the annual bar association's annual meeting in minutes. 20 the hn g. roberts jr. is 17th and current chief justice served nited states and since 2005 having been appointed by president george w. bush. chief justice roberts attended harvard law ge and school where he was managing editor of the harvard law review. a law clerk for judge henry friendly and justice ehnquist before taking a position in the attorney general's office during the reagan administration. the reagan o serve administration and the george h.w. bush administration in the of justice and the ffice of white house counsel before spending 14 years in private law practice. time, he argued 39 cases before the supreme court. pleasure to welcome the

onorable john g. roberts jr., chief justice of the united states. [ applause ] thank you, thank you very much. thank you. that.eciate thank you very much for the warm welcome. i'm pleased that the american has invited me o speak on the occasion of the commence m of the year long significancef this

magna carta's eighth centennial. the association will celebrate meaning and significance of in england. he aba will restore and rededicate the monument it built in 1957 at england where king sealed the great charter. i and other members of the udiciary will be following the events closely. and we appreciate your association's commitment to ncrease public awareness of magna carta. do not underestimate the extent of that challenge. group of hs ago, a tourists were visiting ronnie mead. asked if there were any questions. one fella raised his hand and magna carta s signed. 12:15 answered the tour guide. turned to his wife

and said, see, i told you we shouldn't have stopped for lunch, we just missed it. f you don't like -- [ applause ] number of arks a other significant anniversaries. years ago, civil rights act. 0 years ago, allied forces stormed normandy to restore europe. ago, francis scott key witnessing the battle of ft. and the star spangled banner. ago, of course, 225 years our constitution first took effect. ach of these anniversaries commemorates remarkable individuals pursuing lofty beyond their own

interests. in the case of magna carta, we quite rate something different. historians have debated for the significance of the events that ronnie mead, but seems clear -- the individuals who met there pursuing rather than an heroic cause beyond themselves. basic story which began long before the events at ronnie has, of course, been recounted by others, including ottenberg. he was a moving force behind the erected at ent ronnie mead and wrote a good account of the events in the of the aba sue journal. for those of you whose issues don't back go back that far, i will give a ery brief overview of the history. everything in england seems to conquerer william the

who was the william wiley administrator as well. king harold, he put in place his own feudal ureaucracy, rewarding trusted -- orters with fief dpshgs those loyal. it led from richard lion hart to sir john, they had heavy taxes and other royal demands. the archbishop of canterbury died, king john chose successor, putting him at innocent iii. that battle ofs will not only esulted in the excommunication but caused damage to the barons and the english church. years, john taxed

the barons and seized property leverage in the dispute with the pope. ow later on when john reached agreement with the holy see and of pted the appointment steven lankton, he further alien by keeping the policy in place. it reached a crisis point when refused the preparations of war with france. neither the archbishop nor the barons were duped by king john's pledge to conduct a crusade on behalf of the church. in opposition d to john and the barons marched no choice john had but to hear their demands. he barons spelled out the demands in a statement that decided what they took to be under the feudal system and customs. 1215 at runny mead,

king john attached a seal to the magna nt now known as carta. the barons in turn pledged to king. that event is depict in the supreme court on the freeze that runs across the top of our courtroom. next time you're in washington, it's on the left the back. captured an has unhappy expression on king john's face. feudal quarrel through a practical compromise. barons took what they could get and the king kept what the 1215 spoke with the protagonist of narrow nterest and so is the product of the era. after first announcing the freedom of the church, the feudal and ites customary rights respecting estates, marriages,

properties, debts, and so on. the provisions suggest social and economic changes, for number as at we now hapter 8 provided no widow is compelled to marry so long as ae has a mind to live without husband. others reflect the problems of he time such as those that single out jews for discriminatory treatment. not celebrating antiquated relics of a time long past. referring to a small collection of provisions express kernels of transsen csignificance. process, separation of powers, freedom of arbitrary action, and the elements of a

trial. most famous is, of course, which provides no freemen shall be taken or mprisoned or deceased of any freehold or liberties except by the legal judgment of his peers the land.law of the provision is instantly recognizable as a seed for our of due process. chapters 12 and 14 contain a hint of the principles power.ration of those distributed power among the classes and the persons, the king, rather than among the components of government. they nevertheless speak to the of concentrated authority. forbids the king from ordering town and freeman. constructing bridges across may s may seem quaint but

not impose burdens arbitrarily on a few. provisions s providing the criminal penalties ust be assessed by local judgment and be proportional to the crime contained rudiments of our own eighth mement protections. magna carta of 1214 only suggestions of what we regard as freedoms. language gna carta's speaks beyond its times. those times, however, quickly reasserted themselves and the magna carta of 1215 was a few vely annulled months after it was sealed by pope innocent iii. e came to the aide of the beleaguered king who had, after ll, promised to take up the crusader's cross.

of the spect, the story demise of the document is a tale opportunism, selfish turns, brought to a close by

their claims of royal prerogatives. when james i and charles i taxes without the approval of parliament, the what s sought to revive benjamin rudier called the good law of magna carta. sir edwin cook gave it what many the overly expansive gloss to justify the opposition claims.royal he characterized magna carta as stating the invaluable rights of english subjects. reached the zenith in the mission of right which he declared magna carta has no sovereign, the exaggeration of events of runny mead.

effect, it marked modern constitutional imitations on the power of the king. the advocacy laid the groundwork of other cornerstones english liberty, such as the abe yous corpus act and english bill rights. so in that sense, magna carta as reimagined by cook sneered history down the path of constitutional democracy. magna carta had a third effect that had resonance in the historic city of boston. it kindled america's own declaration of independence. the american columnist embraced cook's conception of magna carta as a charter of rights that followed the english flag to the world and the source of his influence is easy to discern. draft the virginia colonial charter and is strongly influenced william penn's vision

government. the treatise on the law became reference books. did not have choice. in terms of where to look for most w, cooks was the popular source. he unfortunate john rutledge, the second supreme court justice only for a few months called ook's institutes the foundations of our law. jefferson wrote to madison there profounder learning in english liberties. when young jefferson was studying cook in wish the rote, "i do devil had old cook for i am sure i never was so tired of an old in all my life." seems not the first student whose views changed with maturity. in any case, with cook came a conception r cook's of magna carta. and american settlers duly elements of the great charter to colonial law. hen they revolted against

george iii, they did not view their cause as a fight for novel freedoms. but rather wanted to preserve he liberties they traced to magna carta. limits, in boston city the colonials repeatedly invokeled these injustices. the massachusetts assembly was red that the stamp act illegal because it was against the magna carta and the natural ights of englishmen and therefore according to lord void. null and john adams likewise asserted it charter. the great bostonians james otis and samuel adams employed similar reasoning. ndeed, magna carta became a banner for ral lilling opposition to british rule.

massachusetts's first state seal, engraved by paul revere in set in stained glass here the state house depicts a militia man with the sword in copy of hand and a magna carta in his left. here's no small irony in the fact that magna carta, a asument that the cook viewed the definitive statement in the rights of englishmen would our own corner snoen quest for freedom. from our perspective today, 800 later, we could see that magna carta originally resolved feudal squabble between a king fixed on their own interest. but magna carta became a crucial developing thein notion of a government bound by the rule of law, a political tructure in which defined limits on the exercise of power allow even those without power rights and demand

justice. what is important that core principles of justice remain defending. when the aba rededicates the magna carta next june, it will prevent the own defense.t to that the magna carta teaches us that its neration is spared challenges. our political branches and their fights have shaken confidence the board. we on the bench can bolster confidence by exercising independent judgment, to reach sound decisions carefully of our d to the best abilities. we rely on the bar skill

professionalism and hard work to help us carry out that function. hope that was the case when i was practicing law and now on the other side of the bench, i know it to be true. but we in the judiciary must broaderk to the bar for assistance in maintaining the the c's confidence in integrity of our legal system. participated in partisan disputes throughout our beneficial reat effect. but lawyers fulfill the professional calling to the extent when they rise partisan icular debates and participate as problem solvers through pro bono work, through public service, or simply by helping the public the stand the nature of role that courts play in civil that a role distinct from of the political branches. commemoration invites

us to take a long view. ur american experiment has not reached 1/3 of the age of magna carta. carta's ave given magna core concepts, concrete meaning, in a new constitutional framework. independent courts have ensured accountability to the law, magna carta's ideal that no person, no matter how high, is above the law. now i encourage you all as officers of the courts to set sights on a far horizon and ensure that our legal profession continues to advance that deal. inviting again, for me here today, and thank you for your consent -- continued service to the legal community. thanks very much. >> you're watching american history tv. all weekend, every weekend. on c-span 3. to join the conversation, like

at c-span ook history. >> monday night at 8:00 p.m. astern on american history tv, we'll hear about president warren harding's long-term love ffair detailed in letters recently released by the library of congress. the former president's grand nephew, richard harding, explains why the family insisted on keeping the letters sealed how the family deals with the fallout of the affair and harding's on warren legacy. >> 200 years ago on august 24, forces entered washington, d.c. and burned the capitol building, the and most of ouse, the federal buildings. next, steve vogel, author of the perilous fight" -- six weeks that saved the nation, a s his boat to take us on river tour of the burning of washington.