Magna Carta was very important for the whole development of parliament. First of all it asserted a fundamental principle that taxation needed the consent of the kingdom. Secondly, it made taxation absolutely necessary for the king because it stopped up so many sources of revenue.

James Madison

Magna Carta exercised a strong influence both on the United States Constitution and on the constitutions of the various states. The United States also adopted the Bill of Rights, in part, due to this political conviction.

Perhaps Magna Carta’s most obvious modern legacy is in the field of human rights. By setting limits to the power of the king and granting certain rights to his subjects, Magna Carta can be seen as the first human rights treaty.

Raising taxes made John increasingly unpopular with the English barons, whom the king relied on to assist him in governing the kingdom. The immediate cause of the Barons’ rebellion was the decisive defeat in battle of King John’s army at Bouvines in 1214, by the force of the king of France.

So as a means of promoting peace the Magna Carta was a failure, legally binding for only three months. It was not until John’s death from dysentery on 19th October 1216 mounting a siege in the East of England that the Magna Carta finally made its mark.

Magna Carta still forms an important symbol of liberty today, often cited by politicians and campaigners, and is held in great respect by the British and American legal communities, Lord Denning describing it as “the greatest constitutional document of all times – the foundation of the freedom of the individual against …

The English Bill of Rights created a constitutional monarchy in England, meaning the king or queen acts as head of state but his or her powers are limited by law. Under this system, the monarchy couldn’t rule without the consent of Parliament, and the people were given individual rights.