800th Anniversary of Magna Carta

Floor Speech

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Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, on Monday, June 15, we will celebrate the 800th anniversary of Magna Carta, a document that revolutionized the world and is the foundation for the freedoms that so many take for granted today.

It is impossible to overstate the significance of that day at Runnymede in 1215 when King John of England declared that everyone, including the King, was subject to the rule of law; and as a result, constitutional government was born.

Magna Carta is Latin for ``great charter,'' and it was so named because of the document's protracted length. Only later, did the world realize how visionary the name truly is.

Most of the 63 clauses granted by King John dealt with specific grievances of a group of barons relating to his rule, but that framework for the relationship between the King and his subjects initiated the concept of freedom under law.

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Let me repeat those last few words, Mr. Speaker, ``the law of the land.'' In those words, we see the idea that the law does not come from any individual person or government. To quote Daniel Hannan, who wrote a wonderful essay on the 800th anniversary of Magna Carta for The Wall Street Journal last month: ``It is immanent in the land itself, the common inheritance of the people living there.''

Mr. Speaker, the language may sound a little stilted, and folks may think, goodness, that doesn'tsound like something we would say today, but it is so important for us to understand the direct link between Magna Carta and the Revolution that occurred in this country in 1776.

Although Magna Carta failed to resolve the conflict between King John and his barons, it was reissued several times after his death. Again, Magna Carta's legacy is particularly evident in the documents that form the basis of our government, the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

At the National Archives, visitors to Washington have the opportunity to view one of four surviving originals of the 1297 Magna Carta alongside the remarkable documents it inspired. When visitors come here to the House, I often point out to them on the walls the profiles of the ancient lawgivers. Pope Innocent III is one of those ancient lawgivers shown here in the House.

Again, we can see directly, in many cases, how our Constitution and our Bill of Rights are derived from Magna Carta and also from the Bible, that we can see those direct connections.

Today, I would like to acknowledge the debt of gratitude we owe to those rebel barons with grievances against their King, and I am reminded that we must always be attentive to the freedom we have inherited.

Ronald Reagan said famously:

Freedom is not in our genes. It is only a generation away from being lost. It is something we have to cherish.

Also, Mr. Speaker, with freedom comes opportunity and responsibility, and I want to say how grateful I am for the opportunity I have had to serve in the House of Representatives along with my colleagues.

I often tell, particularly schoolchildren, when I talk to them about this country and the radical idea that it represents, that I am a person who grew up in a house with no electricity and no running water, extraordinarily poor, and with parents with no privilege, no exalted status in our country.

As I said, with the freedom that we have comes opportunity. We on our side of the aisle--and I know many of my colleagues, or most of my colleagues, on the other side of the aisle--want to see that opportunity that has been made available to those of us who currently serve, many of whom come from no privilege, to be able to hold onto that opportunity.

To do that, Mr. Speaker, we have to hold on to freedom. We are the freest country in the world, and that, the rule of law, and our capitalistic system are those things that make us such a great country.

I want to express again my appreciation to those rebel barons and to all the people who came after them who kept the idea of Magna Carta alive to the time when we could develop our Constitution and Bill of Rights and to the present time when we fight so hard to maintain those principles.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

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