The Magna Carta, created in 1215, and the English Bill of Rights, created in 1698, includes ideas that put into action the ideals self-government and individual liberty by creating laws that limited the monarchy and gave more rights citizens. The first example of how these dements limited the monarchy is clause 39 from the Magna Carta that states “no free man shall be seized or imprisoned or possessions, or outlawed or exiled… except by the lawful judgment of his equals or by the law of the land” (Magna Carta). This law limited the power of the king, by taking away his power to punish anyone he wanted and putting in place a jury of citizens; putting citizens in charge shows the increased value of an individual. In the English Bill of Rights it is stated, “the election of members of Parliament ought to be free” (English Bill of Rights). This law is giving more power to citizens to participate in the structure of their government, there for limiting the power of the …show more content…
These documents did this by building upon the democratic ideas of self-government and individual liberty. These documents influenced the content of the documents that provide individual liberty and self-government to the citizens of the United States