The Revolution of 1215?

The Revolution of 1215?

The Editor

The Motto of this journal states that its purpose is, “Defending the revolutions of 1215, 1688, 1776, and 1865 from ‘progressive’ counter revolution.” The revolution of 1215 it refers to is the sealing of Magna Carta and the events surrounding it. What one might ask has this to do with the American republic? The answer is pointed to by the first seal of independent Massachusetts, which depicts a colonist with a sword in one hand and a copy of Magna Carta in the other.

            This is because, when the Baron’s revolted under the leadership of Archbishop Stephen Langton against John Lackland a.k.a. bad King John, they set off a series of events that culminated in, on the one hand, the tradition of common law rights and on the other, with the creation of parliament. This did not happen all at once of course, but because under the Great Charter, the king could not tax except for traditional feudal dues, without the consent of the barons, parliaments were called regularly starting in 1236.

From the beginning a number of knights were sometimes called along with the barons. In 1265 representatives of the towns were called for the first time. Starting in 1295 it became regular for the commons to be called along with the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, for as King Edward I wrote in his summons, "what touches all, should be approved of all, and it is also clear that common dangers should be met by measures agreed upon in common." It was at this parliament that it became the practice that the King would first tend to grievances before parliament would give money. In 1327, parliament was the venue in which Edward II was deposed and Edward III was hailed as king. In 1332 the knights and representatives of the towns meet together as separate house from the Lords. In 1376 parliament impeached some of the king’s ministers for the first time. The post of Speaker of the House of Commons was established formally in 1377.

            I could go on but the point is that since about 1295 England has been a self-governing community with strong elements of democracy that have increased over time. At the same time a series of English constitutional documents built on the legal rights enumerated in Magna Charta.

            The Great Charter itself guaranties a number of important rights including, most famously article 30. “No freemen shall be taken or imprisoned or disseized or exiled or in any way destroyed, nor will we go upon him nor send upon him, except by the lawful judgment of his peers or by the law of the land.” But that is by no means all: article 2 and 3 are a restriction on inheritance taxes; article 8 guaranties widows the right not to be remarried without their consent; articles 28, 30 and 31 protect the people from the deprivation of their property without payment.

            These are rights also protected in our bill of rights, article 6 of which protects trial by jury and Article 5 which protects against government seizure of property without compensation.

We often think that no taxation without representation is an American idea, but article 12 states, “No scutage not aid shall be imposed on our kingdom, unless by common counsel of our kingdom.” Article 14 says that “for obtaining the common counsel of the kingdom and the assessing of an aid or of a scutage, we will cause to be summoned the archbishops, bishops, abbots, earls, and greater barons, severally by our letters. Nor was this all to the sole interest of the nobles for the King also promised in article 15 that he would not, “grant to anyone license to take an aid from his own free tenants, except to ransom his person, to make his eldest son a knight, and once to marry his eldest daughter; and on each of these occasions there shall be levied only a reasonable aid.” That is it restricted the robles power to tax as well.

            The point of all this is that the foundations of the American project go back far before the Declaration of Independence in 1776 or even the Glorious revolution of 1688. To understand our founding documents fully it is necessary to understand the history behind them. This is especially true of the more undefined provisions of the bill of rights such as the 9^th Amendment, which is only an “Ink Blot” if one does not know the history of our people.