In this paper we will analyze the evolution of individual rights and liberties in England and the Colonies in the Americas during the years preceding the Constitutional Convention. As one would suspect the rights that were delineated by the Constitutional convention were developed as a result of the problems experienced by the settlers in the Americas in the preceding years.
English Rights and Liberties.
English rights and liberties were developed over a period of six hundred years preceding the revolution in the American Colonies. Initially there were very few rights or liberties for the common people. The Lords could do as they pleased without any consequences. .
As the English progressed they became more impatient with this situation. This culminated with the Charter of Liberties being signed by King Henry I. This charter basically bound the king to the laws of the land. It also granted a number of amnesties to those who may have committed crimes, thus setting the stage for the new idea of law and constitutionalism.
In 1215 King John issued the Magna Carta. In the period before it was issued there were excessive taxes. Additionally there were heavy reprisals for those who could not pay. As a result the Barons of the land forced King John to issue the Magna Carta. While this document is thought of as granting rights to the people. In reality the main result was that it established the concept that the power of the King could be limited by a written document.
Things were quiet for some time. In 1689 the English Bill of Right was enacted. The reason for it lay in several events. First there had been an oppressive king, King James. Second, there had been a great deal of strife between King James, who was catholic, and the Church of England. King James had promoted Catholicism with blatant disregard of the laws against such acts that parliament had passed. The Bill of Rights set out strict limits on the Royal Family's legal prerogatives.