Question

question 9 of 10
the magna carta was important to the development of modern democracy because it:
a. served as the written constitution of the first direct democracy.
b. combined judeo - christian and greco - roman principles for the first time.
c. forced governments to follow the principles laid out by enlightenment thinkers.
d. placed legal restrictions on rulers who had once held absolute power.

Explanation:

The Magna Carta was a charter agreed to by King John of England in 1215. It limited the power of the monarchy. Before the Magna Carta, rulers (like kings) often had absolute power. The Magna Carta established that the king was not above the law. It set a precedent that rulers' powers could be restricted by law.

• Option A: The Magna Carta was not the constitution of a direct democracy. Direct democracies (like in ancient Athens) are different from the feudal - monarchy context of the Magna Carta.
• Option B: The Magna Carta was more about limiting royal power within a feudal - English context rather than combining Judeo - Christian and Greco - Roman principles in a new way.
• Option C: The Enlightenment thinkers (like Locke, Rousseau) came much later (17th - 18th centuries), while the Magna Carta was in 1215.

Answer:

D. placed legal restrictions on rulers who had once held absolute power.