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RONALD REAGAN PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY MAGNA CARTA: THE ESSENCE OF DEMOCRACY ON DISPLAY UNTIL JUNE 20, 2009 (SIMI VALLEY, Calif.) - The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum is pleased to announce the opening of its latest temporary exhibit, Magna Carta: The Essence of Democracy. The exhibit opened January 23 and will run through June 20, 2009. Magna Carta: The Essence of Democracy provides visitors with a fascinating look at why the Magna Carta is widely viewed as one of the most important documents in the history of our freedom and how it became the cornerstone of the U.S. Constitution. The highlight of this exhibit is the original 1215 Magna Carta, on loan from the Lincoln Cathedral in Lincolnshire, England.
Inscribed in Medieval Latin and written on a 17 ½ inch sheepskin parchment, the Magna Carta laid out the basic rights of man into English law, including equal protection under the law, protection of personal property, trial by a jury of peers, no taxation without consent, and protection from persecution without evidence. Known as "The Great Charter", the Magna Carta served as a model for the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights. The most famous clauses from the Magna Carta are those referring to Habeas Corpus - protection against imprisonment without cause.
From the Magna Carta: "No free man shall be arrested, or imprisoned, or deprived of his property, or outlawed, or exiled or in any way destroyed, nor shall we go against him or send against him, unless by legal judgment of his peers, or by the law of the land." - Clause 39 "To no one will we sell, to no one will we refuse or delay, right or justice." - Clause 40 "At her husband's death, a widow may have her marriage portion and inheritance at once and without trouble. She shall pay nothing for her dower, marriage portion, or any inheritance that she and her husband held jointly on the day of his death..." - Clause 7 At the time the Magna Carta was written in 1215, 40 copies were distributed throughout the realm of King John I. Only four copies remain - two at the British Library, one at the Salisbury Cathedral Chapter House, and one at Lincoln Cathedral. "Here is a law which is above the King and which even he must not break. This reaffirmation of a supreme law and its expression in a general charter is the great work of Magna Carta; and this alone justifies the respect in which men have held it."- Winston Churchill, 1956 This exhibition is supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities. FOR TEACHERS: The Reagan Library Education Department has created curriculum specifically focusing on the Magna Carta. Tied to California State Standards, the curriculum includes information, activities, question guides, research and extension project ideas, as well as recommended website links for use in the classroom, at home, or at the Reagan Library. The Reagan Library is located at 40 Presidential Drive in Simi Valley, California. Public hours are from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. The Museum admission fees are $12.00 for general admission, $9.00 for seniors 62 and over, $3 for children 11-17 and free for children 10 years of age and under. For more information, call (800) 410.8354 or visit www.reaganlibrary.com Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites          |
"Our joint love of liberty was spawned by a common heritage. It was English history and tradition, with the Magna Carta and the Common Law, which gave birth to our Declaration of Independence. It was men of enormous intellectual capacity and courage...whose powerful ideas fed our notions of individual freedom and the dignity of all people." - Ronald Reagan at a State Dinner honoring Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher of the United Kingdom, February 6, 1981
