June 15, 2020: On June 15, 1215—805 years ago today—a document that is known to history as Magna Carta was accepted by King John. Magna Carta, or "the Great Charter," was destined to play an influential role in both English history and the creation of the United States of America.[1]
The events surrounding the initial agreement would never have suggested such lasting influence. After imposing high taxes and enduring a string of foreign policy failures, King John was facing a rebellion by his Barons and Magna Carta was proposed as a peace treaty. “Under duress, he agreed to a charter of liberties...that would place him and all of England’s future sovereigns within a rule of law.”[2]
The initial agreement was a failure and the fighting resumed within months. However, King John died the next year and his son reissued a modified version of the document. As a result, it became “effectively the first written constitution in European history.”[2]
More than 500 years after King John and his nobles reached an agreement, American colonists used Magna Carta as a model for demanding their own liberty. The U.S. Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and many state constitutions “include ideas and phrases that can be traced directly to” Magna Carta.[2]
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