The Evolution of Individual Rights and Liberties Prior to the Constitutional Convention

History 311

The Nevada Constitution has much comparison to the U.S. Constitution, and has various perceptions and requirements of the Nevada Constitution, which have roots that go back to English common law.

The right of petition are often forgotten when people are asked to recite the rights guaranteed in the First Amendment. Up till now, this right could arguably be credited with providing the foundation for all other First Amendment rights. In this paper, I will analyze the evolution of individual rights and liberties in England, and in the Colonies, and States of the Confederation during the years preceding the Constitutional Convention.

In the year 1215, at a place called Runnymede in England, is where the story begins about the English barons forced King John to sign the Magna Carta, the first document to put limits on the king’s power. While the document itself did not establish the right to petition, the very act of challenging the king, whose belief in his divine right to rule was firm, demonstrated the human aspiration to set right amiss by expression grievances.

More than 500 years later, American colonists spoke boldly against an unjust king and against Parliament, King George III, while the Britain’s ruling society ignored their petitions. The colonist told the world why they were rebelling against the monarch in the Declaration of Independence.

(Bill of Rights and the First Amendments)

Given that the Bill of Rights contained freedoms that Americans held to be their inalienable rights, the Bill of Rights was the first ten amendments that became known to the Constitution of the United States. Due to the fact that these rights were very important, several states insisted on a promise of amendments guaranteeing individual rights before they would approve the Constitution.

In 1791 was the year the Bill of Rights were approved and the major British precursors to the Bill of Rights are: The Magna Carta in the year of 1215, Petition of Right in the year 1628, and Bill of Rights in the year 1689.

In 1215, because of the people in British were tired of intense taxes and arbitrary actions by the king, a group of English barons forced King John to sign the Magna Carta. The Magna Carta was a mean of guaranteeing such fundamental rights as trial by jury and due process of law, a requirement that government be fair in its actions. Originally, these rights applied only to noblemen, but over time, they were extended to all English people. The Magna Carta established the principle that the monarch’s power is not conclusive.

The monarchs of England did not always respect the Magna Carta in the 400 years that followed its signing. Parliament, which is the English legislature, gradually grew in influence. In 1628, Parliament decline to approve more taxes until King Charles I signed the Petition of Right, which prohibited the monarch from arresting people unlawfully and housing troops in private homes without the owners’ consent.

Before William and Mary could be king and queen of British, a stipulation of their rule was agreement to an act of Parliament in 1689 known as the Bill of Rights. It guaranteed the right of British subjects to petition the king and to bear arms. It prohibited excessive bails, fines, cruel, and abnormal penalty. This British Bill of Rights protected far smaller amount of individual rights compare to the American Bill of Rights that were implemented a century later.

The importances of the individual rights were crucial to America’s founding and because their rights in England were threatened, many future Americans left their homeland to form new colonies in a strange land. The colonists then confirmed independence from England and created a new nation to secure those rights.

While early Americans assemble on their English heritage when developing rights in the new land, many colonies before 1689 had laws that far exceeded the scope of the English Bill of Rights.

In 1636, Rhode Island was established and was the first American colony to recognize freedom of conscience. The Massachusetts Body of Liberties is the first detailed protection of rights in America that were enacted by the Massachusetts Bay in 1641. In 1649, the citizens in Maryland extended the rights of religious toleration to other Christians and Maryland was founded as a heaven for Catholics. Virginia adopted a new constitution,