The Magna Carta and Foundations of Freedom

On June 16, 1215 on the fields of Runnymede, the nobility of England confronted their King, John, forcing him to assent to the first great document chartering fundamental freedoms assumed as the birthright of all English speaking peoples.

On December 15, 2009, one of the last four original copies of that charter, the Magna Carta, was concluding its visit to Fraunces Tavern Museum, in lower Manhattan, just blocks from the offices of Adam Leitman Bailey, P.C., and 218 years to the day from where the Bill of Rights, enshrining so many of these same freedoms, was adopted at the building we now know as lower Manhattan’s Federal Hall.

On that same date, Adam Leitman Bailey and several of his partners played host to the A.P. World History Class taught at the High School for Arts and Business in Corona, Queens by Family of the Firm member, Grace Bruni. Mrs. Bruni brought 32 of her students and two chaperones to view the Magna Carta and have it, as well as several other fundamental documents of freedom, explained by Adam Leitman Bailey.

Mr. Bailey took the students on a walking tour through the exhibits of Fraunces Tavern, across from the New York Stock Exchange, and into the rotunda of Federal Hall, celebrating both the Magna Carta itself, and its grandchild, the Bill of Rights. The students came away with a new understanding of their role as guardians of these rights and the responsibilities that come with them.
Adam Leitman Bailey Host High School Visit for Arts and Business Class to the Magna Carta at Fraunces Tavern Museum