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Lesson 6: How Did Constitutional Government Develop in Great Britain?
Lesson Purpose
Constitutional government developed in Great Britain over a period of many centuries. In this lesson, you learn how the monarchy came to share power with the nobles. You will study some documents that limited the power of the British government. This study will help you better understand our ideas about limited government.
Lesson Objectives
When you finish this lesson, you should be able to describe the struggles for power between the English monarch and Parliament, explain how these struggles led to a system of separated powers and representative government, and describe some of the important constitutional documents in British history that influenced the writing of our constitution.
Lesson Terms
common law
The body of unwritten law developed in England from judicial decisions based on custom and earlier judicial decisions, which constitutes the basis of the English legal system and became part of American law.
English Bill of Rights
feudalism
Magna Carta
Parliament
Petition of Rights (1628)
rights of Englishmen
rule of law
subject
