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Pocket Guide to Political and Civic Rights, 1215-1830

The Pocket Guide to Political and Civic Rights: The English, American, and French Traditions, 1215-1830

Introduction

This collection of key documents in the history of the evolution of our political and civic rights has been drawn from the collection of material at the Online Library of Liberty. It is modelled on the French Civil Code and the Cato Institute’s The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States (The Pocket Constitution), the idea of which was to enable every citizen to carry in their pocket a summary of the rights which they enjoyed under the law. When challenged by an overly officious government employee, the citizen could pull out the pocket book and recite the constitutional chapter and verse to defend their rights. This collection takes a longer term view than the above mentioned pocket guides, stretching back to the English Magna Carta (1215), and a more international perspective, in which our modern understanding of rights encompasses the historical experience of England, the American colonies and early republic, and France during and immediately after its revolution.

Content

The Pocket Guide contains the following documents:

1. Magna Carta (Latin and English) (1215)
2. The Petition of Right (1628)
3. The Habeas Corpus Act (1679)
4. The English Bill of Rights (1689)
5. The Declaration of Independence (1776)
6. The Virginia Bill of Rights (1776)
7. The Articles of Confederation (1778)
8. The United States Constitution (1787)
9. The Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen (1789)
10. The U.S. Bill of Rights (1791)
11. The Constitution of the French Republic (1793)
12. The French Charter (1830)

Further Reading

See the following pages within the OLL:

• Forum: Key Documents
• Subject Area: Law
• Topic: Magna Carta
• Collection: Laws, Charters, Constitutions

• Magna Carta (1215)

  Ellis Sandoz, The Roots of Liberty: Magna Carta, Ancient Constitution, and the Anglo-American Tradition of Rule of Law, edited and with an Introduction by Ellis Sandoz (Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, 2008). Chapter: Appendix: Text and Translation of Magna Carta *

  Accessed from oll.libertyfund.org/title/2180/201016 on 2009-10-28

  The copyright to this edition, in both print and electronic forms, is held by Liberty Fund, Inc. except for the translations into English of Fortescue made by S.B. Chrimes which is held by Cambridge University Press 1942.

• The Petition of Right (1628)

  Bruce Frohnen, The American Republic: Primary Sources, ed. Bruce Frohnen (Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, 2002). Chapter: Petition of Right 1628

  Accessed from oll.libertyfund.org/title/669/206109 on 2009-10-28

  The copyright to this edition, in both print and electronic forms, is held by Liberty Fund, Inc.

• The Habeas Corpus Act (1679)

  Francis Lieber, On Civil Liberty and Self-Government, 3rd revised edition, ed. Theodore D. Woolsey (Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott & Co., 1883). Chapter: APPENDIX VI.: an act for the better securing the liberty of the subject, and for prevention of imprisonments beyond the seas, commonly called “the habeas corpus act.” 1

  Accessed from oll.libertyfund.org/title/1943/120098 on 2009-10-28

  The text is in the public domain.

• The English Bill of Rights (1689)

  James McClellan, Liberty, Order, and Justice: An Introduction to the Constitutional Principles of American Government (3rd ed.) (Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, 2000). Chapter: APPENDIX C: The English Bill of Rights (1689) AN ACT FOR DECLARING THE RIGHTS AND LIBERTIES OF THE SUBJECT, AND SETTLING THE SUCCESSION OF THE CROWN.

  Accessed from oll.libertyfund.org/title/679/68363 on 2009-10-28

  The copyright to this edition, in both print and electronic forms, is held by Liberty Fund, Inc.

• The Declaration of Independence (1776)

  Carl Lotus Becker, The Declaration of Independence: A Study on the History of Political Ideas (New York: Harcourt, Brace and Co., 1922). Chapter: CHAPTER IV: DRAFTING THE DECLARATION

  Accessed from oll.libertyfund.org/title/1177/208850 on 2009-10-28

  The text is in the public domain.

• The Virginia Bill of Rights (1776)

  James McClellan, Liberty, Order, and Justice: An Introduction to the Constitutional Principles of American Government (3rd ed.) (Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, 2000). Chapter: APPENDIX F: Virginia Bill of Rights

  Accessed from oll.libertyfund.org/title/679/68388 on 2009-10-28

  The copyright to this edition, in both print and electronic forms, is held by Liberty Fund, Inc.

• The Articles of Confederation (1778)

  James McClellan, Liberty, Order, and Justice: An Introduction to the Constitutional Principles of American Government (3rd ed.) (Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, 2000). Chapter: APPENDIX I: Articles of Confederation (1778)

  Accessed from oll.libertyfund.org/title/679/68430 on 2009-10-28

  The copyright to this edition, in both print and electronic forms, is held by Liberty Fund, Inc.

• The Constitution of the United States of America (1787)

  Bruce Frohnen, The American Republic: Primary Sources, ed. Bruce Frohnen (Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, 2002). Chapter: The Constitution of the United States of America 1787

  Accessed from oll.libertyfund.org/title/669/206172 on 2009-10-28

  The copyright to this edition, in both print and electronic forms, is held by Liberty Fund, Inc.

• The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (1789)

  Georg Jellinek, The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of Citizens: A Contribution to Modern Constitutional History, by Georg Jellinek. Authorized translation from the German by Max Farrand, revised by the Author (New York: Henry Holt and Co., 1901). Chapter: CHAPTER V.: COMPARISON OF THE FRENCH AND AMERICAN DECLARATIONS.

  Accessed from oll.libertyfund.org/title/1176/104823 on 2009-10-28

  The text is in the public domain.

• The American Bill of Rights (1791)

  James McClellan, Liberty, Order, and Justice: An Introduction to the Constitutional Principles of American Government (3rd ed.) (Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, 2000). Chapter: C.: The Bill Of Rights

  Accessed from oll.libertyfund.org/title/679/68517 on 2009-10-28

  The copyright to this edition, in both print and electronic forms, is held by Liberty Fund, Inc.

• The Constitution of the French Republic (1793)

  Francis Lieber, On Civil Liberty and Self-Government, 3rd revised edition, ed. Theodore D. Woolsey (Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott & Co., 1883). Chapter: APPENDIX XI.: the french constitution, adopted and proclaimed on the twenty-fourth of june 1793. the first republican constitution

  Accessed from oll.libertyfund.org/title/1943/120147 on 2009-10-28

  The text is in the public domain.

• The French Charter of 1830

  Francis Lieber, On Civil Liberty and Self-Government, 3rd revised edition, ed. Theodore D. Woolsey (Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott & Co., 1883). Chapter: APPENDIX XII.: french charter of louis xviii. and that adopted in the year 1830.

  Accessed from oll.libertyfund.org/title/1943/120176 on 2009-10-28

  The text is in the public domain.