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Period: Jan 1, 1200 to
Constitutional Timeline
The creation of the Constitution was erupted from many influences during the 1200's-1700's. These influencing manners have helped create our Constitution for the United States. -
Jan 1, 1215
Magna Carta: "Great Charter"
The “nobles” rebelled against King John, who had treated them harshly and unfairly. The nobles had forced the king to sign a document about an agreement called the “Magna Carta” or “Great Charter” in Latin.
The document, or deed, protected the nobles privileges and authority. It granted certain rights to all landholders. These “rights” will eventually apply to all English people. These rights included the following:
Equal Treatment Under the Law
Trial by One's Peers
(No one is above the law) -
Mayflower Compact
The Mayflower Compact was written when in 1620 the settlers aboard the Mayflower landed north of their original destination in Virginia.
The Mayflower Compact was designed to provide a framework of government for Plymouth in the absence Virginian authority.
It was significant because it is established the principle of government by the consent of the governed in the new world. -
Fundamental Orders of Connecticut
By 1639 a number of Pilgrims were being persecuted for their religious beliefs. The pilgrims left Massachusetts and colonized the are that is now Connecticut. There, they developed America's first written constitution, “The Fundamental Orders of Connecticut”.
This document called for an assembly of elected representatives from each town to make laws. It also called for the popular election of a governor and judges. -
Glorious Revolution
“Transfer of Powers”
The Parliament had removed King James II from the throne, due to an over-ruling manner, and invited his daughter Mary with her husband William to rule instead. In doing so, Parliament demonstrated that it was now stronger than the monarch.
This peaceful transfer of power, known as the “Glorious Revolution”, changed government in England. From that time on, no ruler would have more power than the Parliament. -
English Bill of Rights
To clarify this relationship, Parliament drew up the “English Bill of Rights” in 1689. This document further restricted the monarch's power. It also guaranteed the following concepts:
The free elections to Parliament
The right to a fair trial
The elimination of cruel and unusual punishments. -
John Locke: "Two Treatises of Government"
Date of Birth/Death:
(1632-1704)
John Locke was an English writer who supported the Glorious Revolution. Locke argued that people were born free, equal, and independent. They also possessed rights, called “natural rights”, to life, liberty, and property that no government could take away.
In “The Second Treatise of Government”, Locke wrote:
“All mankind … being all equal and independent, no one ought to harm another in his life, health, liberty, or possessions.” -
Baron de Montesquieu: "Separation of Powers"
Date of Birth/Death:
(1689-1755)
A french writer, such as himself, developed the idea about dividing the branches of government into different parts to balance each other so that no one part can become too strong or threaten individual rights.
His idea on the “Separation of Powers” along with Locke's ideas on the “Social Contract and Natural Rights”, became cornerstones of the “Declaration of Independence” and the “U.S. Constitution”. -
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Date of Birth/Death:
(1712-1788)
Rousseau had written in “The Social Contract”, published in 1762, that “man is born free, yet everywhere he is found in chains.” He was referring to the large number of people in Europe living under oppressive governments.
Rousseau argued that the people alone had the right to determined how they should be governed.
