The Magna Carta, a document signed almost eight hundred years ago, paved the way for citizens' rights. Many of these rights set out in the Magna Carta have influenced the formation of other governments, such as the American one. These rights are ideas that many citizens today take for granted. The Magna Carta is a great example of rights and responsibilities in history because of the ideas and laws it placed in England during that time. Many of these ideas are still widespread and used not only in England, but in most of Europe and other world powers today. “Great Charter” is the direct translation of the phrase “Magna Carta”. The Manga Carta was proposed by the Barons to King John. It was mainly proposed because of the king's abuse of power and failure. King John had lost many battles with France and ultimately ignored the English people. The Pope of the time, Pope Innocent III, also had a small feud with King John. The Pope soon excommunicated him. His reputation was soon tarnished and many of England's barons became angry and wanted to limit his power and secure their rights. After the dispute with Pope Innocent III, King John promised the Pope that he would follow the Pope's wishes, and the Pope very soon "excommunicates" him. Shortly thereafter, King John returned to fight against France and needed the money of his vassals, the Barons. Many barons became angry, mainly because many believed that the battles against France had lasted too long. The king continued to rule and the barons had to limit the king. The Magna Carta would ultimately limit and control the power of the King and give revolutionary new rights to the people. King John was unsuccessful...... middle of paper ......the success of the Magna Carta meant that the The Magna Carta is a great example of rights and responsibilities in history. The Barons took the fight to secure their rights and control a tyrannical monarchy into their own hands. It wasn't their responsibility to do so, but they did it anyway. Many would say that the Barons did it because they did not want to give more money to the King, in essence they are right, but the mark that their efforts have left on the world surpasses it. They aspired to stop a tyrannical king and aspired to gain greater rights as citizens of a nation. Many barons could certainly afford to continue paying for King John's endless battles with France, but they objected and stopped taking orders from a tyrannical king. The rights that the Magna Carta gave to the citizens of England at the time are overwhelming. I have sources