English vs. American Bill of Rights

 

    The English Bill of Rights had a significant influence on the American Constitution and Bill of Rights.  Some similarities are protections against excessive bail or cruel and unusual punishment (Gillman et al, 36).  Some differences are that the English Bill of Rights gives more power to a parliament, which did not exist in America.  The English Bill of Rights did more to support parliamentary rights against a monarchy.  The Americans, lacking a monarchy or parliament, wrote one that was more catered to the individual.

    One of the ways these documents influenced the expression of rights in the colonial period was the issue of free speech.  Under British law, seditious libel was a punishable offense (Gillman et al, 52).  During the Zenger Trial, in which the defendant was found not guilty of seditious libel against a royal governor, the colonists cited that the truth could not be prosecuted (Gilman et al, 53).  The free speech movement that gathered momentum through the colonial period is a big reason why it is the first item on the American Bill of Rights.

    Written declarations of rights are always better than the assumed rights of a citizenry under a government with unlimited power.  I suspect that's why the Magna Carta was written, and the Petition of Right.  In the Renaissance, royally appointed judges would use an arbitrary honor code to decide the fate of cases.  American colonists wanted juries more than judges to decide cases because it was less arbitrary to have one person interpret a document, especially if they were loyal to the crown.

Source:

Gillman, Graber, and Whittington. 2021.  American Constitutionalism, Volume II: Rights and Liberties, 3rd Ed.