Invoked against the excesses of royal power in 1215, Magna Carta is perhaps the most famous constitutional document in history. Though very much a product of its time, it has inspired many others, including the American Declaration of Independence and the UN's Universal Declaration of Human Rights. David Starkey explores its deployment, its contribution to making everyone-even the monarch-subject to the rule of law, and how this quintessentially English document migrated to the North American colonies and eventually became the foundation of the US constitution. Magna Carta has become a universal symbol of individual freedom against the tyranny of the state, but with ever-tightening government control on our lives, is it time to resurrect it?

Streaming video file encoded with permission for digital streaming by Infobase on September 16, 2015.

Magna Carta: Introduction --(1:31) -- River Thames -- (2:24) -- Abuse of Power -- (3:18) -- Fighting for French Lands -- (2:01) -- Escalating Conflict -- (2:00) -- Binding Agreement -- (2:56) -- "The Great Charter" -- (4:23) -- Unjust Charter -- (2:47) -- Power of a Regent -- (2:13) -- Power Under the Law -- (3:44) -- Shifting Power -- (3:26) -- Religious Tension -- (4:06) -- Public Trial -- (2:24) -- Glorious Revolution -- (2:40) -- Commemorating Magna Carta -- (2:39) -- Breaking from Britain -- (2:37) -- Authority of Law -- (3:02) -- Ready Made Banner -- (1:54) -- After the 9/11 Attacks -- (2:52) -- Constitutional Integrity -- (2:45) -- Is Magna Carta a Myth? -- (2:36) -- Credits: Magna Carta with David Starkey -- (0:40).