Historical documents that influenced the Constitution Archer

Magna Carta Limited the power of the King (Constitution limits the power of the central government)

Magna Carta The 5th amendment guarantees: No person shall...be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law Written 575 years earlier, Magna Carta declares: No freeman shall be taken, imprisoned,...or in any other way destroyed...except by the lawful judgment of his peers, or by the law of the land. To no one will we sell, to none will we deny or delay, right or justice.

English Bill of Rights This document listed individual rights (model for the Bill of Rights in the Constitution, first 10 Amendments)

English Bill of Rights Amendment 8: Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted English Bill of Rights: That excessive baile ought not to be required nor excessive fines imposed nor cruell and unusuall punishment inflicted *English Bill of Rights was intended to prohibit punishments like lopping off ears, boring a hole through the tongue with a red-hot iron, slitting nostrils, etc…

Mayflower Compact Written by the Pilgrims in 1620, an agreement that established the idea of self-government and majority rule

Mayflower Compact the idea of self-government based on a social contract would expand in New England town meetings and traditions of local government, and later would influence the establishment of American republican government

Antifederalist papers Anti-Federalists opposed the Constitution because it lacked protection of individual rights. (When the Constitution was ratified, the first ten amendments—Bill of Rights— were immediately added to protect those rights)

Anti Federalist Papers 3 rd Amendment: No quartering of soldiers Anti-Federalist #44: Congress may, even in time of peace, raise an army of 100,000 men, whom they may canton through the several states, and billet out on the inhabitants, in order to serve as necessary instruments in executing their decrees

Federalist Papers Support ratification of the Constitution with a focus on the need for a strong central government with restricted powers. (The Constitution sets up for a strong central government with separated powers and a system of checks and balances)

Federalists papers the Federalist Papers consist of 85 essays outlining how this new government would operate and why this type of government was the best choice for the United States of America