WTKÂ
 Bringing The Constitution and American history back to life for our children through our children.
History for the mind… and heart
Re-posted with permission from US History.org
Whenever the people are well-informed, they can be trusted with their own government.”
~Thomas Jefferson, 1789
In studying the history of the United States, it is important to go back to primary source material. Here are some of the key documents and speeches that all well-informed citizens of the United States would want to be familiar with.
Magna Carta
The Magna Carta is one of the earliest ancestors of the United States Constitution. This is a translation from the Latin. The 1225 charter omitted passages marked with an asterisk (*). This translation conveys the sense rather than the precise wording. The original charter ran continuously; it is numbered and broken into paragraphs here for easier understanding. The term “Magna Carta” means “Great Charter.”
1215
JOHN, by the grace of God King of England, Lord of Ireland, Duke of Normandy and Aquitaine, and Count of Anjou, to his archbishops, bishops, abbots, earls, barons, justices, foresters, sheriffs, stewards, servants, and to all his officials and loyal subjects, Greeting.
KNOW THAT BEFORE GOD, for the health of our soul and those of our ancestors and heirs, to the honour of God, the exaltation of the holy Church, and the better ordering of our kingdom, at the advice of our reverend fathers Stephen, archbishop of Canterbury, primate of all England, and cardinal of the holy Roman Church, Henry archbishop of Dublin, William bishop of London, Peter bishop of Winchester, Jocelin bishop of Bath and Glastonbury, Hugh bishop of Lincoln, Walter Bishop of Worcester, William bishop of Coventry, Benedict bishop of Rochester, Master Pandulf subdeacon and member of the papal household, Brother Aymeric master of the knighthood of the Temple in England, William Marshal earl of Pembroke, William earl of Salisbury, William earl of Warren, William earl of Arundel, Alan de Galloway constable of Scotland, Warin Fitz Gerald, Peter Fitz Herbert, Hubert de Burgh seneschal of Poitou, Hugh de Neville, Matthew Fitz Herbert, Thomas Basset, Alan Basset, Philip Daubeny, Robert de Roppeley, John Marshal, John Fitz Hugh, and other loyal subjects:
