There exist many major differences of the U.S. and British constitutions. The United States Constitution and the British Constitution contain dissimilarities for the reasons that are due to their originations, background, context, and intent. These differences are apparent in the society and political setting in which both countries respectively have. The constitutions do contain a few simple principles in common. Among these similarities is the need for a government to respect the individual rights of its citizens. The differences are evident in many of the works that influenced the constitutions before its creation.
             The Magna Carta is a document that served as a milestone in the British Constitution. King John of England forcefully signed the Magna Carta in 1215. His barons were angered about how he was ruling the people, so they forced him to sign the charter. The Virginia State Constitution of 1776 was the first state Declaration of Rights ratified by its citizens, unlike the Magna Carta. It had a large effect on the creation of the United States Constitution. In the Magna Carta, the government was based on the Rule of Law. In the Virginia Constitution, the power derived from the citizens and kept by the citizens. The Magna Carta was the first document in England to limit the power of a single ruler. It gave the people the protection from imprisonment or punishment without proper lawful judgment of peers and by the law of the land. These ideas were later a part of the American Constitution. In that instance, the "judgment of peers" did not mean trial by jury. Within the Virginia Constitution, trial by jury was an included right of the citizens. The protection of basic rights of nobility was included in the Magna Carta. In the Virginia Constitution, all men are created equal with basic rights of life, liberty, property, happiness, and safety. The Magna Carta contained the idea of a government based on agreement or contract betwee...