We know what you're thinking—Eleanor Roosevelt mentions a couple of pretty important historical texts in her speech, not just the Magna Carta.

And you're totally correct. But, while she says the proclamation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights "will be an event comparable to the proclamation of the Declaration of the Rights of Man by the French people in 1789 [and] the adoption of the Bill of Rights by the people of the United States" (46), she was hopeful the declaration would become the international Magna Carta for all people everywhere.

The Magna Carta is the first document that guaranteed fundamental rights to a group of people, and it's considered the foundation for constitutional government.

You can read more about the significance of the Magna Carta in the "Compare and Contrast" section of this guide, but Roosevelt specifically compares the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to this document because it was the very first of its kind.

Both symbolize a significant change in policy, and just as the Magna Carta said everyone was subject to the law, the declaration said everyone was guaranteed basic rights. It's all about equality, friends.