Lesson video

Hi, I'm Mrs. Allchin, and I'm going to be taking you through this Citizenship lesson today.

I'm going to give you all the information that you need to be successful, and I'm also going to pause and tell you when to complete a check for understanding or a task.

Hope you enjoy the lesson.

This lesson is called Why is Magna Carta Still Relevant in Today's Society? And it comes from the unit of lessons How Can We Play a Part in the Legal System? By the end of today's lesson, you will be able to explain what Magna Carta is and why it is still significant today.

Our keywords for today's lesson are Magna Carta, which is a document created in 1215 that limited the king's power and introduced legal rights, baron, which is a rich landowner or noble who has a lot of power in mediaeval times, absolute monarchy, which is when the monarch has total control and does not have to follow any laws, and constitutional monarchy, which is the monarch's power is limited by laws, and decisions are made by a government and parliament.

Our lesson outline for today's lesson on why is Magna Carta still relevant in today's society is we're firstly going to have a look at what is Magna Carta, and then we're then going to look at why is it still relevant today.

So we'll begin by looking at what is Magna Carta? So Alex is asking that question, "What is Magna Carta?" So pause and have a think.

Have you heard of this before? Have you got any idea what this could possibly mean? Magna Carta, which is Latin for Great Charter, was an important document created in 1215 following pressure from dissatisfied and rebellious barons.

It was intended to limit the power of the monarchy and ensure legal protections for free men, particularly the barons themselves.

It is a hugely significant historical example of how citizens have played a part in the legal system, and that's why we're learning about it as a part of this unit.

So Alex is asking, "What was the situation in 1215? Why were people so angry?" So let's have a look at that kind of historical context 'cause then it will make Magna Carta much more easier to understand.

So King John was what is known as an autocratic monarch, and that means that he led an absolute monarchy.

So using this absolute power, he ordered high taxes, he made poor military decisions without anyone being able to sort of stop him, and he made arbitrary, so on a whim for no real reason, legal orders, which often felt unjust, which often felt really unfair.

So let's have a check for understanding.

Which describes King John's rule? A, he was an autocratic monarch, meaning he had constitutional power, B, he was an autocratic monarch, meaning he had absolute power, or C, he was a constitutional monarch, meaning he had absolute power? And it's B, King John was an autocratic monarch, meaning he had absolute power.

So the barons played a significant role in Magna Carta.

The barons were at that time rich landowners and nobles who had a lot of power.

They were in charge of larger estates, and these larger states often included agricultural land, so land for farming, a small holding, a village, and a manor house.

The barons also had military obligations, so in terms of warfare and army to the monarch.

So they had military obligations to the king, and this included providing knights and soldiers for wars because remember, they've got a lot of money often and so they're able to do that.

And in 1215, tension was rising and the barons were becoming increasingly frustrated by King John's poor and unjust unfair decisions.

So let's have a look at what those pressure points were.

What exactly was it that made the barons get so cross with King John, which ultimately led to the Magna Carta? So pressure point one was taxation.

So just like we have today, there was taxes then as well.

So King John imposed really high taxes and he used this money for futile, so pointless wars, to try to claim back French territories, which had been lost during his reign to the King of France.

So during the time that he was king, there were areas in France, often the northern sort of territories and during his reign, we lost them.

So this country ultimately lost them back to France and he was using a lot of that money to try and keep on going to war and into conflict to try and win back those territories even though he wasn't succeeding.

So the barons were also being taxed high amounts without any say in how these taxes were spent.

They were angry at having to pay taxes to fund an unsuccessful military bid in France.

So the barons could see that lots of their money was going towards something that just simply wasn't working, but they had no way of being able to argue that or to say to King John that, "Actually, you know, that's not a good idea," or, "We don't wanna be paying all these taxes," or, "These taxes could be spent in a better way." So that was pressure point one, taxation.

Pressure point two, which we've touched upon already, was those military failures.

And I've put there a map.

So you can see the United Kingdom and then you can see France.

So you can see that the close proximity in what King John was trying to get back.

So in 1204 when King John lost control of French territory, so for example, Normandy, which you can see there right in the north of France, quite close to the United Kingdom, he lost control back to King Philip II.

And this was viewed as a huge military failure and it embarrassed and angered English nobility.

The barons were personally impacted by King John's failures, as many also owned land in France.

So when territory was lost in France, this led to them having huge financial losses.

So that was that second pressure point, the fact that in their belief their king was failing from a military point of view, and that was actually costing them money as well.

And then that pressure point three is that arbitrary rule.

So remember arbitrary means for no good reason, on a whim.

So they felt as though his rule was very arbitrary.

So because he ruled in an arbitrary manner, this meant that he was often making unpredictable decisions on a whim rather than following the expected rules of the land.

And some of these examples included seizing lands, so taking land off people, imprisoning nobles without giving them a trial, and exploiting the court system to his advantage.

So for example, financially benefiting from the money gained from legal fees and fines or being unfairly biassed towards his friends that might be going through the court system.

Bribery and corruption within the court was really, really, really common.

So all of these things together, that formed that third pressure point, the fact that he was ruling in a very arbitrary manner, very, very unpredictable and often not fair at all.

So all of these pressures were building and building and building and they came to a breaking point in 1214.

So at this point, King John was continuing those futile efforts to gain back land in France and many barons just refused to support him, they'd had enough.

After his defeat at the Battle of Bouvines in 1214, the barons organised a rebellion as their frustrations in King John's autocratic leadership were confirmed.

Let's have a check for understanding.

State three reasons why the barons were angry with King John.

so think to those pressure points.

So you could have said any of these: that he ruled in an arbitrary manner, he was unpredictable, he seized land that belonged to the barons, he exploited the court system, he allowed bribery and corruption in court, and he lost land.

So let's have a look at what happened next.

So then in January 1215, remember they got this point, they're completely frustrated, they've refused now to keep on funding his futile efforts.

So in January 1215, a group of powerful barons backed by some clergy and knights demanded reforms in how England was governed and in how England was ruled.

They renounced their oaths of loyalty to the king, and that's absolutely massive.

To renounce their oath of loyalty to the king, it's ultimately saying that they don't have trust and faith in him anymore as their monarch.

Then in May 1215, the rebellious barons took control of London.

And this was significant as prior to this, King John was dismissive of the rebellion and he thought, "Oh whatever, I'm the king, what could they possibly do?" But this control of London, getting that kind of agreement and control of London meant that he had lost a key stronghold because just as it is today, London was a really, really key financial and political area during the mediaeval period.

Then in June 1215, King John was forced to negotiate, and this led to the creation of Magna Carta sealed by King John with the Great Seal of England on June the 15th, 1215.

So he ultimately had to sign the Magna Carta because at this point it was absolutely clear that he completely lost control and lost the trust in the English people led by the barons.

So let's have a look then, Alex is asking, "So what did Magna Carta actually aim to do?" So you've learned that ultimately the barons were able to making King John sign the Magna Carta, so he's clearly agreeing to something.

So just pause and have a think, what do you think the Magna Carta actually was? What was he signing up to? What did it actually aim to do? So Magna Carta limited the power of the monarch and ensured that the king was subject to the law.

This was true for not just King John, but also future monarchs.

Also stated that free men cannot be arrested or punished without a fair trial, and that the king could not demand high taxes without consulting his barons.

So that's some of the main areas of Magna Carta and what it hoped to achieve.

Magna Carta was groundbreaking because of this in shaping the legal rights of citizens and limiting government power, and that's one of the reasons it's so significant still today.

So let's have a check for understanding.

Can you put this statement back in the right order? So the words have all got jumbled up.

At the moment it says, "Magna limiting Carta was legal groundbreaking in shaping the rights of citizens and government power." That's clearly not in the right order, so pause and see if you can get the words back in the correct order.

And the correct order is Magna Carta was groundbreaking in shaping the legal rights of citizens and limiting government power.

So for task A, I'd like you to create a flow chart that outlines how and why Magna Carta came to be.

So your flow chart that outlines how and why Magna Carta came to be might look something like this.

So firstly we had King John raised taxes, lost land, and made arbitrary rules and laws, which made the barons angry.

The barons started rebellion against him in 1215 as they did not want to continue paying taxes towards his unsuccessful attempts to claim back land in France.

The rebels took control of London, giving them a strong position to force King John to listen.

Then in June 1215, King John was forced to agree to Magna Carta, which limited the monarchs power and set rules to which they must rule by.

So we've looked at the Magna Carta, and you've probably already started to think about why it's still relevant today, but that's what we're going to really focus on now in this part of the lesson.

So why is Magna Carta still relevant today? So back in 1215, Magna Carta was initially intended to protect the barons and other free men of the time, not the general population.

However, its core concepts of fair trials, government accountability, and individual rights remain key elements of our legal system today.

So back when it was signed hundreds of years ago, it was more really looking at the barons.

Actually what that's ended up doing is helping all people, all citizens.

So let's have a look at some of the clauses and some of the elements of the Magna Carta that are really, really significant and how they impact us still today.

So Clause 39 of Magna Carta says that, "No free man shall be seized, imprisoned, or stripped of their rights or possessions, or outlawed or exiled, or deprived of their standing in any other way, nor will we proceed with force against them or send others to do so except by the lawful judgement of their equals or by the law of the land." So that is what Clause 39 says.

If you like, pause and have a read through that again yourselves.

So Aisha's asking, "Why is this still relevant today?" So have a look at Clause 39 and just think to yourselves, "Why is this still relevant today? How does this still have an impact now?" Ultimately, Clause 39 established the principle of the right to a fair trial, which is huge in terms of legal rights and it's enshrined in the Human Rights Act 1998.

Citizens today can only be arrested for good reason.

Courts must be fair and public, and clear legal principles must be followed by legal professionals, and sentencing must be just and based on clear sentencing guidelines.

And we also have a jury and Crown Courts who decide on guilt, which is that element linking it to peers as it states in Clause 39.

And clause 40 of Magna Carta stated, "To no one will we sell, to no one deny or delay right or justice." So Aisha again is asking, "Why is this still relevant today?" So think about that, to no one will we sell, to no one deny or delay the right or justice.

So pause and have a think, why is this still relevant today? So this meant that justice could not be bought or delayed, which is still applicable today with a right to access to justice.

Everyone has the right to legal representation regardless of their income.

And we also have the Bribery Act 2010 that also makes attempting to pay off a judge a criminal offence that carries a maximum 10-year prison sentence.

Let's have a check for understanding.

What are the missing words from these statements regarding the relevance of Magna Carta? So the right to a fair something, the right to access to something, no one can be subject to something arrest, and something must be proportionate.

Let's see how you got on.

So the right to a fair trial, the right to access to justice, no one can be subject to arbitrary arrest, and sentencing must be proportionate.

So all of these link to that relevance of the Magna Carta.

Magna Carta was also the first time that no one was above the law, not even the monarch.

This is absolutely vital in terms of its significance.

So let's read that again.

Magna Carta was the first time that no one was above the law, not even the monarch, so not even the king.

And this is still relevant today as a core aspect of the rule of law is that all citizens are equal before the law.

So that's all citizens, that's not all citizens apart from the king, it's all citizens, meaning the monarch is, like citizens, subject to the law, not above it.

The UK has a constitutional monarchy, meaning the monarch's powers are limited by the law, unlike countries which have absolute monarchies.

So the UK uses representative democracy where citizens elect decision-makers to make law and policy on their behalf.

Law is made by parliament, not the monarch.

Although the final stage of creating an Act of Parliament, a law, is Royal Assent.

That's where the monarch officially approves the bill and signs it off, making it a law.

This is largely ceremonial.

In modern times, the Monarch would not refuse a law that has been made via a representative democracy, which is what we have in the UK.

And this is why Magna Carta, something that happened long, long, long ago in 1215 still has relevance today as it began the idea that the Monarch is not above the law and it laid the foundation for the UK's constitutional monarchy and citizens' rights in relation to the justice system.

So let's have a check for understanding.

Which of these statements describes the UK monarchy? We have an absolute monarchy, the Monarch is not above the law, so that's A, we have a constitutional monarchy, the monarch creates the law, that's B, and we have a constitutional monarchy, the monarch is not above the law, C.

So pause while you have a go.

And the correct answer was C.

So we have a constitutional monarchy and the Monarch is not above the law.

For task B, I'd like you to explain why Magna Carta is relevant in modern society in relation to the UK's legal system.

Your answer should refer to the right to a fair trial, the right to access to justice, the right to be free from arbitrary punishment, and equality before the law.

So when explaining why Magna Carta is relevant to modern society in relation to our legal systems, you may have included, "Magna Carta, signed in 1215, is still important today because it introduced key ideas for our legal system.

It established the right to a fair trial, meaning no one can be punished without proper legal process, a principle now protected under the Human Rights Act 1998.

It also ensured access to justice, stating that justice should not be denied or delayed and that judges cannot be bribed.

Magna Carta also introduced protection from arbitrary punishment, ensuring that no one can be imprisoned or punished without a legal reason, and that sentencing must be proportionate." You may have continued, "Another key idea included in Magna Carta was equality before the law, meaning that just like all citizens, the monarchy subject to the law, not above the law.

This can also be seen within the UK's representative democracy where the final stage of a law being made, Royal Assent, is more of a formality rather than something the Monarch would deny.

These are all reasons why Magna Carta is still so relevant and important today." So in summary of the lesson, why is Magna Carta still relevant in today's society? Magna Carta, sealed in 1215, was on agreement between King John and his barons.

It limited the monarch's power and introduced key legal principles.

These principles included establishing that the Monarch was subject to the law, protecting free men's rights to a fair trial, ensuring that no one could be punished without proper legal process, and stating that justice should not be denied or delayed.

While most of the 63 clauses dealt with specific mediaeval grievances, Magna Carta remain significant.

The principles it introduced evolved to influence our current legal systems, and the concept that the monarch is subject to the law continues to be a cornerstone of constitutional monarchy.

Well done for all your hard work this lesson.

I hope you enjoyed it, and that you'll be back for some more Citizenship lessons in the future.