Influential Documents

Why was the Magna Carta Written?

• To set up laws for the settlers who arrived in Plymouth Massachusetts in 1620.

• To keep Parliament out of jail.

• To help King John Get on Billboard's Top 40 rap chart.

• To force King John of England to protect certain rights of the people and to limit his powers. 

What is meant by self-government?

• The idea that people create and run their own government. 

• The idea that the king must share power with Parliament.

• I can do what I want to do when I want to do it.

• The state can govern other countries.

Define habeas corpus.

• law based on customs and prior legal decisions; used in civil cases

• a new rock-n-roll band

• the right to a jury trial

• the principle that the government must provide a cause or reason for holding a person in jail. 

Which one of these was an important idea of the Magna Carta?

• limited monarchy

• self-government

• social contract

• consent off the governed

Which of the following ideas from the Magna Carta, are also found in the U.S. Constitution?

• self-government

• consent of the governed

• rule of law

• social contract

What are two rights that are in the English Bill of Rights that are also found in our Bill of Rights?

• the right to a jury trial and the right to free speech.

• the right to a jury trial and the right to free speech.

• the right to bear arms and the right to petition the king

• the right to bear arms and the right to free press

What two rights in the English Bill of Rights influenced American views about government?

• social contract &

  self-government

• the importance of individual rights & consent of the governed

• sweet tea & smoked ribs in the cafeteria & hat day everyday

• self-contract &

  social-contract

What was the Mayflower Compact?

• A document that set up the first written set of laws for the English settlers who arrived in Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1620 and introduced the idea of self-government in the colonies.

• A document that was written to force King John of England to protect certain rights of the people and to limit the King's power. 

• A document that was written to let the colonists know that they needed to have a written constitution and break away from a tyrant king. 

• A document that was written to tell the importance of individual rights and consent of the governed.

How did the Mayflower Compact influence American ideas on government?

• Ideas from the Mayflower Compact were included in our Bill of Rights.

• Ideas from the Mayflower Compact were included in the Declaration of Independence.

• Ideas from the Mayflower Compact were included in the U.S. Constitution as it began with "We the People".

What is meant by limited monarchy?

• the idea that the king must share power with Parliament

• the idea that governments must tell kings why they are held in jail

• the idea that even kings must follow the laws of parliament

• the idea that tyrant kings are limited in their power