Question

Explain how clause 39 of the Magna Carta was influential to the American Revolution.

Answer 1

Clause 39 was influential to the American Revolution because it outlined the individual rights of citizens. The early colonists considered themselves to be English, so they believed that they also were accorded these rights, which we now call “due process.” In the list of grievances section of the Declaration of Independence, the colonists mentioned instances where the judicial rights outlined in clause 39 were ignored. By insisting on including the rights of individuals, the Founding Fathers made the Magna Carta, and especially clause 39, an important ideal in the American Revolution.

Plato