Magna Carta distributed rights by rank rather than equally.

Evidence

By replacing reigning monarchs and ruling lords with elected leaders, American independence gave impetus to the principle of equality under law. In Britain at the time, legal status and political office came from birth. While purportedly placing even the monarch under the law, England’s fabled Magna Carta conferred rights and power on the basis of rank, with more for barons, less for freemen, and still less for serfs. All were not created equal. Although some patriot leaders were wealthy and many held political posts before the American Revolution, none came from an ennobled or long-established family. Virtually all of them or their recent forebears earned their wealth and gained their positions in America, where economic and political opportunities existed for free white males. — Edward J. Larson, Declaring Independence, 8

Categorization

• XREF: Directly relevant to reading the Declaration’s ‘all men are created equal’ against Britain’s birth-based legal order. — connects to: Magna Carta established the principle of law above the King. — Winston Churchill, A History of the English-Speaking…, 398; Rousseau’s inequality meant feudal rank distinction, not economic disparity

Broader Connections

• Magna Carta established the principle of law above the King. #qualifies (0.85) — Winston Churchill, A History of the English-Speaking…, 398
• Rousseau’s inequality meant feudal rank distinction, not economic disparity #exemplifies (0.75)