**Italicized phrases are the DNA Strands** HINT: Click on certain pictures to find out more about the subject!
The Petition of Right of 1628 states that the king could no longer imprison, or otherwise punish, any person but by the lawful judgment of his peers, or by the law of the land. This applies to the checks and balances system because it shows that the king had to be "checked" by the other congressmen or by the law of his land.
A king and his council
Royal colonies from the 17th century had many rules that the public lived by. Two that were specific to the king were the following: the king named a governor to serve as the colony's chief executive and the king named a council that served as an advisory body to the royal governor. These prove that the king had to have officials below him that would check his ruling. As the colony's chief executive, he could talk to the king out of things that might not be constitutional; the council could also do this.
King of England in the 17th century
Proprietary colonies were also in the 17th century. They were designed to have the power to give their appeals to the king of England. This way, the king checked what the colonies were doing or what laws they were trying to pass.
17th century building in a charter colony
Some rules from the charter colonies of the 17th century were that the king's approval was required before the governor could take office and the appeals had to be taken from the colonial courts to the king. These mimic the checks and balances system because it shows how the approvals and appeals had to be taken to someone else before it was finalized.
California's State Legislature
The Virginia Plan of 1787 writes "the members of the upper house, the Senate, were to be chosen by the House from lists of persons nominated by the State legislatures." This way, the members weren't hand-picked and biased. Also, the House was able to double-check who the State legislatures picked. It also says that the gov't has the power to enforce its decisions. This applies to the checks and balances system because it shows that the gov't is responsible for their own decisions.
The First State Constitution says that each branch was given powers with is used to check the other branches of gov't. This shows the responsibility that the branches have. The branches have that "on their shoulders," so to speak and if they don't check one another, something could go wrong.