarch. Before the Magna Carta, the understanding was that a king has absolute power over citizens and country. The Magna Carta changed the perspective on a king’s power by setting limitations on the king’s power for the first time. Moreover, the Magna Carta did not set arbitrary limitations, but rather clarified what power the king had by nature as a monarch. However, the Magna Carta was only in effect for a mere three months before the charter was nullified by the Pope and the King. A revised version was enacted in later years; however, the Magna Carta Libertatum in full glory did not last. Despite nullification, the charter continues to serve as a foundation for the beliefs on power wielded by a monarch.
Following suit after the Magna Carta, the Declaration questioned King George III’s power as a monarch. Using both the Magna Carta and John Locke’s Second Treatise of Government as foundations, the Declaration of Independence explained why George had lost the right to hold power over the American colonies. In contrast to the Magna Carta, the Declaration was a complete success; while the Magna Carta failed because the king still held authority over the barons, the Declaration succeeded by removing the king from the equation altogether. The colonies separated from England and the king lost all hope of retaining any power. The Declaration was similar to the Magna Carta in questioning the king’s power, but pushed the question and answer further than the Magna Carta ever could.
What is government? The Magna Carta defines government as, first and foremost, a body of people ruled by a monarch. However, certain limitations can be set on the power a monarch has to insure fair governance of the people. Although a government is ruled by a monarch, the government relies for existence on the support of the governed people. If the people are mistreated and refuse to support the monarch, the government will crumble. Therefore, although a government is a body of people ruled by a monarch, the Magna Carta states that in a sense the monarch is also ruled by the people.
Likewise, the Declaration of Independence also defines government as deriving power from the governed. However, aside from defining government as sustained by the governed, the Declaration differs in belief from the Magna Carta. The declaration defines government as an institution established by men for one main purpose: to provide security for one’s unalienable rights. Although the Declaration does not specifically forbid a monarch, the document does not state a monarch as necessary, or even the best choice, for a government. In fact, the Declaration states that the monarch of England at the time of writing, George III, was not providing security for unalienable rights and therefore not providing a government. The Declaration defines government differently than the Magna Carta due to the underlying situation; however, the core belief that government derives power from the governed remains.
When speaking on law, the Magna Carta states, “No freeman is to be taken or imprisoned or disseised [have property confiscated] of his free tenement or of his liberties or free customs, or outlawed or exiled or in any way ruined, nor will we go against such a man or send against him save by lawful judgement of his peers or by the law of the land.”[3] When simplified, the Magna Carta has two core beliefs on law. First, the monarch must govern all men equally and without bias. Second, all men deserve a fair trial by jury or other such lawful judgement before being stripped of rights and punished. Alongside understanding the monarch as also subject to the law, fair government and trial by jury are the basis for the Magna Carta’s approach to law.
The Declaration states on the matter of law, “…And to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them …” (Declaration par. 1) Breaking down the Declaration’s statement, there are, like the Magna Carta, two main beliefs on law. First, law is, as with government, created for the fundamental purpose of protecting one’s unalienable rights. Second, the laws given us by God, called the Laws of Nature, override the laws of men. Although different in the first two beliefs, the Declaration mirrors the Magna Carta in the additional belief that a monarch is subject to the Laws of Nature. Protection of rights, importance of the Laws of Nature, and the monarch being a subject are the three root beliefs making up the foundation for understanding law according to the Declaration of Independence.
What is freedom and what does freedom entitle? The Magna Carta assumes people already understand the definition of freedom and so does not provide a straightforward definition besides stating that freedom is a God-given right. However, the Magna Carta does state having freedom means having certain liberties. For example, freemen are to be allowed free practice of customs, including customs in how to and with whom one trades. Another right freedom bestows according to the Magna Carta is the right not to be imprisoned without lawful judgement. Therefore, the Magna Carta understands freedom as the basic right all men have to live according to their customs, maintain their liberties, and receive fair treatment from the law.
Similar but not identical to the Magna Carta, the Declaration defines freedom as an unalienable right given by God, meaning, a right which should not and cannot be taken from any man. Since freedom is an unalienable right, every man has a right and duty to protect his own and his countrymen’s freedom. In similar fashion to the Magna Carta, the Declaration states that freedom entitles certain liberties. For example, the right of a free state to have certain powers and liberties, “…as Free and Independent States, they [The United States] have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do.” (Declaration conclusion) According to the Declaration and the Magna Carta, freedom is a God-given right which entitles certain liberties and has certain expectations.
What are God-given rights? The Magna Carta emphasizes God-given rights by addressing the rights at the beginning, “In the first place we grant to God and confirm by this our present charter for ourselves and our heirs in perpetuity that the English Church is to be free and to have all its rights fully and its liberties entirely” (Magna Carta c. 1) Simplified, clause one states two facts about God-given rights: first, God-given rights set in stone the liberties of the people and the Church, and second, freedom is a right given by God. However, unlike the Declaration, the Magna Carta does not see God-given rights as unalienable and untouchable, but rather as the base rubric for human rights. According to the Magna Carta God-given rights are liberties God grants men, which cannot easily be taken away, but can still be taken away.
In union with the Magna Carta, the Declaration emphasizes God-given rights by also addressing the rights towards the beginning, “We hold these truths to be self-evident[sacred], that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.” (Declaration para. 2) The pursuit of Happiness is a hard phrase to understand; however, when examined it contains within itself unalienable rights, such as freedom and demos kratia. Another right God gives is the right to enforce His laws, The Laws of Nature. The main God-given rights, according to the Declaration are life, liberty, freedom, and demos kratia.
What is demos kratia, or rather, power to the people? The Magna Carta, set under the belief a government needs a monarch, is limited in how much power can go to the people. What the Magna Carta can give the people is first, a limit on the monarch’s power, which ensures some power for the people, and second, an emphasis on heirs and their importance to society. Because an heir is important, a monarch cannot take from an heir without a grave reason, and therefore the people maintain some power. Within the Magna Carta, demos kratia is a limited granting of power to people.
In contrast, the Declaration has even more to say on demos kratia. First and most important according to the Declaration is that the people have the right and power to protect their safety and happiness. Second, in pursuit of protecting safety and happiness, demos kratia allows the people to fight against a tyrannical government. The third statement of what power the people have is that after fighting against and abolishing a tyrannical government, the people have the power to institute a new government to better protect their safety and happiness. Therefore, the Declaration defines demos kratia as the right of people to ensure safety and happiness.
The Declaration and the Magna Carta, each born out of desperation in dark times, each against tyrannical kings, and each highly revered, are still influential in how people view the world and human rights. Each document defines government and law in ways still used today. The documents also show what and how important freedom, God-given rights, and power of the people are to every man’s life. The Great Charter and the Declaration of Independence both show that truly every man, no matter the station, “…hath a right to punish the offender, and be executioner of the Law of Nature.” (STG c. II)
Reference Page
The Magna Carta Libertatum: https://www.archives.gov/files/press/press-kits/magna-carta/magna-carta-translation.pdf
The Declaration of Independence: https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/declaration-transcript
The Second Treatise of Government: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/7370/7370-h/7370-h.htm#CHAPTER_II
[1]Second Treatise of Government, Chapter. II. Of the State of Nature (STG c. II)
[2] The Declaration of Independence, paragraph 2
[3]Magna Carta Libertatum Clause 29