Comparison of the United States Bill of Rights to the English Magna Carta of 1215 - Term Paper Example

Number Comparison of the United s Bill of Rights to the English Magna Carta of 1215 The first 10 amendments of the US Constitution are collectively termed as the Bill of Rights. These rights were intended to safeguard the rights of US citizens against the abusive use of power by the government. The first amendment is the freedom of speech, press, religion and petition. This amendment guarantees to US citizens the freedom to practice any religion. It also guarantees citizens to voice their opinions in the press and orally. Most importantly, it secures the right of citizens to engage in peaceful assemblies and to raise their legitimate voice against the wrong actions of the government (Burgan 38). The second amendment is the right to keep and bear arms. This amendment guarantees citizens the freedom to protect their life against oppression of the government by keeping arms (Burgan 38). The third amendment states the conditions for quarters of soldiers. These conditions state that citizens cannot be forced to have soldiers enter their houses whether during war or during peace (Burgan 39). The fourth amendment is the right of regulated search and seizure. This amendment guarantees citizens the right to have their places and possessions searched or seized only against a warrant issued under due cause (Burgan 39). The Fifth Amendment concerns provisions concerning prosecution. This means that the citizens cannot be prosecuted unless a Grand Jury finds it legitimate to do so. Citizens should also not be compelled to testify against themselves (Burgan 39). The sixth amendment secures citizens the right to a speedy public trial by a jury that is unbiased. The citizen should have the opportunity to see the witness of the prosecution and to present his own witnesses (Burgan 40). The seventh amendment guarantees citizens involved in suits where the value exceeds twenty dollars a trial by a jury (Burgan 41). The eighth amendment protects US citizens against unnecessarily large amounts for bail, expensive fines or cruel punishment (Burgan 41). The ninth amendment protects citizens’ rights against other rights specified in the Constitution (Burgan 41). The tenth amendment protects citizens against the federal government by only giving it rights specifically mentioned in the Constitution (Burgan 41). 2. The Magna Carta of 1215 was an important charter signed by King John of England on 15 June 1215 after barons who had become dissatisfied with the king’s exploitative form of governance and exorbitant taxes had besieged him in his palace at Windsor (Drew 139). The Magna Charter is important because it restricted the absolute powers of the king and helped to make the parliament more powerful. Primarily, the charter was intended to modify the feudal relationships between the king and the barons in the kingdom but down the centuries the terms of the charter and the freedoms granted to citizens under it have become a cornerstone for citizens’ rights and freedoms around the world. The document became the basis of the constitutional form of government (Drew 139). Originally, the Magna Carta contained 37 laws but most of these have been lost over the centuries. The most important of the laws that is in existence today is the freedom of citizens to be protected against forcible imprisonment or possession of property by the government. Among other freedoms guaranteed by the Magna Carta were the independence of the Church and its protection against interference of any kind from the king. The Magna Carta also transferred the right to impose taxes to the parliament. Citizens were also given the right to due process and protection from arbitrary punishment and seizure (Drew 139). 3. The Magna Carta of 1215 was written by Archbishop Stephen Langton of Canterbury and was signed by King John. It was originally called Articles of the Barons. The document was signed under pressure from the feudal barons who had united against the oppressive governance of the king (Drew 139). The Bill of Rights was introduced by James Madison in the first session of the Congress. Eleven states ratified the Bill of Rights after which it was put into effect. New Jersey was the first state to ratify the Bill of Rights in November 1789 and Virginia was the eleventh state to ratify it in December 1791 (Burgan 24). 4. The two documents were essential to democracy. The Magna Carta is important because it helped to restrict the control of the monarch over institutions such as the Church. It also demonstrated that the powers of the king could be transferred to the people through the parliament. It thus made the king subservient to the law instead of being immune to it. On the other hand, the Bill of Rights protected the rights of the ordinary citizens against the controlling actions of the central government. It recognized the federal nature of the modern democratic state and gave citizens the power and protection to be vocal of their criticisms against the state through the right to freedom of speech and assembly. It guaranteed equal opportunities and status to citizens by eliminating religious persecution. Without these important measures, democracy could not have evolved as it did. 5. The Magna Carta came into effect through a formal royal grant by the Lord Chancellor after it had been signed and sealed by King John under pressure from the barons. However, it was only ratified and became part of English law after King Henry III issued a briefer version of the Charter (Drew 140). Ratification of the Bill of Rights became difficult because of disagreements between the federalists and anti-federalists over the nature of the national government. Progress could not be made until the US Constitution had been ratified. Once that was accomplished, John Madison presented the Bill of Rights to safeguard individual liberties in the first session of the Congress in 1789. New Jersey was the first to ratify it but it rejected the right to arms. New Hampshire, the fifth state to ratify it, New York, the seventh, and Pennsylvania, the eighth, also rejected Article II. The remaining ratifying states approved all the articles (Schwartz 189). 6. The Magna Carta was supported by the barons because it would restore the freedoms they had before Norman conquest of England. However, it was opposed by the Pope Innocent III because King John was a Catholic and he had convinced the Pope that he wanted to be a good Christian king. James Wilson was a vocal opponent of the Bill of Rights as he believed that the Constitution enumerates the powers of the central government, implying that all powers not stated so belong to the people. Thomas Jefferson, on the other hand, was a strong supporter of the Bill of Rights (Schwartz 115). 7. The due process clause is reflected in the Mayflower Compact provision of Equal Laws which reflect the protection of citizens from arbitrary judgments. Similarly, the Connecticut Code of Laws of 1650 also includes the right to trial by jury for citizens. Whereas the Fifth Amendment reflects the due process clause, the state governments have not been required to implement it within their jurisdiction. 8. The origin for the requirement of compensation for private property taken into pubic use in the Fifth Amendment stems from the arbitrary seizure of private property by the royal authorities, such as during times of war. The requirement for compensation was included to guarantee protection against such arbitrary use. 9. The right to trial by jury can be traced to the Magna Carta where a fee man can be tried only by “the lawful judgment of his peers and the “law of the land.” Even fines were to be determined after assessment by respectable citizens of the community. 10. The requirement of a speedy trial and vicinage can be traced to the Magna Carta. These were also incorporated into the Sixth Amendment of the US Constitution that guarantees right to speedy trial and an impartial jury. Their inclusion was motivated by the experiences of the drafters of the Amendments under colonial rule. 11. The Eighth Amendment of the United States Constitution guarantees the right to be protected against “cruel and unusual punishment.” Since the 1970s, the US courts have been thinking if capital punishment comes under the definition of cruel and unusual punishment (American Correctional Association 1). As a result of evolving standards of decency, capital punishment is gradually being perceived as no longer a reflection of the true intent of the drafters of the Constitution. 12. Both the Magna Carta and the Bill of Rights are similar in many ways. They hold in common the importance of democratic rule and the voice of the people. They aim to make the government subservient to law. Both the documents protect citizens’ right to life and holding private property. They also prevent the government from interfering in the personal freedoms of the citizens. At the same time, there are some differences between the two documents. The main difference is in the area of emphasis. The Magna Carta deals with freddoms and rights of citizens at the institutional level, such as the church and the feudal traditions. The Bill of Freedom emphasizes personal freedoms such as the right to bear arms and the right to assembly. The Bill of Rights is also concerned with the balance of power between the national and the state governments. 13. Both the documents are relevant in our life today. Many people blame the right to bear arms for the increased frequency of random shootouts in American public places such as schools and universities. Similarly, the arbitrary detention of people with suspected links to terrorists is also seen by some as a contravention of the freedoms under the Fifth Amendment. While the Bill of Rights needs to be reinterpreted, the provisions and freedoms are essential for the federal nature of US democracy. Works Cited Burgan, M. The Bill of Rights. Minneapolis: Compass Point Books, 2002. Print. Drew, K. F. Magna Carta. Westport: Greenwood Press, 2004. Print. Schwarz, B. The Great Rights of Mankind: A History of the Amreican Bill of Rights. Madison House, 1991. Print. Supreme Court Bans Death Penalty for Under-18 Offenders. American Correctional Association. n.a. Web. 7 Jan. 2012. 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