Page 29 - Beers With Our Founding Fathers

A Patriot’s view of the history and direction of our Country

The Magna Carta
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June 16 1215

The Magna Charter or Great Charter was signed by England’s
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king on June 16 1215 – more than 550 years before our Declaration
of Independence and about 560 years before our Constitution.
What does a document in England, from the medieval era, have to

do with the birth of our Country? By signing the charter, by force,

he limited his powers as king, and also laid the foundation for
England’s parliament and citizen’s rights. The concepts of this

charter are found in our own founding documents. It is important
to note nearly every country, until the birth of our own, was ruled by

royalty – king or queen, emperor or empress, czar or czaress, etc.
Other countries were ruled by dictators, etc. Royalty also consisted

of lesser titles, but no ‘commoner’ was in a ruling party – the world
was dominated by a class system, with no chance of changing one’s

status. The status of royalty was said to be granted by god and birth.
Royalty ruled by absolute authority, until the Magna Carta and

representation in a parliament. The Magna Carta, for the first time,
limited royalty and empowered – to a constrained degree – the

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