In 1215, the barons of England forced King John to sign the Magna Carta, a document which defined the rights of the king and the feudal privileges of the nobility.  Although the articles of the charter addressed the specific issues of the time, many of them became the foundation for new freedoms which eventually extended to all British people (like paragraph 12).

              2.  If any earl, baron, or other person that holds lands directly of the Crown, for military service, shall die, and at his death his heir shall be of full age and owe a "relief," the heir shall have his inheritance on payment of the ancient scale of "relief."  That is to say, the heir or heirs of an earl shall pay 100 pounds for the entire earl's barony, the heir or heirs of a knight 100 shillings at most for the entire knight's "fee," and any man that owes less shall pay less, in accordance with the ancient usage of "fees."
              8.  No widow shall be compelled to marry, so long as she wishes to remain without a husband.  But she must give security that she will not marry without royal consent, if she holds her lands of the Crown, or without the consent of whatever other lord she may hold them of.
            12.  No "scutage" or "aid" may be levied in our kingdom without its general consent, unless it is for the ransom of our person, to make our eldest son a knight, and [once] to marry our eldest daughter.  For these purposes only a reasonable "aid" may be levied.  "Aids" from the city of London are to be treated similarly.
            13.  The city of London shall enjoy all its ancient liberties and free customs, both by land and by water.  We also will and grant that all other cities, boroughs, towns, and ports shall enjoy all their liberties and free customs.
            17. Ordinary lawsuits shall not follow the royal court around, but shall be held in a fixed place.
            20. For a trivial offence, a free man shall be fined only in proportion to the degree of his offence, and for a serious offence correspondingly, but not so heavily as to deprive him of his livelihood.  In the same way, a merchant shall be spared his merchandise, and a husbandman the implements of his husbandry, if they fall upon the mercy of a royal court.  None of these fines shall be imposed except by the assessment on oath of reputable men of the neighborhood.
            23.  No town or person shall be forced to build bridges over rivers except those with an ancient obligation to do so.
            28.  No constable or other royal official shall take corn or other movable goods from any man without immediate payment, unless the seller voluntarily offers postponement of this.
            39.  No free man shall be seized or imprisoned, or stripped of his rights or possessions, or outlawed or exiled, or deprived of his standing in any other way, nor will we proceed with force against him, or send others to do so, except by the lawful judgment of his equals or by the law of the land.
            40.  To no one else will we sell, to no one deny or delay rights or justice.
            41.  All merchants may enter or leave England unharmed and without fear, and may stay or travel within it, by land or water, for purposes of trade, free from all illegal exactions, in accordance with ancient and lawful customs.  This, however, does not apply in time of war to merchants from a country that is at war with us.
            45.  We will appoint as justices, constables, sheriffs, or other officials, only men that know the law of the realm and are minded to keep it well.
            48.  All evil customs relating to forests and warrens, foresters, warreners, sheriffs and their servants, or river-banks and their wardens, are at once to be investigated in every county by 12 sworn knights of the county, and within 40 days of their enquiry the evil customs are to be abolished completely and irrevocably.  But we, or our chief justice if we are not in England, are first to be informed.
            52.  To any man whom we have deprived or dispossessed of lands, castles, liberties, or rights, without the lawful judgment of his equals, we will at once restore these.  In cases of dispute the matter shall be resolved by the judgment of the 25 barons referred to below in the clause for securing peace (61).  In cases, however, where a man was deprived or dispossessed of something without the lawful judgment of his equals by our father King Henry or our brother King Richard, and it remains in our hands or is held by others under our warranty, we shall have respite for the period commonly allowed to Crusaders....On our return from the Crusade, or if we abandon it, we will at once render justice in full.
            61.  Since we have granted all these things for God, for the better ordering of our kingdom, and to allay the discord that has arisen between us and our barons, and since we desire that they shall be enjoyed in their entirely, with lasting strength, for ever, we give and grant to the barons the following security:
            The barons shall elect 25 of their number to keep, and cause to be observed with all their number to keep, and cause to be observed with all their might, the peace and liberties granted and confirmed to them by this charter....

1.  What were the major concerns of the barons who forced John to sign the Magna Carta?

2.  Compare the articles cited above to the American Bill of Rights (the first ten amendments to the U. S. 
     Constitution).  What are the similarities and differences?