The Magna Carta: The 1215 charter required King John of England to proclaim certain liberties and accept that his will was not arbitrary—for example by explicitly accepting that no "freeman" (in the sense of non-serf) could be punished except through the law of the land, a right that still exists.
"The charter was an important part of the extensive historical process that led to the rule of constitutional law in the English speaking world. Magna Carta was important in the colonization of American colonies as England's legal system was used as a model for many of the colonies as they were developing their own legal systems."
1215-2013 not a bad run?
The bureaucracy: the new fourth branch of government. The bureaucracy is permanent, unaccountable, unelected and choking us like a weed. The bureaucrat exists, generating nothing of value, using perceived problems to justify his existence.