OUR BILL OF RIGHTS – WHERE DID IT COME FROM? It was a bit chilly in London in March of 1775. Edmund Burke, a friend of the
American Colonies and a Member of Parliament rose to speak on behalf of the
colonists. He cautioned his fellow M.P.’s – and the Crown – against sending troops
to control the Colonies:
“First, the people of the Colonies are descendants of Englishmen.
England, Sir, is a nation which still I hope respects, and formerly
adored, her freedom. The Colonists emigrated from you when this part
of your character was most predominant, and they took this bias and
direction the moment they parted from your hands. They are therefore
not only devoted to liberty, but to liberty according to English ideas
and on English principles...
“The temper and character which prevail in our Colonies are, I am
afraid, unalterable by any human art. We cannot, I fear, falsify the
pedigree of this fierce people, and persuade them that they are not
sprung from a nation in whose veins the blood of freedom circulates.
The language in which they would hear you tell them this tale would
detect the imposition; your speech would betray you. An Englishman is
the unfittest person on earth to argue another Englishman into
slavery.”
Parliament didn’t listen. King George III didn’t listen. The following year the
American colonies declared their independence from their mother country
and the Revolutionary War followed.
Is it true that the Colonists “sprung from a nation in whose veins the blood of
freedom circulates?” Wasn’t England historically a monarchy? Weren’t English
kings all-powerful? Let’s go back in time, back to when King Henry I ascended the
throne in 1100 A.D. to review the first of five important documents that preceded to
Bill of Rights. In his Charter of Liberties, Henry voluntarily limited his power,
binding himself to the laws. He declared the Church to be free of government
interference. (The Charter even eliminated the inheritance tax!) By holding the king
to the rule of law, it set the stage for a parliamentary system of representative
government.
Then in 1215, under the threat of civil war, King John reluctantly signed the
Magna Carta, the second important document. Written by the barons and lords, it
initially corrected abuses of the Crown. But it also included many of the Charter of
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Our Bill of Rights – Where Did It Come From? Liberties’ principles including that The English Church would be free of government
interference. It added: No taxation without representation, trial by jury of his peers,
due process, just compensation for property taken by eminent domain, and the right
to petition the government for redress of grievances.
King Charles I, who was a tax-and-spend king, and who also dissolved Parliament,
found himself presented in 1628 with the Petition of Right, the third significant
document. It was itself a petition for redress of grievances and, adding to the
articles of the Magna Carta, included the following:
•
No freeman should be forced to pay a tax or loan except in accordance with a
law passed by Parliament.
•
No freeman should be imprisoned except by judgment of his peers or by laws
of the land.
•
No military personnel shall be quartered in private homes contrary to law.
The fourth document, the Grand Remonstrance, was delivered to King Charles I
on 1 December 1641. It sought to remedy what Parliament saw as corrupt practices
by the Crown. Charles had sought to disarm his subjects, not by confiscating their
firearms, but by collecting all of the gunpowder in the kingdom and storing it in the
Tower of London, then “setting so high a rate upon it that the poorer sort were not
able to buy it, nor could any have it without licence, thereby to leave the several
parts of the kingdom destitute of their necessary defence...”
The Grand Remonstrance demanded an end to Star Chamber trials, which were
held in secret, with no indictments, and no witnesses. Also, it demanded an end to
government interference into the religious affairs of the church.
The fifth important document is the English bill of Rights. Parliament passed
this bill on 16 December 1689, less than one hundred years before our
Constitution was ratified. Here are some of its provisions:
•
That the pretended power of suspending the laws or the execution of laws
by regal authority without consent of Parliament is illegal;
•
That the pretended power of dispensing with laws or the execution of laws
by regal authority, as it hath been assumed and exercised of late, is illegal;
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Our Bill of Rights – Where Did It Come From? •
That the commission for erecting the late Court of Commissioners for
Ecclesiastical Causes, and all other commissions and courts of like nature,
are illegal and pernicious;
•
That levying money for or to the use of the Crown by pretence of prerogative,
without grant of Parliament, for longer time, or in other manner than the
same is or shall be granted, is illegal;
•
That it is the right of the subjects to petition the king, and all commitments
and prosecutions for such petitioning are illegal;
•
That the raising or keeping a standing army within the kingdom in time of
peace, unless it be with consent of Parliament, is against law;
•
That the subjects which are Protestants may have arms for their defence
suitable to their conditions and as allowed by law;
•
That election of members of Parliament ought to be free;
•
That the freedom of speech and debates or proceedings in Parliament ought
not to be impeached or questioned in any court or place out of Parliament;
•
That excessive bail ought not to be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor
cruel and unusual punishments inflicted;
•
That jurors ought to be duly impanelled and returned, and jurors which pass
upon men in trials for high treason ought to be freeholders;
•
That all grants and promises of fines and forfeitures of particular persons
before conviction are illegal and void;
•
And that for redress of all grievances, and for the amending, strengthening
and preserving of the laws, Parliaments ought to be held frequently.
There you have it. Five documents in a span of over six hundred years, each adding
to the principles of liberty, laying the foundation for amendments one through ten of
the Constitution -- our Bill of Rights.
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Our Bill of Rights – Where Did It Come From? Name ___________________________________
Date ______________________
Study questions:
1. Amendment 1 of the Bill of Rights: Congress shall make no law respecting an
establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the
freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble,
and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
In which one or more of the five documents do you find the predecessor of the
following rights:
Religious liberty? _____________________________________________
Free speech? __________________________________________________
Free press? ___________________________________________________
To peaceably assemble? ________________________________________
To petition the government for redress of grievances?
________________________________________________________________
2. Which document(s) preceded Amendment 2: A well regulated Militia, being
necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear
Arms, shall not be infringed.
_______________________________________________________________
3. Which document(s) preceded Amendment 3: No Soldier shall, in time of peace be
quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but
in a manner to be prescribed by law.
_______________________________________________________________
4. Amendment 5: No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise
infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in
cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service
in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same
offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any
criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or
property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for
public use, without just compensation.
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Our Bill of Rights – Where Did It Come From? Which document(s) reference(s) these fifth amendment rights?
_______________________________________________________________________
5. Amendment 6: In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a
speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the
crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously
ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation;
to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for
obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his
defence.
Which document(s) contain the predecessor of this right?
____________________________________________________________________
6. Amendment 8: Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed,
nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.
Which document(s) contain the predecessor of this right?
_______________________________________________________________________
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For more information, please contact us at P.O. Box 31296, Independence, OH 44131
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