What were the events that leaded to our revolution and independence of our country from the British? Who was Montesquieu? What were the series of documents that severely weakened the power of the king? If you are asking any questions that are related to those keep reading to find out. Let's start with the Magna Carta
The Magna Carta is one of the most important to us in history. During the time this document was written King John was on the throne. This ruler was starting to abuse his powers by raising the taxes without the people's consent and was killing anybody who tried to take some of his power. The people got very angry with his actions so they wrote up a script called the Magna Carta. It stated that no one was above the law including the king. For example the king would kill people without thinking and that was against the law. It also stated that the king could not raise taxes without the great council's consent. The great council was a body that was made of bishops and high ranking officials. In addition to that it said that everyone should have a fair trial and cannot just be put away when the king said so. Finally it stated if the king were to break one of these laws it was the duty of the people to rebel against him. During this time the feudal system was present. The feudal system works because the king can't control all of the land so he needs help. First he hires nobles to split up the land. Those nobles hire knights to protect the territory and to enforce laws. So if he didn't sign this charter he would have been attacked by the knights because the nobles own the knights the king doesn't. This left him with no choice but to sign it.
Another major document is the English bill of rights. The English bill of rights was made during the glorious revolution. Charles II took the throne thinking he would be a despotic ruler. He started making the military, the people, and the governments become Roman Catholic. Any Protestants, or anybody from a different religion, was going to be wiped out or converted. The people didn't like this so they revolted against Charles. This ended up in the people's victory and many old traditions changed. Now the king had less power and almost every law that was made had to go through the parliament before actually being put into play. The Bill of Rights also stated that everyone should have the right of a trial by jury as the Magna Carta said too. Lastly it states that everyone has the right to petition. This is a process which if there is a complaint or suggestion the king will act on it immediately and try to fix any problems.
Let's talk about something a little closer to home; How about our declaration of independence. After England settled colonies in America the king started raising taxes on the colonies for a worthless war in France. The colonies couldn't pay the taxes because they had too many other problems like feeding themselves and taxes were the last thing they needed. This was the straw that broke the camels back after years of indiscretions they finally had enough of England's disrespect. So they wrote the declaration of independence. This concordat stated the way to have a perfect government. All people should be created equal. A government has to protect the natural rights that god gave them. These are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. And a government should only be changed if it is absolutely necessary because people can go through a lot of hardships but big change affects them more. The declaration also talks about how the king of England has wronged them; here are a few. The king drags the officials out to the wildest places so they would be too tired to have correct judgment and would just obey the king. He has also refused to approve any laws that the colonies have to have. He cancelled meetings if anybody is against him. The declaration also was the first time our country's name was ever spoken.
Before the declaration of independence was written there was another compact written just as we were settling into America. This was called the Mayflower Compact. When the Mayflower left England its destination was Virginia. But when a storm blew in it was totally off course and it came to shore in what is now Massachusetts. Before, in England, the law stated that the Protestants were to be in charge over the Puritans in Virginia. They didn't land in Virginia did they? No, they landed in Massachusetts so the Puritans got to thinking and they wrote up a document on the boat saying that when they get to shore the Puritans were in charge. It also said that King James was there sovereign ruler. But they made their own government too. What was special about this was that all free men had the chance to make laws. It said that all people should come together and make “just and equal laws”. King James had the power to appoint a new governor to watch over. This was the first glimpse of our later government because this follows the same rules and traditions of a government formed by the people and run by the people. Lastly it said that if you follow the laws that the people make, the government will protect you. 41 men signed this document not including women.
