Historical Documents that Influenced America

Historical Documents that Influenced America

The Magna Carta (1215)

• Way back in the Middle Ages, England was ruled by a King, who shared a little of his powers with the wealthy nobility.

• In the early 1200's King John tried to take all of that power back. The angry nobles fought back

• In 1215 they created a document called the Magna Carta

Magna Carta (1215)

• This document LIMITED THE POWER OF THE KING

• It also protected certain rights of the Nobles

• Also said laws and punishments had to be fair and equal

• Everyone was entitled to due process and a FAIR TRIAL if accused of a crime.

• Given better property rights (Their stuff couldn't just be taken away)

Magna Carta (1215)

• The nobility was able to force King John to sign the Magna Carta

• This was a big deal because it introduced the concepts of limited government, rule of law, and due process

• It also helped create Britain's first Parliament.

Multiple Choice

Why was King John forced to sign the Magna Carta?

• to increase the power of the monarchy
• to end taxation in England
• to force the monarchy to give up power
• to weaken the power of nobles

Multiple Choice

When King John I abused his powers as the King of England, he was eventually forced to sign...

• The Declaration of Independence

• The Articles of Confederation

• The Magna Carta

• The Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom

Multiple Choice

Which document limited the Power of the King of England?

• The Mayflower Compact

• The Magna Carta

• The Declaration of Independence

• The Article of Confederation

The Mayflower Compact (1620)

• When the Pilgrims left England for the new World, they were supposed to land in Virginia where a colony was already thriving

• Instead, they ended up in Massachusetts where no colony existed

• They needed a government fast!!

The Mayflower Compact (1620)

• The men agreed to create a new government and to follow its rules.

• In exchange, they would all protect each other.

• This is called self-government!

Multiple Choice

The Mayflower Compact is the first example in America of _____.

• divine oversight of government

• popular sovereignty

• democratic self-government

• constitutional monarchy

Multiple Choice

 Why did the Pilgrims create the Mayflower Compact?

•  to show that they opposed representative government.
• to establish an orderly community
•  to reinforce the laws of England in the new colony
•  to guarantee universal religious tolerance in the colony

Multiple Choice

Why was the Mayflower Compact an important document for the Plymouth Colony?

• The compact gave freedom to all African American colonists.
• It established rules that all of the Pilgrims had to follow.
• It told the colonists who could own certain land plots.
• The compact was written by the king of England.

The English Bill of Rights (1689)

• The Parliament (lawmakers) had been fighting with the King.

• Parliament won, and passed the English Bill of Rights.

• Like the Magna Carta, the BOR expanded the rights of Parliament and the people, while limiting the powers of the King more

• This applied to citizens in England and the colonies!

Common Sense (1776)

• By the 1700's the King was making more demands of the colonie

• Many were fed up and wanted to separate from Britain

• Thomas Paine wrote a pamphlet trying to persuade everyone to break from England

• It was written in a way that EVERYONE poor and rich could understand

• 6 months later the Declaration was signed!

Multiple Choice

Which document would expand the rights of the people?

• Cato's Letters

• The English Bill of Rights

• The Declaration of Independence

• The Panama Papers

Multiple Select

Select two documents that would limit the power of the king:

• Magna Carta

• Common Sense

• Declaration of Independence

• English Bill of Rights

• Cato's Letters

Multiple Choice

The statement

"You should be independent from England" would most likely be said by someone who read which document?

• English Bill of Rights

• Common Sense

• The DailyMail

• The Magna Carta