800th Anniversary of Magna Carta Celebrated at WSU Lecture and Exhibit

OGDEN, Utah — 2015 marks the 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta’s signing, and the document’s significance will be honored at Weber Historical Society’s upcoming lecture and with a traveling exhibit.
 
Stephen Francis, WSU associate professor of history, will explore the impact and public opinion of the Magna Carta throughout its history April 13 at 7 p.m. in the Shepherd Union Wildcat Theater.  
 
Visitors also can view an exhibit of the Magna Carta, on loan from the Library of Congress, in the Shepherd Union Gallery, Room 211 April 13 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and April 14 from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. The exhibit, “Magna Carta: Enduring Legacy 1215–2015,” includes images of documents, books and other objects that illustrate the document’s influence throughout the centuries.
 
The exhibit, sponsored by the Utah State Bar, will travel to various sites around the state, April 3-19. For additional exhibit locations and times, visit lawday.utahbar.org.
 
King John of England signed the Magna Carta in 1215 as a peace treaty. It promised certain rights to the people in exchange for the monarchy keeping its ruling power. It also supported what became the writ of habeas corpus, or the safeguarding of individual freedom against unlawful imprisonment and the right to due process in the law.
 
“The Magna Carta is an important document because it made the British monarchy accountable for its actions,” said Francis, who specializes in Renaissance and Reformation European history.  “The King of England just couldn’t do whatever he wanted without fear of repercussions. He had to answer for his actions if they were not well received by the public. However, there were periods in history where these laws were ignored.”
 
The Magna Carta was one of the earliest documents that established rights for the people. It had a lasting impact on the U.S. founding fathers and their quest for democratic freedom. Its ideals can be found in the Bill of Rights.
 
“The Magna Carta is one of many documents that had a profound impact on the U.S. Constitution,” Francis said. “It gave the people basic rights and protections. The document was meant to hold the government accountable to the people it served.”
 
While there are many who have never read the Magna Carta or the U.S. Constitution, Francis said the spirit of those documents has been rooted into people’s thoughts and ideals.
 
“Many people will say that something is unconstitutional, even if they haven’t read the document,” he said. “The spirit of the document — the fact that humans should have basic rights and that nothing should infringe on those rights — is a given.
The debate always is what those basic rights are.”
 
The speech, which is free and open to the public, will be held as part of the Weber Historical Society Spring 2015 Lecture Series. It is presented by the WSU Alumni Association, the College of Social & Behavioral Sciences, the Department of History, Stewart Library and the Weber Historical Society.
 
For more information on the Weber Historical Society, visit weber.edu/History/weberhistoricalsociety.html.
 
Visit weber.edu/wsutoday for more news about Weber State University.
 
Author:
Marcus Jensen, Office of Marketing & Communications
801-626-7295 • marcusjensen@weber.edu
Contact:
Stephen Francis, associate history professor
801-626-6781 • sfrancis@weber.edu