Power to the People - Develop, Democracy, Model Parliament, Magna Carta
Power to the People
Develop, Democracy, Model Parliament, Magna Carta
Medieval Europe Unit
Tired of kings? Sick of monarchs? Fed up with having to listen to someone on a throne telling you exactly
what you are or aren't allowed to do? Toss out those old kings! They belong in the past. It's the year
1295 C.E.! Time to get a king that will listen to your needs. It's time for a king that will listen to the
common people's wishes (at least, more than the old kings did, anyway). It's time . . . for King Edward I!
Order now!
You have put up with greedy kings for too long. They have started wars with other countries to gain more
power for themselves. They have taxed the people to buy more comfortable beds and fill their bellies. It's
time for a change. To develop means to grow or slowly turn into something different. As an
English person in the year 1295, you may be asking yourself, "How could things get better?" You have
spent your life knowing what it's like to live under a king who does whatever he wants whenever he wants!
Change happens slowly, but you and other people like you are ready to start having more power. Well,
have I got a surprise for you.
What if instead of one person making all of the choices for England, many people made the choices?
Sound too good to be true? Just listen! A democracy is a kind of government where the people, decide
the laws and the people choose who will make the laws. When people vote for their leaders in a
democracy, they can make sure the people in charge care about the same things the people care
about. In the case of King Edward I, there are only a few leaders who were chosen by the people . . . but it
sure beats the old system!
Forget that old way of life, where a king sat on his throne and told everyone what to do. King Edward I will
bring together nobles and the representatives chosen by the people so they can talk about and choose the
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Power to the People - Develop, Democracy, Model Parliament, Magna Carta
laws of the land. The model parliament was a group brought together by King Edward I to help make
decisions and it was made up of different groups: the rich, leaders of the church, and a few people who
spoke for the rest of the people. Where did it get its name? Because we believe it works so well that it will
become the model for all parliaments to come!
But hey, you ask, where did this amazing idea come from? Good question. It grew out of the old ways of
living. I am sure you remember those. A little more than fifty years before the first meeting of the model
parliament, there was another king that made many people in England very mad, King John. The people
were sick and tired of being taxed by the king and wanted to make sure they would have a say in the laws
that they had to follow. It did not work out the first time, but this was a first step in slow change. The
Magna Carta was an agreement between the king and some of the leaders that kings would follow some
rules and they would have to agree on when they needed to pay taxes. Even if both sides did not follow
the rules they made with this first agreement, it was a step in the direction of the king making decisions
with the people, instead of for the people . . . And it made way for this amazing new king we bring to you
today!
So act fast! Throw out those old kings who run the country the way only they want. It's time for you to
develop your country, making it grow into something more important, by getting a King Edward I. He will
be democratic, letting the people choose the people that will go and decide the laws of the land. This will
be called a model parliament because it will change all parliaments to come. We have the Magna Carta to
thank for this great new king. What are you waiting for? Order now!
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