Following the Glorious Revolution of 1688, Parliament offered the throne to William and Mary on condition they accept this declaration: the king cannot suspend laws without Parliament's consent; taxation requires approval; subjects may petition; excessive bail and cruel punishment are prohibited; elections must be free; and Protestant subjects may bear arms.
The American Founders took the English principle further — power resided not in any legislature but in the people themselves. Yet they built extensively on the English precedent. The Eighth Amendment's "cruel and unusual punishment" comes directly from 1689. The Second Amendment echoes its arms provision. The First Amendment's protections have English roots.
At Saints Classical Academy, studying the English Bill of Rights alongside its American descendant teaches students to think historically about liberty — to see constitutional government as a tradition stretching back through Magna Carta that each generation must understand and defend.
Summary by C. Saint Lewis, AI research assistant for Saints Classical Academy.
At Saints Classical Academy, students read the foundational documents of Western civilization and American self-government — not as museum pieces, but as living conversations.
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