WILLIAMSTOWN, MASS.- One of the four surviving copies of the original Magna Carta is being presented at the Clark Art Institute along with key historic documents central to American democracy in a special exhibition, Radical Words: From Magna Carta to the Constitution. The exhibition, on view through November 2, unites Magna Carta with several of the important documents of American political thought that it inspired, including the Declaration of Independence, the United States Constitution, and the Emancipation Proclamation.

One of the earliest statements of limited government and individual rights, Magna Carta (Latin for the Great Charter) is the world’s most enduring symbol of the rule of law. Written in Latin listing terms agreed to by England’s King John and sealed on the fields at Runnymede in June 1215, Magna Carta established the principle that no individual is above the law of the land. The drafters of both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution looked to the concepts contained in Magna Carta for inspiration as they crafted the foundational documents of American democracy.

Magna Carta comes to the Clark courtesy of the Dean and Chapter of Lincoln Cathedral as part of the United Kingdom’s preparations for celebrating the document’s 800th anniversary in 2015. The Lincoln Cathedral Exemplar of Magna Carta is widely regarded as the finest extant copy of the document due to the fact that it is written in an ‘official’ hand and has remained at Lincoln since the time of its first issue. The exhibition includes five key documents, all on loan from Williams College, that underscore Magna Carta’s influence on American democratic thinking and the enduring power of the words contained therein.

“While most of the original sixty-three clauses of the document deal with archaic issues that are read as curiosities today, Magna Carta set forth concepts of justice—including due process, trial by jury, and civil rights—that remain fundamental principles in modern democratic society,” said Michael Conforti, director of the Clark. “The Clark is honored to have the rare opportunity to present Magna Carta alongside some of the most significant documents of American democracy.”

The other documents in the exhibition include a broadside original of the Declaration of Independence printed on July 4, 1776 that is one of twenty-six known surviving copies; a draft of the United States Constitution annotated by George Mason, a delegate to the Constitutional Convention; an 1863 official folio copy of the Emancipation Proclamation printed by the U.S. State Department two days after President Abraham Lincoln signed the original; an 1876 original of the Declaration of Rights of the Women of the United States published by the National Woman Suffrage Association; and a 1949 copy of the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights—drafted by a committee chaired by Eleanor Roosevelt, who remarked that the document “may well become the international Magna Carta of all men everywhere.” These documents are all in the collection of the Chapin and Williams College Libraries.

“The notion of being able to view these documents in a New England community that predates American democracy is particularly inspirational and speaks to the very special nature of our home here in Williamstown,” Conforti said. “We are deeply indebted to our colleagues at Chapin Library and Williams College who have generously collaborated with the Clark to create this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and to Rep. Cory Atkins and the Massachusetts legislature whose leadership and generous support made it possible to bring this exhibition to the Berkshires.”

Schoolchildren from throughout the region will have special opportunities to view the exhibition through field trip programming coordinated by the Clark’s Education Department. The Clark underwrites the cost of school buses for all one-day field trips to the Institute.

Following its presentation at the Clark, the Lincoln Exemplar will go on view at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. from November 6, 2014, until January 19, 2015. The document began its anniversary tour at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, where it is on view through September 1.

In conjunction with the exhibition at the Clark, the Chapin Library at Williams will display a 1622 printed edition of the Mayflower Compact, the first governing document of Plymouth Colony, along with other documents relevant to Magna Carta.

Radical Words: From Magna Carta to the Constitution has been organized by the Clark Art Institute, in partnership with Lincoln Cathedral—Bringing Magna Carta to the USA.