Read the passage.A Step for DemocracyOne of the most important years in the history of democracy was 1215, when King John of England signed a document called the Magna Carta. Among other things, the Magna Carta made it illegal to buy or bribe one's way out of legal trouble—previously a common practice. More important, the Magna Carta made it clear that the king of England could not change laws or impose taxes without the people's consent. Because of the Magna Carta, the barons of England, along with civic and church leaders, began having regular meetings with the king to discuss matters such as proposed new taxes. The barons were meant to represent the interests of the people who lived on their land. This practice—revolutionary at the time—laid the groundwork for the modern political system known as representative democracy. Representative democracy allows elected officials to speak for the interests of their constituents, the citizens they represent.What is the main, or central, idea of the passage?The Magna Carta led the king to start having regular meetings with the barons of England.The Magna Carta set the stage for democratic governments by affirming the rights of citizens to participate in government.The Magna Carta changed the way England's legal system worked by making it illegal to buy or bribe one's way out of legal trouble.Submit

The main, or central, idea of the passage is The Magna Carta set the stage for democratic governments by affirming the rights of citizens to participate in government. How does the detail in bold develop the main idea?One of the most important years in the history of democracy was 1215, when King John of England signed a document called the Magna Carta. Among other things, the Magna Carta made it illegal to buy or bribe one's way out of legal trouble—previously a common practice. More important, the Magna Carta made it clear that the king of England could not change laws or impose taxes without the people's consent. Because of the Magna Carta, the barons of England, along with civic and church leaders, began having regular meetings with the king to discuss matters such as proposed new taxes. The barons were meant to represent the interests of the people who lived on their land. This practice—revolutionary at the time—laid the groundwork for the modern political system known as representative democracy. Representative democracy allows elected officials to speak for the interests of their constituents, the citizens they represent.It highlights the contrast between the role of barons versus the role of civic and church leaders.It points out the numerous government problems before the Magna Carta.It illustrates the effect of the Magna Carta on English governance.Submit

Which king signed the Magna Carta?

John Locke was born in England in 1632. His thinking about government and people's rights had a major impact on the Enlightenment.Whereas Thomas Hobbes had argued that kings should have absolute power, Locke favored constitutional monarchy. In this type of government, a basic set of laws limits the ruler's power.Locke's ideas reflected a tradition of limitations on the English monarchy dating back to 1215, when English nobles forced King John to sign Magna Carta, or the “Great Charter.” Magna Carta established the idea that even monarchs had to obey English laws and respect certain individual rights.Over time, Parliament became the main check on the monarch's power. During the civil war of the 1640s, Locke's father fought on the side of Parliament. The young Locke was greatly influenced by his father's beliefs.In the 1680s, another crisis developed. The new king, James II, was Catholic. James's enemies in Protestant England feared that he wanted to put Catholics in power and forced him to flee the country in 1688.In 1689, Parliament gave the crown to James's Protestant daughter Mary and her husband, William. Parliament also passed a bill of rights, which strengthened the power of Parliament as the representative of the people. For example, the English Bill of Rights forbade the monarch from keeping a standing army in peacetime or levying taxes without Parliament's consent. It also listed individual rights, including protection in court cases from excessive fines and “cruel and unusual punishment.”Locke approved of these changes in England. In 1690, he published Two Treatises of Government, in which he offered a theory of government that justified Parliament's actions.Locke denied the divine right of monarchs to rule and argued that the true basis of government was a social contract, or agreement, among free people. Under this agreement, the purpose of government was to protect people's natural rights, including the right to life, liberty, and property. The people are the sole source of power and must agree to give power to the government to rule on their behalf. Therefore, according to Locke's social contract, a government's authority was based on the consent of the governed. If the government failed to respect people's rights, it broke the contract and could be overthrown.Locke's view of government had a wide influence. In 1776, his ideas would be echoed in the American Declaration of Independence

How did the Magna Carta inspire later documents?A.It clarified that the justice system was subject to the approval of government leaders.B.It stated that a social contract was violated if a monarch was in power.C.It argued that all people were subject to the rule of law.D.It declared the monarch to be an illegal position of authority.SUBMITarrow_backPREVIOUS

What was one key result of the signing of the Magna Carta? aThe king could make decisions without anyone else’s advice. bMonarchs could not take away anyone’s rights and liberties. cMonarchs could not rule over anyone except commoners. dThe king could live by different laws from commoners.