Magna Carta
Written in 1215, it is one of the most important documents in the development of democracy. It limited the power of the king of England and established the idea that people have rights.
The Great Binding Law
Written by the Iroquois, a Native American tribe, between 1300 and 1450, it said that all Iroquois could participate in government, that government existed to serve the people, not vice versa, and it created a legislative body similar to Congress with two separate groups just as Congress has the House of Representatives and the Senate.
The Mayflower Compact
Written in 1620 by the Pilgrims when they arrived off the coast of what is now Massachusetts. The Pilgrims were English citizens who left England because they were not free to practice their religion in England. They had planned to join up with some other English colonists in Virginia, but their ship was blown off course. They realized they needed to form their own government, so they wrote the Mayflower Compact in which they made their own laws. It is an early attempt at self-government.
The Fundamental Orders of Connecticut
Written in 1639, it created a civil charter, or written code of laws, for settlers in Connecticut. It never mentioned the king or any other government and extended voting rights to anyone who owned land. It may be the first constitution ever written that established a government.
The English Bill of Rights
Written in 1689, it stated that the monarch of England served at the will of Parliament. It helped make England a constitutional monarchy and strengthened the rights of the people. (Note that this is the English Bill of Rights and not the American Bill of Rights which are part of the U.S. Constitution.)
Virginia Declaration of Rights
Written in 1776, it outlined the rights of the people of Virginia and set out the plan for its government. Thomas Jefferson used many of these same ideas in the Declaration of Independence.
The Declaration of Independence
Written in 1776, mostly by Thomas Jefferson, it outlines the grievances (complaints) the American colonists had with the king of England and the English parliament, and put forth the idea that people had natural and legal rights.
