Existing comment:
Inspiration for Americans:
On the eve of the American Revolution, Massachusetts adopted a seal depicting a soldier holding a sword in one hand and Magna Carta in the other. Magna Carta served to inspire and justify action in liberty's defense. The colonists believed they were entitled to the same rights as Englishmen, rights guaranteed in Magna Carta. They encoded those rights into the laws of their states and later into the Constitution and Bill of Rights.
Just as Magna Carta could not be overruled by the king, the Constitution is the "Supreme Law of the Land." The Fifth Amendment to the Constitution ("no person shall... be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.") is a direct descendant of Magna Carta's guarantee or proceedings according to the "law of the land." |