Magna Carta: English Roots of American Liberty

By Carrie-Ann Biondi

Eight hundred years ago, on June 15, 1215, a group of English noblemen stood in Runnymede meadow along the Thames River and said, “No”—no to unlimited monarchical power, no to confiscation of property with impunity, no to legal proceedings without due process. These so-called rebel barons persuaded the reluctant King John to affix his seal to the Magna …