Magna Carta

This new history is the first to tell the story of Magna Carta through the ages. No other general work traces its continuing importance in Englands political consciousness. Many books have examined the circumstances surrounding King Johns grant of Magna Carta in 1215. Very few trace the Charters legacy to subsequent centuries and even fewer look at the fate of the physical document. Turner also underlines its great influence outside the United Kingdom, especially in North America. Today, the Charter enjoys greater prestige in the United States, the land of lawyers, than in Britain. U.S. citizens claim Magna Carta as a source of their liberties, guaranteeing due process of law and condemning executive privilege.