Middle Ages Regents Practice Exam 2025 - Free Regents Practice Questions and Study Guide

The Magna Carta, signed in 1215, is a pivotal document in the history of governance, primarily because it introduced the principle of limited government. This concept emphasizes that a government's powers are not absolute; instead, they are constrained by law and established norms. The Magna Carta established the idea that even the monarch is subject to the law, a foundational principle that has greatly influenced modern democratic systems. It set a precedent for the protection of individual rights and liberties against the arbitrary authority of rulers.

This document contains clauses that assert the rights of the barons and, by extension, the rights of individuals, reinforcing the notion that citizens have legal protections against governmental overreach. Its legacy can be seen in later constitutional frameworks that stress checks and balances and the safeguarding of civil rights.

This understanding of limited government marked a significant departure from absolute monarchy, where the king held unquestioned power over his subjects. It also diverges from feudal obligations, which were more about reciprocal duties between lords and vassals, rather than the legal rights of individuals vis-à-vis their ruler. Additionally, while the Magna Carta laid groundwork that would influence the development of representative democracy, the more direct and immediate principle it articulated is that of limited government.