John Lilburne
John Lilburne (1615-1657), or “Freeborn John”, was an English pamphleteer, political activist, and champion of individual rights who advocated constitutional government and pioneered the use of petitioning and referenda for redress against government power and abuse. Lilburne was known as a Leveller, a group which was incorrectly slandered by the government as socialists but advocated for individual rights and equality under the law.
The author of 83 pamphlets, Lilburne was regularly imprisoned and publically beaten for agitating against the Crown and Parliament in favor of what he called “freeborn rights,” or the rights that all men are born with, which are different from privileges bestowed by a monarch or a government.
Lilburne was instrumental in circulating the Large Petition, which called for the translating of all laws from Latin into English, freedom of religion, and an end to monopoly practices; after collecting over 40,000 signatures Lilburn and the other authors were jailed when they presented it to Parliament. An Agreement of the People of England, written by Lilburn and his fellow prisoners in the Tower of London, was presented to Parliament in 1648 after amassing signatories including about a third of all Londoners.
Lilburne’s work is considered foundational to the rights contained in the United States Constitution, especially the Fifth Amendment, and his argument that “no man's conscience ought to be racked by oaths imposed to answer to questions concerning himself in matters criminal, or pretended to be so.” is cited by the US Supreme Court in the landmark case Miranda v. Arizona. While largely forgotten by popular history, this brave and tireless champion of liberty was a key figure in the struggle for human freedom that continues to this day.