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The Petition of Right (1628), the Habeas Corpus Act (1679) and the English Bill of Rights (1689)

The Parliament of England

1628, 1679 and 1689 · Renaissance Early Modern · Political Theory · English

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Abstract

Written: 1628, 1679 and 1689
Setting: Seventeenth-century England; London (Parliament at Westminster)
Author: The Parliament of England
Country: England
Language: English
Genre: Constitutional documents
Form: A petition and two Acts of Parliament
Recommended: Grades 9–12 (Seventeenth-century legal language; best read in sections.)

Purpose. Over sixty turbulent years, England's Parliament answered royal abuses with three short texts that turned medieval promises into practical legal safeguards for ordinary subjects. Each was a response to a particular grievance rather than a statement of abstract theory.

1628. Angered by forced loans, jailing without stated reasons, soldiers housed in private homes and military trials of civilians, the Commons under Coke petitioned Charles I, who grudgingly agreed and then ignored much of it.

1679. A statute under Charles II gave teeth to the ancient writ that lets a detained person demand a hearing, with strict time limits, fines for obstructive officials and a ban on shipping prisoners abroad.

1689. After James II fled, the new monarchs accepted a list of his illegal acts and a declaration of rights: no suspending of laws or taxing without Parliament, no peacetime army without consent, free elections and speech in Parliament, no excessive bail or cruel punishments.

Limits. The settlement also kept Catholics from the throne and protected arms only for Protestants. Its guarantees belonged first to Englishmen and to Parliament rather than to all people.

Legacy. Colonists treated these guarantees as their birthright, and their wording passed into American charters, state declarations and the federal Constitution.

Key figures

Charles I: King whose forced loans provoked the Petition of Right
Sir Edward Coke: Lawyer who led the Commons in 1628
James II: King deposed in 1688
William III and Mary II: Monarchs who accepted the Declaration of Right

Summary

This record brings together three short English documents that are among the chief sources of American liberties. Each answered a particular abuse of royal power, and together they show how the English Parliament, over sixty years of conflict and revolution, turned old claims from Magna Carta into specific legal protections. The Petition of Right of 1628 was Parliament's protest against King Charles I. To pay for his wars, Charles had demanded a forced loan and imprisoned gentlemen who refused to pay without stating any cause; he had quartered soldiers in private houses and allowed martial law against civilians. Led by the aged lawyer Sir Edward Coke, the Commons drew up a petition reciting Magna Carta and later statutes and asking that no one be compelled to pay any tax or loan without the consent of Parliament, that no free man be imprisoned without cause shown, that soldiers not be billeted on the people, and that commissions of martial law be revoked. Charles reluctantly gave his assent, though he soon broke its terms. The Habeas Corpus Act of 1679, passed under Charles II, strengthened the ancient writ by which a prisoner could demand to be brought before a judge so that the legality of his detention could be tested. The Act set short deadlines for officials to produce the prisoner and the cause of his imprisonment, imposed heavy fines on jailers and judges who delayed or refused, forbade imprisoning a person again for the same offence once released, and banned sending prisoners to Scotland, Ireland or overseas to evade the courts. The Bill of Rights of 1689 settled the Glorious Revolution, in which James II fled and Parliament offered the crown to William and Mary. It lists the misdeeds of James and declares them illegal: suspending or dispensing with laws without Parliament, taxing without its grant, keeping a standing army in peacetime without its consent, and punishing petitioners. It affirms free elections, freedom of speech in Parliament, the right of Protestant subjects to bear arms, and the rule that excessive bail, excessive fines and cruel and unusual punishments are forbidden. It also excluded Roman Catholics from the throne. American colonists claimed these rights as their inheritance as Englishmen. Their language reappears in the Declaration of Independence, the state declarations of rights and the U.S. Constitution, which protects habeas corpus, and in its Bill of Rights.

Plot or Argument

Petition of Right: grievances
Sections I–IX recite Magna Carta and statutes and list the forced loan, imprisonment without cause, billeting and martial law.
Petition of Right: requests
Section X asks that these practices cease; Section XI asks that they not be drawn into precedent.
Habeas Corpus Act: the writ
Officials must bring a prisoner and the cause of commitment before a judge within set days.
Habeas Corpus Act: safeguards
Penalties for delay, no recommitment for the same offence and no imprisonment beyond the seas.
Bill of Rights: James II's abuses
A list of the late king's illegal acts, from suspending laws to cruel punishments.
Bill of Rights: declared rights
Thirteen articles declaring the rights of Parliament and subject, and the settlement of the crown.

Lessons

Rights won through struggle
Each document responded to real abuses. Liberties are often secured only by people willing to resist injustice through lawful means.
- What abuses did the Petition of Right protest?
- Why did Parliament appeal to Magna Carta?
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No imprisonment without cause
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Consent to taxation
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- How did later documents widen these protections?
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Context

The seventeenth century in England saw a long conflict between the Stuart kings, who claimed broad royal prerogative, and Parliament and the common lawyers, who appealed to ancient law. It included a civil war, the execution of Charles I in 1649 and the Glorious Revolution of 1688.

Composition

The Petition of Right was passed by both Houses in 1628 and accepted by Charles I. The Habeas Corpus Act was passed in 1679. The Bill of Rights was first presented as the Declaration of Right to William and Mary in February 1689 and enacted as a statute in December 1689.

Reception

The documents became cornerstones of English constitutional law. American colonists cited them in their protests, and their language shaped the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights.

Justice Law Power / Politics Crime / Punishment Faith / Religion

Comparisons

Magna Carta
The Petition of Right cites Magna Carta as the foundation of the liberties it claims.
Second Treatise of Government
Locke's treatise was published in 1689 as a defence of the principles of the Glorious Revolution.
The Founding Documents
The U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights repeat protections first won in these English texts.
Commentaries on the Laws of England
Blackstone describes habeas corpus and the Bill of Rights as bulwarks of English liberty.

Quotes

“no man hereafter be compelled to make or yield any gift, loan, benevolence, tax, or such like charge, without common consent by act of parliament”

— The Parliament of England, The Petition of Right (1628), the Habeas Corpus Act (1679) and the English Bill of Rights (1689), Petition of Right, Section X.Quote card

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“That excessive bail ought not to be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted;”

— The Parliament of England, The Petition of Right (1628), the Habeas Corpus Act (1679) and the English Bill of Rights (1689), Bill of Rights (1689), declared rights.Quote card

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For Students

A reading companion for classical Christian high school students. See the student guide.

Reading Guide

Watch for

The specific abuses each document answers.
Appeals to Magna Carta and older law.
Procedures that make rights enforceable.
Phrases that reappear in American documents.

Key terms and names

Habeas corpus: A writ requiring that a prisoner be brought before a court so the legality of the detention can be examined.
Prerogative: Powers claimed by the crown apart from Parliament.
Billeting: Quartering soldiers in private houses.
Martial law: Military rule and trial in place of ordinary courts.
Glorious Revolution: The replacement of James II by William and Mary in 1688–1689.

Seminar Questions

Comprehension What four grievances does the Petition of Right list?
Comprehension What must a jailer do when served with a writ of habeas corpus under the 1679 Act?
Interpretation Why does the Petition of Right begin by citing old statutes rather than new principles?
Interpretation Why does the Habeas Corpus Act punish officials who delay?
Interpretation Are rights secure merely because they are written down? What else is needed?
Interpretation Which provisions of the Bill of Rights reflect the religious conflicts of the time, and how should we judge them?
Big Question What is the proper relationship between a ruler and the law?

Faith Connections

1 Kings 21 (Scripture)
King Ahab and Jezebel seize Naboth's vineyard by false charges: the Bible's judgment on rulers who take property and life unjustly.
Deuteronomy 17:18–20 (Scripture)
The king must write a copy of the law and read it, "that his heart be not lifted up above his brethren".
Samuel Rutherford, Lex, Rex (1644) (Great Conversation)
A Scottish Presbyterian argument that the law is king and the king is under law.

Logic and Rhetoric

Central argument: The crown is bound by law: no taxation without Parliament, no imprisonment without cause shown and tested in court, and no punishment that is cruel or unusual.

Rhetorical device: enumeration. Each document lists grievances or rights one by one, building a cumulative case.

Debate: Resolved: that habeas corpus is the most important protection of liberty.

Memory Work

no man hereafter be compelled to make or yield any gift, loan, benevolence, tax, or such like charge, without common consent by act of parliament
Petition of Right, Section X. The principle of consent to taxation in Parliament's own words.

That excessive bail ought not to be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted;
Bill of Rights (1689), declared rights. The source of the Eighth Amendment.

Writing Prompts

Essay: Trace one right from these English documents to the U.S. Constitution and explain why it matters.

Comparison with Magna Carta: Compare these documents with Magna Carta: what did they add?

Creative Prompts

Classroom
Make a chart matching provisions of these three documents with provisions of the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights.
Essay
Explain why habeas corpus has been called the great writ of liberty.
Dialogue
Write a scene in which Sir Edward Coke explains to a young member of Parliament why the Petition of Right matters.