Magna Carta, 1215 – In this Great Charter, King John of England was forced by a group of nobles to concede that government must be based on the rule of law and must guarantee basic rights to all freemen. “…We have also granted to all freemen of our kingdom, for us and our heirs forever, all the underwritten liberties, to be enjoyed and held by them and by their heirs, from us and from our heirs.” “No bailiff, for the future, shall put any man to his law upon his own simple affirmation, without credible witnesses produced for that purpose.” “No freeman shall be seized, imprisoned, dispossessed, outlawed, or exiled, or in any way destroyed; nor will be proceed against or prosecute him except by the lawful judgment of his peers [equals] or by the law of the land.” National archives and records administration.(n.d.).Retrieved from http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/featured_documents/magna_carta/