Ms. Diane Nicoll 8th Grade History Unit 2: Lesson 1 

The Magna Carta

Name: Malia Langer

Date: September 26, 2017

Class: 8th Grade - U.S. History & Geography

 
Slides and Notes 
Slide Student Notes

Origins of the U.S. Constitution

Title 
Unit 2: Lesson 1

Discuss the significance of the Magna Carta, the

Goal 
English Bill of Rights, and the Mayflower Compact.

The Founding Fathers 

- People who framed (wrote) the Constitution

- These people wanted a document that
expressed:
- The power of government
- The limitations of government
Founding Fathers  - Protect the rights of the people
- This document would be the highest
document of the land
- Every state could write their own
document, but the US Constitution would
trump it

- Liberty (freedom as a group)

- freedom to be able to do what you want
- Justice
- needs to be a body in government to
provide punishment
Constitutional Ideas  - Personal Freedom (freedom as an individual)
- freedom of speech
- Rule of Law (order)
- Social Contract
- Government’s Responsibilities
- 3 branches of government

Where do  - Background knowledge

Constitutional Ideas  - Origins of the US Constitution in following
Come From?  areas:
 
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Ms. Diane Nicoll 8th Grade History Unit 2: Lesson 1 

- American Experience
- Past Governing Documents
- British Traditions (2 different houses, etc)

- Two of the three are British and one is American

- British
- Magna Carta (written in early 1200’s)
- English Bill of Rights (written in late
1600’s)
- Both provided founding fathers with
3 Past Governing  examples about limiting government
Documents  power and extending personal rights
- American
- The Mayflower Compact (written in early
1600’s)
- The first American Document of self
government (a way for American’s
to govern themselves)

The Magna Carta 

- First person associated with the Magna Carta

was King John
- King John (everybody hated him, terrible man)
- Believed that he killed a relative so that
he could have the throne
- Wasted money when he was in office
- Lost large parts of land (upset the English
Background:  
men because that was land they were
King John 
living on)
- Argued with the official church (made
people angry with him)
- Raised taxes to solve his problems
- In 1215, the Barons (elites, one step below
royalty) took action because they had
enough of him

- The Barons took over the entire city of London

in 1215 and they forced King John to sign the
Magna Carta
Background: 
- They wanted the king to admit that he was not
English Barons  
above the law
- The Barons thought they had certain rights the
king needed to recognize

 
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Ms. Diane Nicoll 8th Grade History Unit 2: Lesson 1 

- In 1776, American Revolution happened

- The English Barons were mad at King John
over taxation
- The Americans were mad at King George
III for the same reason
Connections! 
- The founding fathers of America used the
Magna Carta as a justification to rebel
from England
- King John - Magna Carta
- King George III - Constitution

- Magna Carta
- Protects barons’ rights
- Said that the king is not above the law
- King cannot tax without Great Council’s
U.S. Constitution:  permission
A Comparison  - US Constitution
- Protects citizens’ rights
- No one above the law (impeachment)
- Presidents cannot tax without Congress’s
permission

The English Bill of Rights 

- Originally called the “Declaration of Rights”

Background:  - Changed to the English Bill of Rights
Declaration and  - Parliament passed it into law in 1689
Date  - It became foundational for English Common
Law (England’s Constitution)

- The “English Bill of Rights came about because

of the Glorious Revolution which overthrew
Background:  King James II and replaced him with the
Glorious Revolution  monarch pair of William and Mary
- Glorious Revolution was connected with the
English Bill of Rights

- Before they could become King and Queen, they

were forced to agree to the “English Bill of
RIghts”
Background: 
- Reason they liked William and Mary was
Parliament to 
because they agreed to:
William & Mary 
- Parliament said that English citizens had
certain civil (life) and political (vote)
rights that could not be taken away

 
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Ms. Diane Nicoll 8th Grade History Unit 2: Lesson 1 

- Guaranteed Freedoms
- Jury Trials
- No excessive bail
- Free elections to Parliament
Background: 
- Free speech in Parliament
Governmental 
- Right to arms
Freedoms 
- Free to petition the king
- No taxation without Parliament’s
approval
- No cruel or unusual punishment

- Both the US Constitution and English Bill of

Rights have:
- Individual rights that are protected
- Congress controls taxation
U.S. Constitution: 
- Congress raises and supports an army
A Comparison 
- No quartering of troops
- Sets up rules for regular elections
- Right to a jury trial
- Limits powers of the president

Mayflower Compact 

- Mayflower Compact
- November 11, 1620 (early 1600’s, before the
Background: 
English Bill of Rights)
Location and Date 
- Provincetown Harbor
- Cape Cod, Massachusetts

- 1620
- Leaving because they don’t like the government
in England
Background:  - Headed to Virginia
The Pilgrims   - Didn’t make it there, landed in New England
which became Massachusetts
- Mayflower Compact became the first
government for the 41 pilgrim men

- Gave a government for these 41 people

- Agreed to set up just and equal laws
Background:  - Set up a way to add to or change laws
Cooperation as  - Had cooperation of all to follow the ideas of the
Government  document
- Had a social contract theory

 
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Ms. Diane Nicoll 8th Grade History Unit 2: Lesson 1 

- Each a supreme law

- Both set up civil governments (a government
within a government)
U.S. Constitution: 
- Both based on “just and equal laws” (fair)
A Comparison 
- Each provided ways to amend (change) itself
- Both became the basis for other colonial
charters/state constitutions

- US Constitution
- Magna Carta
In Conclusion 
- English Bill of Rights
- Mayflower Compact
 

 
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