page_title: Petition of Right
section_title: Aftermath
hierarchical_section_title: Petition of Right / Aftermath
caption_attribution_description: Portrait of King Charles I of England, Scotland and Ireland
context_page_description: The Petition of Right, passed on 7 June 1628, is an English constitutional document setting out specific individual protections against the state, reportedly of equal value to Magna Carta and the Bill of Rights 1689. It was part of a wider conflict between Parliament and the Stuart monarchy that led to the 1638 to 1651 Wars of the Three Kingdoms, ultimately resolved in the 1688 Glorious Revolution.
  Following a series of disputes with Parliament over granting taxes, in 1627 Charles I imposed "forced loans", and imprisoned those who refused to pay, without trial. This was followed in 1628 by the use of martial law, forcing private citizens to feed, clothe and accommodate soldiers and sailors.
  These implied the king, or state, could deprive any individual of property, or freedom, without needing to justify it. It united opposition at all levels of society, particularly those elements the monarchy depended on for financial support, collecting taxes, administering justice etc, since wealth simply increased vulnerability.
  A Commons committee prepared four 'Resolutions', declaring each of these illegal, while re-affirming Magna Carta and habeas corpus.
context_section_description: Charles' acceptance was greeted with widespread public celebrations, including ringing of church bells and lighting of bonfires throughout the country. However, in August, Buckingham was assassinated by a disgruntled former soldier, while the surrender of La Rochelle in October effectively ended the war, and Charles' need for taxes. It 1629, he dissolved Parliament, ushering in eleven years of Personal Rule, in which he attempted to regain all the ground lost.
  The process and tactics employed by Charles remained consistent for the rest of his reign; refusing to negotiate until forced, then making concessions with little or no intention of keeping them. Even worse, he made little attempt to hide this; as in the crisis of 1640 to 1642, foreign ambassadors were told any concessions were temporary, and Charles expected to regain them by force if needed. 
  No sooner had Parliament adjourned than Charles once again resumed his previous policies, imposing unauthorised taxes, then imprisoning those who resisted using the non-jury Star Chamber. When Parliament and the normal courts quoted the Petition in support of objections to the tax, and the detention of Selden and Sir John Eliot, Charles responded it was not a legal document. Although confirmed as a legal statute in 1641 by the Long Parliament, debate over who was right continues; however, "it seems impossible to establish conclusively which interpretation (is) correct".
  Regardless, the Petition has been described as "one of England's most famous constitutional documents", of equal standing to Magna Carta and the 1689 Bill of Rights. It remains in force in the United Kingdom, and much of the Commonwealth. It has been cited in support of the Third Amendment to the United States Constitution, and the Seventh. It is suggested elements appear in the Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh Amendment, primarily through the Massachusetts Body of Liberties.
caption: Charles I, ca 1628
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