King John was born December1166. He ruled England from April 1199 till his death in October 1216. After losing England’s territories in northern France, King John spent the better part of a decade at war with King Philip Augustus of France to regain the lands. His means of financing this war caused many of his English barons to draw up a list of demands by which King John was forced to sign. On June 15th 1215, the Magna Carta, or the “Great Charter”, was established. The Magna Carta was among the first documents ever to set limits on royal authority. It also outlines the specific roles, responsibilities, and rights of individual citizens, specifically the right to trial by Jury. 
Due to the King and Lords not adhering to the Magna Carta, a civil war broke out. The final draft was issued by King Edward I in 1297. England used these documents in developing their modern day constitutional law. An emerging republic in the newly founded Americas referred to the Magna Carta when developing the legal system they knew and wrote the constitution of the United States. It was this single document that facilitated the development of democracy in the world we now live in. How much would you have to spend to purchase the Magna Carta?
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/06/magazine/06wwln-lede-t.html
A little Magna Carta British Poetry
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qqsZ_5W9eQ&feature=related
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