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the English Magna Carta (1215) The text of the Magna Carta of 1215 bears many traces of haste, and is clearly the product of much bargaining and many hands. Most of its clauses deal with specific, and often long-standing, grievances rather than with general principles of law. Some of the grievances are self-explanatory: others can be understood only in the context of the feudal society in which they arose. Of a few clauses, the precise meaning is still a matter of argument. In feudal society, the king's barons held their lands 'in fee' (feudum) from the king, for an oath to him of loyalty and obedience, and with the obligation to provide him with a fixed number of knights whenever these were required for military service. At first the barons provided the knights by dividing their estates (of which the largest and most important were known as 'honours') into smaller parcels described as 'knights' fees', which they distributed to tenants able to serve as knights. But by the time of King John it had become more convenient and usual for the obligation for service to be commuted for a cash payment known as 'scutage', and for the revenue so obtained to be used to maintain paid armies.
The scope for extortion and abuse in this system, if it were not benevolently applied, was obviously great and had been the subject of complaint long before King John came to the throne. Abuses were, moreover, aggravated by the difficulty of obtaining redress for them, and in Magna Carta the provision of the means for obtaining a fair hearing of complaints, not only against the king and his agents but against lesser feudal lords, achieves corresponding importance. About two-thirds of the clauses of the Magna Carta of 1215 are concerned with matters such as these, and with the misuse of their powers by royal officials. As regards other topics, the first clause, conceding the freedom of the Church, and in particular confirming its right to elect its own dignitaries without royal interference, reflects John's dispute with the Pope over Stephen Langton's election as archbishop of Canterbury: it does not appear in the Articles of the Barons, and its somewhat stilted phrasing seems in part to be attempting to justify its inclusion, none the less, in the charter itself. The clauses that deal with the royal forests, over which the king had special powers and jurisdiction, reflect the disquiet and anxieties that had arisen on account of a longstanding royal tendency to extend the forest boundaries, to the detriment of the holders of the lands affected. Those that deal with debts reflect administrative problems created by the chronic scarcity of ready cash among the upper and middle classes, and their need to resort to money-lenders when this was required. The clause promising the removal of fish-weirs was intended to facilitate the navigation of rivers. A number of clauses deal with the special circumstances that surrounded the making of the charter, and are such as might be found in any treaty of peace. Others, such as those relating to the city of London and to merchants, clearly represent concessions to special interests. Translation The Constitution of the United States of America
In 1774 the Parliament of Great Britain capped a series of abuses against the American colonies by imposing a tax on tea imports to the colonies. The colonies quickly agreed to convene a Continental Congress, which in 1776 appointed two committees—one to draft the Declaration of Independence and the other to prepare a “form of confederation” among the colonies. In 1778 this second committee produced the Articles of Confederation which took effect in 1781. The Articles of Confederation established a league of friendship among the states, but not a political union. Each state remained separate and sovereign. The central government consisted of a one-chamber Congress, in which each state had a single vote. Congress had few powers, lacking even the authority to impose taxes. Any congressional action required the approval of 9 of the 13 states. The government had no president and no central court. As a result, Congress in the 1780s could not deal with serious national problems, such as the repayment of about $40 million in domestic debt and $12 million in foreign debts incurred during the American Revolution (1775-1783). Later in 1786 and in 1787, there was an uprising of poor farmers which, depite being supressed by local militias, sent tremors through the 13 states. Some legislatures began to enact laws relieving debtors of their debts, which angered many wealthy creditors. States with good seaports took advantage of merchants in other states by imposing large import and export taxes. These and other problems required national solutions that neither the states nor the Confederation Congress had the political will to confront. The continuing crisis and the threat of further rebellions spurred the states to call a convention to revise the Articles of Confederation. The Constitutional Convention began on May 25, 1787 in Philadelphia and brought together nearly all of the nation’s most prominent men, including George Washington, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and Benjamin Franklin. The delegates settled most of issues quickly. Four questions proved far more difficult to resolve: conflicts over how the people were to be represented in Congress; what to do about slavery; the powers of the president and the procedures for election to the office; and the powers and functions of the federal courts. On the key question of congressional representation, the convention eventually agreed on a compromise between two different plans. The first was that members of both houses of Congress be divided according to the population of each state. Because the population in three states alone—Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts—made up nearly half the country, this plan would have given these states control of the nation. The second plan favoured small states, giving all states equal representation in a one-chamber Congress regardless of population. Under this plan, the more numerous small states could unify against the larger ones. The final compromise was to give the states an equal voice in the upper house, the Senate, and representation proportional to population in the lower house, the House of Representatives. Even though the words slave and slavery do not appear in the Constitution, the convention included ten provisions dealing with slavery. The most serious dispute arose over how to assign House seats to Southern states. If seats in the House of Representatives were apportioned according to state populations that included slaves, Southern states would gain an advantage because of their large slave populations. Northern states pushed to exclude slaves from the population calculations altogether. Southern states refused. Finally abolitionists from northern states compromised. They agreed to the infamous clause in Article I that counted slaves as only three-fifths of a person. The delegates considered various proposals for a single three-year, six-year, and seven-year term for the Presidency. They debated whether the executive branch should be headed by a single leader or by many, and whether the chief executive should have the power to veto legislation, should be elected by Congress or the people, should be eligible to run for reelection, and should command the armed forces. Some delegates even hoped for a limited monarchy. Not until September 8, more than three months after the convention started, did the final shape of the presidency emerge: a single leader, elected to a four-year term and eligible for reelection, with authority to veto bills enacted by Congress. The president was also given command of the military and the power to appoint federal officials, subject to confirmation by the Senate. Early on at the convention, a Council of Revision, composed of federal judges and the president, to veto laws made by both Congress and state legislatures had been proposed. The delegates rejected variations of this plan four times because of the opinion that those who interpret the laws “ought to have no hand in making them”. Instead, it was agreed to create a single Supreme Court and to permit Congress to create lower federal courts. After the details had been settled, a committee on style and revision was assigned to put the final results in language to submit to the people for ratification. The text of the Constitution was approved on September 15, and on September 17 all but three of the remaining delegates signed, what was now no longer just an agreement between states, but a constitution for a new nation. You can read the texts here:
or downoad them to read off-line:
Other Books of the Month in English:  The
100 Greatest Books of the 20th Century65 Quotations
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The
Magna Carta, is a document sealed by King John of England on June
15, 1215, in which he made a series of promises to his subjects that
he would govern England and deal with his vassals according to the
customs of feudal law. Over the course of centuries, these promises
have required governments in England (and in countries influenced
by English tradition) to follow the law in dealing with their citizens.
Besides
military service, feudal custom allowed the king to make certain
other exactions from his barons. In times of emergency, and on such
special occasions as the marriage of his eldest daughter, he could
demand from them a financial levy known as an 'aid' (auxilium).
When a baron died, he could demand a succession duty or `relief' (relevium)
from the baron's heir. If there was no heir, or if the succession
was disputed, the baron's lands could be forfeited or 'escheated' to
the Crown. If the heir was under age, the king could assume the guardianship
of his estates, and enjoy all the profits from them - even to the
extent of despoliation - until the heir came of age. The king had
the right, if he chose, to sell such a guardianship to the highest
bidder, and to sell the heir himself in marriage for such price as
the value of his estates would command. The widows and daughters
of barons might also be sold in marriage. With their own tenants,
the barons could deal similarly. 
The
Constitution of the United States is the system of fundamental laws
of the United States of America. The Constitution was drawn up by
55 delegates to the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia during
the summer of 1787 and ratified by the states in 1788. The Constitution
defines distinct powers for the Congress of the United States, the
president, and the federal courts. This division of authority is
known as a system of checks and balances, and it ensures that none
of the branches of government can dominate the others. The Constitution
also establishes and limits the authority of the federal government
over the states and spells out freedoms and liberties for U.S. citizens.
