Importance of the Magna Carta to the US Constitution

The Magna Carta, meaning â€Å"Great Charter,† is one of the most influential political documents ever written: it is seen by many modern political scientists as the fundamental document for many of the governing laws of the west, including the United States. Originally issued in 1215 by King John of England as a way of dealing with his own political crisis, the Magna Carta was the first governmental decree establishing the principle that all people—including the king—were equally subject to the law.   Key Document in U.S. Political Foundations In particular, the Magna Carta had a significant impact on the American Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution, and the constitutions of various U.S. states. Its influence is also reflected in the beliefs held by eighteenth-century Americans that the Magna Carta affirmed their rights against oppressive rulers. In keeping with colonial Americans general distrust of sovereign authority, most early state constitutions included declarations of rights retained by individual citizens and lists of protections of those citizens from the powers of the state government. Due in part to this conviction to individual liberty first embodied in the Magna Carta, the newly-formed United States also adopted the Bill of Rights. The American Bill of Rights Several of the natural rights and legal protections enumerated in both the state declarations of rights and the United States Bill of Rights descend from rights protected by Magna Carta. A few of these include: Freedom from unlawful searches and seizuresThe right to a speedy trialA right to a jury trial in both criminal and civil casesProtection from loss of life, liberty, or property without due process of law The exact phrase from the 1215 Magna Carta referring to â€Å"due process of law† is in Latin, but there are various translations. The British Library translation reads: â€Å"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 judgement of his equals or by the law of the land.† In addition, many broader constitutional principles and doctrines have their roots in America’s eighteenth-century interpretation of the Magna Carta, such as the theory of representative government, the idea of a supreme law, a government based on a clear separation of powers, and the doctrine of judicial review of legislative and executive acts. Journal of the Continental Congress Evidence of the influence of the Magna Carta on the American system of government can be found in several key documents, including the Journal of the Continental Congress, which is the official record kept of the Congresss deliberations between May 10, 1775, and March 2, 1789. In September and October 1774, the delegates to the first Continental Congress drafted a Declaration of Rights and Grievances, in which the colonists demanded the same liberties guaranteed to them under â€Å"the principles of the English constitution, and the several charters or compacts.† They demanded self-government, freedom from taxation without representation, the right to a trial by a jury of their own countrymen, and their enjoyment of â€Å"life, liberty, and property† free from interference from the English crown. The Federalist Papers Written by James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay, and published anonymously between October 1787 and May 1788, the Federalist Papers were a series of eighty-five articles intended to build support for the adoption of the U.S. Constitution. Despite the widespread adoption of declarations of individual rights in state constitutions, several members of the Constitutional Convention generally opposed adding a bill of rights to the federal Constitution. In Federalist No. 84, published during the summer of 1788, Hamilton argued against the inclusion of a bill of rights, stating: â€Å"Here, in strictness, the people surrender nothing; and as they retain everything they have no need of particular reservations.† In the end, however, the Anti-Federalists prevailed and the Bill of Rights—based largely on the Magna Carta—was appended to the Constitution in order to secure its final ratification by the states. The Bill of Rights as Proposed As originally proposed to Congress in 1791, there were twelve amendments to the constitution. These were strongly influenced by the state of Virginia’s Declaration of Rights of 1776, which in turn incorporated a number of the protections of the Magna Carta. As a ratified document, the Bill of Rights included five articles directly reflecting these protections: Protection from unreasonable searches and seizures (4th),  Protection of rights to life, liberty, and property (5th),  Rights of accused persons in criminal cases (6th),  Rights in civil cases (7th), and  Other rights kept by the people (8th).   History of the Magna Carta King John I (also known as John Lackland, 1166–1216) ruled England, Ireland and sometimes Wales and Scotland between 1177–1216. His predecessor and brother Richard I had spent much of the kingdoms wealth on the crusades: and in 1200, John himself had lost lands in Normandy, ending the Andevin Empire. In 1209, after an argument with Pope Innocent III  over who should be the archbishop of Canterbury, John was excommunicated from the church. John needed to pay money to get back in Popes good graces, and he wanted to wage war and get back his lands in Normandy, so as sovereigns were wont to do, he increased already-heavy taxes on his subjects. The English barons fought back, forcing a meeting with the king at Runnymede near Windsor on June 15, 1215. At this meeting, King John was coerced into signing the Great Charter which protected some of their basic rights against royal actions. After some modifications, the charter known as the magna carta libertatum (great charter of liberties) became part of the law of the land of England in 1297 under the reign of Edward I.  Ã‚   Key Provisions of the Magna Carta Following are some of the key items that were included in the 1215 version of the Magna Carta: Habeas corpus, known as the right to due process, said that free men could only be imprisoned and punished after lawful judgment by a jury of their peers.Justice could not be sold, denied, or delayed.Civil lawsuits did not have to be held in the kings court.The Common Council had to approve the amount of money that vassals had to pay instead of having to serve in the military (called scutage) along with any aid that could be requested from them with only three exceptions, but in all cases, the aid had to be reasonable. This basically meant that John could no longer tax without the agreement of his Council.If the King wanted to call the Common Council, he had to give the barons, church officials, landowners, sheriffs, and bailiffs 40 days notice that included a stated purpose for why it was being called.For commoners, all fines had to be reasonable so that their livelihood could not be taken away. Further, any offense that a commoner was said to have committed had to be sworn to by go od men from the neighborhood.Bailiffs and constables could not appropriate peoples possessions.London and other cities were given the right to collect customs.The king could not have a mercenary army. In feudalism, the barons were the army. If the king had his own army, he would have the power to do what he wanted against the barons.Inheritances were guaranteed to individuals with the amount of what today we would call inheritance tax being set in advance.As stated previously, the king himself had to follow the law of the land. Up until the Magna Carta’s creation, British monarchs enjoyed supreme rule. With the Magna Carta, the king, for the first time, was not allowed to be above the law. Instead, he had to respect the rule of law and not abuse his position of power. Location of Documents Today There are four known copies of the Magna Carta in existence today. In 2009, all four copies were granted UN World Heritage status. Of these, two are located at the British Library, one is at Lincoln Cathedral, and the last is at Salisbury Cathedral. Official copies of the Magna Carta were reissued in later years. Four were issued in 1297 which King Edward I of England affixed with a wax seal. One of these is currently located in the United States. Conservation efforts were recently completed to help preserve this key document. It can be seen at the National Archives in Washington, D.C., along with the Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and Bill of Rights.   Updated by Robert Longley Resources and Further Reading Documents from the Continental Congress and the Constitutional Convention, 1774 to 1789. Digital Collections. Library of Congress.The Federalist Papers. Congress.gov.  Howard, A. E. Dick. Magna Carta: Text and Commentary, 2nd ed. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1998.Linebaugh, Peter. The Magna Carta Manifesto: Liberties and Commons for All. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2009Magna Carta 1215: Transcript in English and Latin. The British Library.  Hamilton, Alexander. Certain General and Miscellaneous Objections to the Constitution Considered and Answered. Federalist Papers 84. New York: McLeans, July 16–August 9, 1788Vincent, Nicholas. The clauses of Magna Carta. The British Library, March 13, 2015.  The Virginia Declaration of Rights. National Archives.

How John Adams Was Important During The Revolutionary War

Dean H. Willis Mr.Garrett Edwards SS 7th November 20, 2015 John Adams â€Å"We are in the very midst of the revolution, the most complete, unexpected and remarkable of any in the history of the world.† (McCullough 127) This dynamic quote was given by John Adams. The American Revolution started when Great Britain put taxes on the colonies. Feeling that these taxes were unconstitutional, the patriots started revolts like the Boston Tea Party. The American Revolution was fought from 1775 to 1783. America fought hard to win her freedom from Great Britain. This great war was fought in New York, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and many other colonies. John Adams was vitally important during the Revolutionary War. He was at the forefront of America’s realization that she needed to be independent and he worked to accomplish this as a congressman, a great thinker and communicator, and a diplomat. John Adams was born on October 30, 1735 in Braintree, Massachusetts. He died July 4, 1826. He had two brothers, Peter and Elihu. John Adams loved books and reading. He loved to write and to talk about history. He liked swimming, walking and billiards. He had silkworms and an alligator for his pets. Adam s’ parents were Susanna Boylston and John Adams. His mother was notable in society and his father was a farmer, town councilman and deacon. John Adams attended Harvard University where he studied law in his senior year. After college, John Adams opened his own law firm in Braintree. He marriedShow MoreRelatedAbigail Adams And The Revolutionary Time Period1585 Words   |  7 Pages– Abigail Adams (Brainy Quote). In the 1700’s, most women were uneducated and thought little about education and knowledge of the intricate workings of government and society. However, one woman saw the value of education and free thinking way before most of her contemporaries. In Abi gail Adams, a biography by Charles W. 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Physics Lab Report Essay Example For Students

Physics Lab Report Essay The period remained the same as the mass increased. LLC. As the arc of swing increased, did the period (T) increased, decreased, or remained the same? The period of swing decreased as the period (T) increased. AAA. From the data table 1 construct a graph of periods (T) (Y axis) vs.. Length (m) (X- axis) b. From data table 2 construct a graph of period (T) (Y axis) vs.. Mass (keg) (X Axis) c. From data table 2 construct a graph of period (T) (Y axis) vs.. Arc of swing (0) (X axis) 3. For each of these three graphs, describe the relationship between the Period and he X-axis variable. If the graph is horizontal straight line then the two variables are independent of each other. If the graph is a straight diagonal line the relationship is linear. (I. E. , the variables are directly proportional to each other). Length/ Period is Linear Arc of Swing/ Period is Independent Variables Material/Period is Linear 4. What other factors(s), not investigated by you (length, mass, arc of swing) in this experiment might affect the period of the pendulum? The angle of the Pendulums swing only one? The timing of 20 complete swings of my pendulum can have a more accurate measurement since there is less human errors. AAA. The theoretical equation for the period of a pendulum is giving by. T= 211 Where T= Period, L= Length of the pendulum, and g= the acceleration due to gravity in m/so/ If we square both sides of the equation we get; ATA = 4 AAA * L and thus TA = 4112 = the slope of the graph in AAA. Calculate the slope of the graph in question AAA. And from the slope, find the value of g by using 4112 = g So, The gravity is about 9. 8698 m/SAA. Slope b. Compare this measured value of g to the theoretical value of g=9. 81 m/so by determining the % error of your measured value from the theoretical value. Percent Error = The goal of this experiment was to determine the effect of mass, arc of swing and length on the period of a simple pendulum. We varied the pendulum mass for a fixed length, and varied the pendulum length and angle for a fixed mass. The results of this experiment are not in close agreement with original assumption of our group: mass, length and angle all have measurable effect on the period of our pendulum. The timing of letting go the bob and air resistance can be some errors because when you let go of the bob the timing could be a little off and the air resistance which can push the bob making it faster or slower. Error may have also resulted from the pendulum swaying forward or backward during its motion. Sometimes the bob was not dropped exactly straight and caused the bob to take on a slightly diagonal motion. This would have changed the times of our periods slightly. And the timing errors might be improved by having few more trials.

Memorisation then rote rehearsal Essay Example

Memorisation then rote rehearsal Paper The aim of my investigation was to investigate whether imagery was a better form of memorisation then rote rehearsal. Different psychologists have found one method to have a different level of effectiveness than the other. The one-tailed hypothesis for this investigation would be which is a better form of memorisation, imagery or rote rehearsal? The hypothesis was mainly concerned with investigating which factor, either imagery or rote rehearsal was the better form of memorisation. To investigate this, my aim is to use a group of 6th form students and examine which is the better form of memorisation. The study used repeated measures design. The sample I used was the opportunistic sample whereby I obtained those participants who were available to me at that time. I will be testing a representative sample of 20 students. The study will be carried out in a field setting. There will be some ethical issues that I will need to into consideration such as participants consent, right to withdrawal e. t. c. The results were collected on a sheet (appendix ). The words that were correctly remembered with the associated word were written down on the sheet. The participants were taken into a separate room so that other participants were not around, thus avoiding conferring and distraction. The results obtained showed that imagery is a better form of memorisation then rote rehearsal. It was found that more people INTRODUCTION There are various ways in which we can encode stimulus inputs. It may be stored as a visual representation so that you form a visual image of either the printed word itself or a pictorial image of it, or you could form an acoustic representation by saying the written word aloud. We will write a custom essay sample on Memorisation then rote rehearsal specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Memorisation then rote rehearsal specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Memorisation then rote rehearsal specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Alternatively you could form a semantic representation of the word, this would depend on your knowledge on the meaning of the word. My aim for this coursework is to find out weather imagery is a better form of storing information than rote rehearsal. Craik and Watkins distinguished between maintenance rehearsal and elaborative rehearsal. Maintenance rehearsal, in which material is rehearsed in the form in which it was presented (rote) Elaborative rehearsal, which elaborate the material in some way, e. g. by giving it a meaning or linking it with pre-existing knowledge Many psychologists have done research to suggest the procesess of encoding information. Atkinson and Shiffrin proposed the multi-store memory model, it attempted to explain how information from one storage system to another. The multi-store model sees rehearsal as the key control process, which transfers which helps to transfer information from short term-memory to long-term memory. The Brown-Peterson technique shows that STMs duration is very short and in the absence of rehearsal. However, information can be held in long-term memory almost indefinitely through maintenance rehearsal. Other Psychologists have tried to explain that imagery is a better technique for memorisation rather then rehearsal. Some psychologists who have done this are: Wollen et al (72). Bower and Springston Richardson et al (74). AIM My aim is to replicate the research carried out by Bower and Winzenz. They found that the imagery is a better technique for memorisation rather then rehearsal and that the participants of their research recalled more words using the technique process of imagery rather then rote rehearsal. The aim of the research is to see if the my findings will be the same as Bowers et al. HYPOTHESES Experimental hypothesis: There will be a significant difference between the number of words recalled using imagery rather than rote rehearsal, participants will remember more words using the technique of imagery rather than rote rehearsal. Null hypothesis: If any difference occurs between the number of words recalled using imagery and the number of words recalled using rehearsal, it will be due to chance alone DISSCUSSION From the experiment I found that recall was better when participants memorised the word using imagery. These results allow me to reject the null hypothesis, that all results will be due to chance alone and accept the experimental hypothesis. I have been able to fulfil my aim to find out if my findings will be the same or different as Bowers, the results are similar: that imagery was a better form of memorisation then rehearsal. Although this is true for the general results if we look at the individual results: participant 6 re-called three words using rehearsal but only one using imagery, this is true for several other participants. This could be due to the fact that the participants were actually using the imagery technique instead of rote rehearsal even though we had asked them not to. This is a point that needs to be taken into consideration if a repetition of the experiment is to be done. However it could be that rehearsal may actually be a better technique of memorisation, as some psychological research has found this to be correct. Some psychologists who found rehearsal is better technique for recall are Atkinson and Shiffrin, they found that rehearsal was a better technique for memorisation rather then imagery. They believed that memory traces in STM are fragile and can be lost within about 30 seconds unless they are repeated (rehearsed), if this is done them the materials remain for a lifetime. Richardson (72) supported the fact that imagery was a better technique compared to rehearsal. I think there are several ways for me to improve the research that I conducted if I were to re-do it. Instead of using sixth form students I will use adults, as some of the participants were not taking it seriously enough, that way the response is more likely to be more accurate. The research that I carried out did not take place in a natural environment so this could have affected the participants in some way, as they were aware this was an experiment. I could not have carried out my experiment in any other way, however if that was possible I would have had to break ethical issues such as consent and debriefing the participants: it would have been deception. I carried out the research in school, even though it was a classroom with its doors closed the participants were still affected by the noise made by other students walking past the classroom who were not participating in the experiment. Another limitation is that the number of participants involved was very small, to generalise I would need a much bigger sample as this way I would not be taking into account individual differences. Implications of the research: I could re-do this experiment but test imagery with other memory aids such as mnemonics and colour coding. As even though generally participants did better using imagery there were still some participants who did not, so it would be interesting to explore if other methods of recall are even better then memory Also I could use a much bigger participant sample, as this would allow mw to generalise my findings. My findings support and strengthen bowers research but question other researchers such as Anderson and Atkinson and Shiffrin. More Research is needed to discover what is the best method for recall.