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Understanding the Constitution: The English Foundation

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Understanding the Constitution: The English Foundation
Visitors look at one of the earliest original manuscripts of the Magna Carta from 1217 at the Morgan Library & Museum on April 21, 2010, in New York City. Mario Tama/Getty Images
Rob Natelson
Updated:
Commentary

Understanding the U.S. Constitution requires knowing some English constitutional and legal history. Both the Constitution and the Bill of Rights are loaded with words and phrases inherited from England.

Rob Natelson
Rob Natelson
Author
Robert G. Natelson, a former constitutional law professor who is senior fellow in constitutional jurisprudence at the Independence Institute in Denver, authored “The Original Constitution: What It Actually Said and Meant” (3rd ed., 2015). He is a contributor to The Heritage Foundation’s “Heritage Guide to the Constitution.”
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