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Period: Jan 1, 1200 to
The things that influenced our constitution.
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Jan 1, 1215
The Magna Carta
The nobles rebelled against King John and force him to sgn he Magna Carta. The Magna Carta limited the power of the monarch by guaranteeing that no one would be above the law. The Magna Carta also guaranteed trial by one's peers. Our constitution took the ideas of trail by one's peers and equal treatment under the law from the Magna Carta. -
Mayflower Compact
Pilgrims that were coming to America realized that they needed rules to govern themselves. While they were still on the Mayflower, the Pilgrims drew up a wrtten plan for goernment. The Pilgrims' government style was a direct democracy. The U.S. Constitution was a writen document like the Compact and the Constitution is the rules on how we govern ourselves. -
Funamental Orders of Connecticut
Some of the Pilgrims left Massachusetts to go to Connecticut because theywere being prosecuted for their religion. These Pilgrims decided to make Ameica's first written constitution. This constitution made it to where we elected representitives to make the laws and allowed popular election of governors and judges. The U.S. constitution took from this the election o representitives to make our laws and popuar vote on governors and judges. -
Glorious Revolution
Paliament removed King John from power and invited his daughter Mary to be on the throne. This peacful transfer of power was known as the Glorious Revolution. From that point on, no ruler would have more power than Parliament. In the U.S., none of our presindents have had more power than Congress, and every 4 years we change our presidents. -
English Bill of Rights
The English Bill of Rights futher restricted the monarch's power. It allowed free elections to Parliament and gave the right to a fair trial. It even got rid of cruel and unusual punishments. The Constitution allows free elections to Congress, gives the right to a fair trial, and doesn't allow cruel and unusual punishments. -
John Locke
John Locke was a philosopher in the enlightment era who argued that all men were born free, equal, and independent. Locke also argued that humans had three inalienable rights which were Life, Liberty, and the right to own Property.These right were rights no government could take away. The U.S.'s constitution has John Locke's idea of life, libery, and property written in it. People have these rights in the U.S. because the people writing the constitution were inspired by John Locke's ideas. -
Baron de Montesquieu
Montesquieu came up with the idea of "Seperation of Powers." Speration of powers is dividing the branches of the government into different parts to balance the power so that no one part can get too strong or threaten individual rights. From Montesquieu, the U.S. used the idea of seperation of powers. The U.S. has three branches of government and a Congress. The three branches are the Judicial, Legislative, and Executive branches. -
Jean-Jacques Rouseau
Jean-Jacques Rousaeu was a philosopher who argued that the people had the right to choose how they should be governed. Rouseau was the writer of the Social Contract, which states the the people give up some of their freedom to the government as long as the government protects their rights. That is how we are in the U.S. People vote on who governs them and who chooses laws. In the United States, we, the people, choose how we are governed. We obey the laws and our government protects us.
