Resistance to tyranny, suspicion of concentrated power, and a firm belief in the democratic ideals that birthed this republic. It's a noble struggle. But for all their passion and theatrical flair, the historical literacy behind the “No Kings Since 1776” slogan leaves much to be desired.

In fact, the protestors missed the mark by several centuries.

Yes, the U.S. declared independence from the British Crown in 1776. But the kind of “king” these protesters seem to fear had already ceased to exist in Britain long before that. By the time George III ascended the throne, British kings were largely figureheads, bound by constitutional limits and dependent on Parliament to govern.

The Glorious Revolution of 1688 had already drastically curtailed the powers of the monarchy. And indeed, if you want to pinpoint when monarchs lost their teeth, you need to look even further back, to 1215, when rebellious English barons forced King John to sign the Magna Carta.

That document didn’t create democracy, but it did begin a centuries-long process of transferring power away from the crown and into the hands........

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