The English Revolution of 1688, the English Bill of Rights (1689), and the Enlightenment profoundly influenced the revolutions that followed. The leaders of the American Revolution, in particular, cited the influence of philosophers such as Hobbes and Locke as they asserted their right to overthrow a government they felt had become corrupt. While the English Revolution of 1688 did not result in a total change in government, its lasting effect cannot be debated. With the passage of the English Bill of Rights (1689), the rights of the citizenry became the foundation for many modern revolutions that reshaped geopolitics in the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries. Read this essay that analyzes the various traditions that influenced the writing of the U.S. Constitution. The English Bill of Rights was among its most important influences. Then, examine the chart that reviews the Magna Carta. How does this analysis compare with your reading of the English Bill of Rights? How did this document pave the way for the U.S. Constitution?
Even though the American Revolution created a country that was entirely
new, the new country's legal code was based on very old traditions. The
laws established in the U.S. Constitution, and its Bill of Rights
specifically, are rooted in England's very old and very important legal
documents. Two of the documents that were critical in developing our
Bill of Rights were the Magna Carta of 1215 and the English Bill of
Rights of 1688 (which we will learn about later). In this activity you
will read selections from the Magna Carta and the Bill of Rights to
discover how our Constitution was influenced by medieval English law.
Source: The National Archives, https://www.docsteach.org/activities/printactivity/magna-carta-v-bill-of-rights
This work is in the Public Domain.