A
long time ago, and still in some places today, there was this one guy
who could do anything he wanted—take people's stuff, take people's
homes and land, kick people out of the realm, even kill people. There
were really no limits to that one guy's power.
That
guy might be called a czar or an emperor or a king. He might happen
to be a good guy, a kind man, someone who doesn't go around hurting
people without good reason—but, on the other hand, he might be a
bad guy, a cruel man, someone who destroys people's lives just because
he lost his temper.
In
England, the guy with all this ultimate power was the king. There
were no laws that limited the king's power—and if he didn't like a
law, he could just shrug and change it. But on this date in 1215,
this changed.
That's
when English barons forced on King John a written document we now
call the Magna Carta (“Great Charter”). This document stated that
the king couldn't punish “freemen” except through the law of the
land. This is an earlier version of the Fifth Amendment of the U.S.
Constitution, which states that no person shall be deprived of life,
liberty, or property without due process of law.
After
the Magna Carta, English kings could no longer wave their pinkie
fingers and order someone banished or executed. Kings could no longer
be completely arbitrary about grabbing desirable women and horses and
estates. Basically, the Magna Carta meant that the king (or queen)
had to follow the law, too.
In
England (in Egham, Surrey), Magna Carta Day is celebrated with music
and amusement rides and clowns and other festivities.
If
the king had ultimate power...
You
may be wondering how the barons “forced” King John to accept the
Magna Carta, if the king had so much power. Well, kings and emperors
and other absolute rulers have always had one weakness—which is
that their people might and often did rise up in rebellion against
them, throw them out of power, kill them, and put someone else on the
throne. It seemed as if this is what would happen in that long-ago
time in England: for years the barons under King John's unpopular
rule conspired to rebel against him. But there was no obvious person
to take the throne if their rebellion succeeded. Nobody could agree
about who would be a good alternative to King John. Eventually the
barons decided to rise up but then force the king to give them rights
and protections. If King John hadn't accepted the Magna Carta, he
would have been deposed and quite likely killed.
So
he gave in, and democracy got a strong push in the right direction—or
should I say the “rights” direction?
Also
on this date:
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