The idea that rulers are bound by law did not start in 1776. The colonists thought of themselves as English, and they claimed what they called "the rights of Englishmen," built up over five centuries. They also had more than 150 years of experience governing themselves (colonial self-government).
| Year | Document or institution | What it contributed |
|---|---|---|
| 1215 | Magna Carta | King John agreed that no free man would be imprisoned or harmed except by the lawful judgment of his peers or the law of the land (clause 39): the ruler is under the law |
| 1619 | Virginia House of Burgesses | The first elected representative assembly in English America |
| 1620 | Mayflower Compact | 41 male passengers agreed to "combine ourselves together into a civill Body Politick" and obey its "just and equall Laws": government by agreement |
| 1628 | Petition of Right | Parliament told Charles I: no taxes or forced loans without Parliament's consent, no jailing without cause shown, no quartering soldiers in homes |
| 1689 | English Bill of Rights | No taxes without Parliament; the right to petition; no standing army in peacetime without Parliament's consent; no "cruel and unusual punishments" |
Why it works
These documents shared one idea: a ruler's power has limits that ordinary people can name and hold him to, and taxes need the consent of the people's representatives. When Parliament taxed the colonies in the 1760s, colonists argued that they had no representatives there, so Parliament's taxes broke the very rights the English had won from their kings. The American protest was, in its own eyes, a defense of English liberty.
Key idea
American government grew from English limits on the king (Magna Carta, the Petition of Right, the English Bill of Rights) and from colonial self-government (the House of Burgesses, the Mayflower Compact, charters and assemblies), joined by one principle: no taxation without the consent of the people's representatives.
Worked example: Tracing a right
The Eighth Amendment forbids "cruel and unusual punishments." Which earlier document used the same words?
- Look for a document that limited the Crown's power to punish.
- The English Bill of Rights (1689) declared that "excessive bail ought not to be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted."
Answer: The English Bill of Rights of 1689.
Worked example: Putting the roots in order
Order these: Mayflower Compact, Magna Carta, English Bill of Rights, House of Burgesses.
- Magna Carta is far older than the rest: 1215.
- The House of Burgesses first met in 1619; the Mayflower Compact was signed in 1620.
- The English Bill of Rights came after the Glorious Revolution, in 1689.
Answer: Magna Carta (1215), House of Burgesses (1619), Mayflower Compact (1620), English Bill of Rights (1689).
Common mistake
Thinking Magna Carta guaranteed rights to everyone in 1215. It protected mainly the barons and the church against King John, and it was soon annulled and reissued. Its larger meaning, that even the ruler is under the law and owes people lawful judgment, grew over centuries. Check: ask who was protected then and what it came to mean later.