1.2 Democracy Develops in

England

Belief that the power of a king is given to him by

God. No one is above the king, he answers to

no one.

The monarch has total (or absolute)

control of government and society.

• Where?

– England

• When?

– 1215

• What Caused It?

– King John needed money to pay for a war so he taxed all the English nobles. Needless to say, the nobles were outraged and rebelled.

Nobles made a list of demands to King John and

he signed the document, called

THE MAGNA CARTA

1. DUE PROCESS OF LAW: Meaning the King

must respect legal rights such as:

– No freeman can be unfairly imprisoned.

– Freemen have the right to a trial by jury.

– King cannot tax without the people’s consent.

2. The King must follow the laws of the land.

– EVERYBODY was subject to the law.

“NO Freeman shall be taken or imprisoned, or be

disseised of his Freehold, or Liberties, or free Customs,

or be outlawed, or exiled, or any other wise

destroyed; nor will We not pass upon him, nor

condemn him, but by lawful judgment of his Peers, or

by the Law of the land. We will sell to no man, we

will not deny or defer to any man either Justice or

Right."

3. First document that greatly limited the power

of the Monarch and power was given to the

people.

King James II was

unpopular because he

was Catholic and he

appointed Catholics

to high positions.

When his wife gave

birth to a son, they

feared a line of

Catholic kings.

…

Members of Parliament

plotted to overthrow

King James II and put

his daughter, Mary, a

Protestant, in power.

Mary and William, her husband, overthrew King

James in a bloodless revolution called the

Glorious Revolution (1689) and became the

new king and queen.

Mary and William signed the English Bill of Rights

in return for the revolution. Never again would

there be an absolute monarch.

1. Converted England to a Constitutional

Monarchy. Powers of the King and Queen are

restricted by a constitution and its laws.

PARLIAMENT

(People make laws and

make governmental

decisions)

MONARCHY

(Power is limited by the laws)

SHARE POWER

2. It gave English

citizens basic rights

such as:

• Freedom of speech

• No taxation without

authorization

• Right to bear arms

(protestants only)

3. Parliament is given additional powers. They

can create laws and control secession, as

opposed to hereditary rule.

In this case, England, who governed

the government? Why?