The idea that government was not all-powerful first appeared in the Magna Carta, which King John was forced to sign in 1215. Under the Magna Carta, the principle of limited government was established, stating that the power of the monarch, or government was limited and not absolute. Like the Bill of Rights and the Declaration of Independence which would be drafted later on, this document provided for the protection against unjust punishment and the loss of life, liberty, and property except according to law. In the Magna Carta, the king also agreed that he could not tax the people without popular consent. .
About four centuries later, in 1688, Parliament removed James II from the throne and replaced him with his daughter, Mary II and her husband William III. Parliament chose to use this transition as an opportunity to write up the English Bill of Rights, which would later become an important aspect of the American colonies. Similar to the Magna Carta, the English Bill of Rights set clear boundaries on what a ruler could and could not do. But unlike the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights applied to American colonists as well as to the people in England. The main ideas that the Bill of Rights embodied included: 1) That monarchs do not have the divine right to rule and that they rule with the consent of the people's representative in Parliament. 2) The monarch must have Parliament's consent to suspend laws, levy taxes, or maintain an army. 3) The monarch cannot interfere with parliamentary elections and debates. 4) The people have the right to petition the government and to have a fair and speedy by a jury of their peers. 5) The people shouldn't be subject to cruel and unusual punishments, nor be subject to excessive bails and fines. .
The Declaration of Independence, adopted in 1776, was founded on the principles of human liberty and the consent of the governed.
