Notes: Development of Constitutional Government in Great Britain

Feudalism and Rights of Englishmen

  • 1066: William the Conqueror unifies England; feudalism established; land-based system.
  • Social groups: Royalty, Nobility, Common people (knights, merchants, peasants/serfs).
  • Land control: Monarch owns land; nobles govern; vassals administer; loyalty and military service.
  • Government by contract: monarch ↔ nobles; nobles ↔ vassals; rights and responsibilities; groundwork for constitutional government.

Rights of Englishmen

  • Rights developed over centuries: trial by jury; security from unlawful entry; no taxation without consent.
  • Colonists were subjects of the crown and shared these rights.
  • The British constitution is not a single written document; it is largely common law and laws passed by Parliament.

Magna Carta (1215)

  • Nobles forced King John to sign; limits royal power; contract between ruler and nobility.
  • Key ideas:
    • Government by contract; if the contract is broken, government is not valid.
    • Rule of law: both ruler and governed are bound by established laws; due process required.
  • Initial rights limited to nobles, but it laid groundwork for universal principles and influenced later U.S. constitutional documents.

Parliament and the Shift of Power

  • 1258: Parliament formed as advisory council; two houses: House of Lords (nobles) and House of Commons (landowners non-nobles).
  • Over centuries, Parliament's role grows; represents regional interests; power struggles with the monarchy.
  • 1628: Petition of Right; taxes require Parliament; no housing soldiers in private homes; strengthens individual rights.
  • 1649: Civil wars; execution of the king; by 1688, power shifts to Parliament.

English Bill of Rights (1689)

  • Parliament gains further limits on the monarch:
    • free elections to Parliament
    • right to petition the king
    • taxes require Parliament’s consent
    • no standing army in peacetime
    • freedom of speech and debate in Parliament
    • laws made by Parliament cannot be arbitrarily disobeyed by the monarch
    • protections against excessive bail/cruel punishment
  • By end of the 1600s, the British government was more limited; these ideas influenced the Americas.

Key Concepts and Terms

  • common law
  • Magna Carta
  • Petition of Right
  • English Bill of Rights
  • Parliament
  • rights of Englishmen
  • rule of law
  • feudalism

Review and Connections

  • Feudalism promoted the idea that government is a contract between the government and the governed.
  • Magna Carta, Petition of Right, and the English Bill of Rights limited royal power and promoted parliamentary authority.
  • Struggles between monarchy and nobility led to a system of limited government that influenced later constitutional development in Britain and the Americas.

Quick Recall (essential points)

  • What contract idea did feudalism introduce?
  • Why is Magna Carta important for constitutional government?
  • What powers did Parliament gain that limited the monarchy?
  • How did the English Bill of Rights affect taxation, elections, and the standing army?