Skip to main content

Secondary sourceSpeech1916

Magna Carta, and Other Addresses

William D. Guthrie · 1916

A 1916 collection of speeches by American lawyer William D. Guthrie, opening with an address on the meaning of Magna Carta.

A later American address treating Magna Carta as a foundation of constitutional liberty.

Ask Magna Carta about this sourceView the original(opens in new tab)
Magna Carta, and Other AddressesPDF · 296 pages
William D. Guthrie, Magna Carta, and Other Addresses, 1916.

About this source

What it is

This book, published in 1916, collects speeches by the American lawyer William D. Guthrie. The first and title address was delivered in 1915 at a celebration in New York marking the 700th anniversary of Magna Carta. Other addresses in the book cover topics such as the Mayflower Compact and constitutional law.

Why it matters

Guthrie's address shows how Magna Carta, agreed centuries earlier in England, was still being invoked by American lawyers and officials in the early 20th century as a symbol of constitutional government. It reveals how the charter's reputation grew well beyond its original medieval setting.

Look closer

  • Why would American lawyers in 1915 want to celebrate an English charter from 1215?
  • What does Guthrie's choice to pair Magna Carta with the Mayflower Compact suggest about how he saw American history?
  • How might a speech delivered at a celebration differ from a neutral historical account?

This speech is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Magna Carta on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

More Magna Carta sources

Meet the AI Magna Carta →
Photograph of the 1215 Magna Carta parchment, a dense page of handwritten medieval Latin in brownish ink with line breaks and a small marginal number at top left.Document

Primary source

Magna Carta (1215 Exemplification)

1215

Photograph of a round brown wax seal impression with a raised equestrian figure of a rider on horseback, attached by a cream parchment tag with two long tails hanging from its base. A faint inscription appears around the edge.Document

Primary source

Articles of the Barons

1215

Photograph of a medieval parchment charter covered in dense brown-black handwritten Latin text in columns, with a dark green wax seal on a tan cord at the bottom showing a seated mounted knight. This is the 1225 Charter of the Forest.Document

Primary source

Charter of the Forest

1217

Photograph of a large medieval parchment document covered in handwritten Latin text in brown ink, with a red wax seal hanging on a strip of parchment tabs at the bottom. Several small holes and tears are visible along the edges.Document

Primary source

Magna Carta 1297 (National Archives, Washington)

Edward I of England · 1297

A parchment document with a dangling wax seal, displayed under glass in a wooden frame inside a case with wood-paneled walls. The seal hangs from the lower edge of the document.Document

Primary source

Magna Carta 1297 (Parliament House, Canberra)

Edward I of England · 1297

Ready when you are

Start chatting with Magna Carta now.

20 messages free · No credit card · Available in 50+ languages.

Trial Humy for freeGet a quote for institutions