The Magna Carta

The Magna Carta book cover — Making the Rules for a Country 4 A Written Record 6 Kings and Nobles 10 King John 12 Signing the Magna Carta 16 Freedom of the Church 20 Limiting Taxes 22 The Right to Justice 24 Living History 26 Glossary 30 For More Information 31 Index 32 CONTENTS

The Magna Carta — page 1 — MAKING THE RULES FOR A COUNTRY What would happen if there were no rules It may sound like fun because it means you could do whatever you wanted But without rules people could also steal or hurt each other and not be punished People would be unsafe and life would not be fair Rules help protect people All modern governments have sets of rules called laws The Magna Carta is an 800-year-old document Only four copies of the original document exist today 4

The Magna Carta — page 2 — These laws are usually written down so that everybody knows what they are Governments did not always have written rules One of the ﬁrst examples in history of a government’s written laws is the Magna Carta Latin for Great Charter This document was signed more than 800 years ago in England The story of the Magna Carta involves a disliked king and rebellious nobles Keep reading to learn about how the Magna Carta was created and how countries like the United States studied it to make their own laws The Magna Carta was signed in England It created laws for that country A charter is a document issued by a government that gives rights to a person or group Vocabulary 5

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