Reinvention of the Magna Carta Flashcards
What powers did the monarch traditionally have?
To the people
To serve the common good
Who was Edward Coke?
17th-century lawyer and attorney who fought for the constitutional monarchy
What is a constitutional monarchy?
Where the monarch is curtailed under the law (constitution) and has a parliament
What did Coke argue about English law?
That it was a supreme, rational, reasonable and had no gaps
What did Coke say to James I about the English Law?
That the law could come up with an answer in any situation
What did Coke argue that the MC had done for them?
Invoked an expectation in English people that their liberties, inheritances, and property rights were theirs to be held in the utmost respect
Why did James I dislike Edward Coke?
Because he argued all the time that the king did not have the right to act above the law and the law was supreme
What is the Ancient Constitution?
The idea that England had an unwritten constitution that went back through to before the Anglo Saxon invasion and it was the basis of all English law
Why did Coke argue that the Magna Carta was declaratory?
Because he said that all it did was write down the rights and laws that already existed in some degree or another
What commentaries did Coke write on the MC?
The first and second part of the institutes
Why did Cokes arguments about the MC run in both conservative and radical directions?
Conservative: everytghing that exists is reasonable and rational
Radicals: everything that is reasonable should exist
What did Coke argue about homo as used in MC?
That it stood for women as well as man
Who was Freeborn John?
John Lillburne was leader of the Levellers and Lt Col in the parliamentary army
What important Leveller document did Freeborn John write with Richard Overton?
The Agreement of the People
Where was Freeborn John tried in 1638?
Star Chamber. They had a reputation for trying to get confessions rather than convict on evidence. So John argued that MC allowed him the right not to incriminate himself
How many times did Freeborn John stand trial for his life?
4 times
Who were the Levellers?
alliance of pamphleteers and early political group during the English Civil War 1642-1648
What were the putney debates 1647?
Series of debates held by the people, especially, the Levellers which argued some radical ideas about freedom, individual rights and parliaments.
What was John Lillburne first tried for?
Printing and Publishing of LIbelous and Seditious Books
What words did Freebon John use to describe MC which helped its reputation?
Ancient
Famous
Great Charter
What did Richard Overton think about MC?
He was not convinced called it ‘but a beggerly thing containing many marks of intolerable bondage’
Who was Thomas Paine?
Newspaper editor and writer. Wrote Common Sense to try and get the US to separate revolutionarily from the British government
How did Paine used the MC?
Basically by claiming it to be a constitution that gave the people of the UK rights, that the US citizens should revolutionize under its banner and fight for their own rights
Did Thomas Paine have any doubts about MC?
Yes, he wasn’t always convinced of its power. Concluded it had not earned the British any new rights at all in The Rights of Man
Who were the Chartists?
Group of people who after the 1832 reform act wanted more rights and so wrote an 6 clause peoples charter
How many people signed the peoples charter?
1.3 million
Who did the Chartists frighten?
The current government and especially the Whigs and conservatives. This was because many of the demands would threaten their monopoly on government and legislation
What were the Chartists demands?
All men to have the vote (universal manhood suffrage)
Voting should take place by secret ballot
Parliamentary elections every year, not once every five years
Constituencies should be of equal size
Members of Parliament should be paid
The property qualification for becoming a Member of Parliament should be abolished
Who was Joseph Rayner?
A chartist who spoke at the meeting on Hartshead Moor and claimed that the MC gave people the rights to free speech, free association and freedom from the workhouse
Who was William Cuffay?
A chartist organiser and agitator, who innocently got caught up in a plot to overthrow government. He called to MC in court to get a free trial with a jury of his peers. He didnt and he was transported. He was the son of a slave from St Kitts
When was the first call in court to the MC for a free trial?
1535 Thomas More
Who called MC Magna Farta?
Cromwell. He did this to show that he was not constrianed by it (bit like the monarchs claimed they were not)
Who were the diggers?
Group led by Gerrard Winstanly who believed that all land should be farmed to provide for the poor. He defended his cow in court for getting on someones land.
What did Gerrard Winstanley point out about MC?
That it didn’t cover the poor, women or non-property owners
Who was Arthur Beardmore?
Arrested for treasonable and seitious newspaper reports about the monarchy. Was arrested shown teaching his son Magna Carta ON PURPOSE
Who were the Whigs?
POlitical party in 1678
First to emerged after the consititonal crisis which led to the exclusion bill
Arranged around principles of freedom and liberty
had control from 1714-1760
Whalpole was the longest servung whig PM
