This book examines the history and influence of Magna Carta in British and American history. It considers the origins of the document in the context of the thirteenth century, the relevance of its principles to the seventeenth century disputes that led to the Civil War, the uses made of Magna Carta to justify the American Revolution, and its inspiration of the radical-democratic movement in Britain in the early nineteenth century. The essays included provide an insightful overview of a medieval document that continued to shape history long after it was written.