The Magna Carta (1) FIRST, THAT WE HAVE GRANTED TO GOD, and by this present charter have confirmed for us and our heirs in perpetuity, that the English Church shall be free, and shall have its rights undiminished, and its liberties unimpaired. That we wish this so to be observed, appears from the fact that of our own free will, before the outbreak of the present dispute between us and our barons, we granted and confirmed by charter the freedom of the Church’s elections—a right reckoned to be of the greatest necessity and importance to it—and caused this to be confirmed by Pope Innocent III. This freedom we shall observe ourselves, and desire to be observed in good faith by our heirs in perpetuity.

Question

Declaration of the Rights of Man by The Marquis de Lafayette The representatives of the French people, organized as a National Assembly, believing that the ignorance, neglect, or contempt of the rights of man are the sole cause of public calamities and of the corruption of governments, have determined to set forth in a solemn declaration the natural, unalienable, and sacred rights of man, in order that this declaration, being constantly before all the members of the Social body, shall remind them continually of their rights and duties; in order that the acts of the legislative power, as well as those of the executive power, may be compared at any moment with the objects and purposes of all political institutions and may thus be more respected, and, lastly, in order that the grievances of the citizens, based hereafter upon simple and incontestable principles, shall tend to the maintenance of the constitution and redound to the happiness of all. Therefore the National Assembly recognizes and proclaims, in the presence and under the auspices of the Supreme Being, the following rights of man and of the citizen:

What is the main purpose of each of these excerpts, which appear at the beginning of the Magna Carta and the Declaration of the Rights of Man?

A. to inform the reader of wrongs done to a group of people
B. to persuade the reader that the authors have thought carefully about what they have written
C. to declare the intentions of the writers and their purpose for writing
D. to declare that the intention for writing is solely from God, not the writers themselves

Answer 1

The main purpose of each of these excerpts is:

C. to declare the intentions of the writers and their purpose for writing.

In the excerpt from the Magna Carta, the focus is on establishing the freedom of the English Church and affirming the rights and liberties it should hold. In the Declaration of the Rights of Man, the representatives articulate their intention to outline the natural and sacred rights of man to protect those rights and to guide the actions of the legislative and executive powers. Both documents clearly aim to express the goals and principles that the authors seek to establish.