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500
Ancient Greek Democracy
In the fifth century the Athenian democracy developed. Athens and the surrounding territory of Attica was the first known democracy in the world. Other Greek cities organized democracies, most following the way the Athenians did it, but none as well documented as Athens. This was the first ever step to a democracy/ government, on the way to a better, more economic freedom world. -
Period: 500 to
Classical Liberalism events
10 Events that have contributed to the development of classical liberalism: -
1215
Magna Carta
Magna Carta was a charter agreed to make peace between the king and a group of rebel barons, promised to protect church rights, protect the barons from illegal imprisonment, access to justice, and limitations on feudal payments on the crown to be implemented through a council of 25 barons, all agreed by King John of England. The commitments were never met, so the charter was cancelled which led to the first barons war. This was a part of classical liberalism because this was eventually renewed. -
1300
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a period of time in which a cultural rebirth occurred in Europe. This was based on the rediscovery of the Greek and Roman literature/ culture which included humanism, the power of human reason and human creative potential, and the concept of the worth of the individual. This started around the 14th century until the middle of the 17th century. This was a part of classical liberalism because humanists faith in humans got people more rights and freedoms. -
1517
Reformation
The reformation was the reconstruction of the church in Europe that began with Martin Luther in which believed that the church had become corrupt and had too much power. Martin believed the church strayed from it's true purpose and demanded that it be reformed. This contributed to the development of classical liberalism because this event made more emphasis on self-interest, personal freedoms and equality. -
Industrial Revolution
This was the transition to new manufacturing processes. This included going from hand production methods, to machines and chemical manufacturing, iron production processes, the increasing use of steam power, the development of machine tools and the rise of the factory system. The principles of classical liberalism had a powerful effect in freeing up enterprising individuals. -
The American Revolution
The American Revolution was when the American Patriots in the thirteen colonies won independence from Great Britain, and became the United States of America. They defeated the British in the American Revolutionary war in association with France, and others. This helped out and boosted the economic freedom a lot for the people and country. -
Haudenosaunee Confederacy
The Haudenosaunee Confederacy comes from their own language meaning, "They made the house", symbolizing all the nations coming together as one. The peacemaker taught the Haudenosaunee the laws of peace. Travelling from community to community they both succeeded in persuading the chiefs of each nation to join in on the Great League of Peace and founded the only government with a direct connection to the creator. This confederacy contributed to classical liberalism by expressing their cultures. -
French Revolution
The French Revolution was right behind the American Revolution; it was an attempt to transform a society using liberal principles. The French Revolution altered the course of modern history, activating the global decline of absolute monarchies while replacing them with republics and liberal democracies. Throughout the wars, they then created global conflicts that extended from the Caribbean to the Middle East. -
The Enlightenment
The Renaissance and Reformation helped promote the rise of Enlightenment in the late 17th century. The Enlightenment helped promote the beliefs of classical liberalism that congealed into the liberal ideology of the 19th century. This was the beginning of interpretations of history and beliefs about human nature, the structure of society, the purpose of life,not based off of religion. This was part of classical liberalism because this was the growing acceptance of human nature. -
Changes to the Class system
This was an event in which distinct classes had been reduced. Power only came from the wealth and ownership of property which then created the new class system. This contributed to the development of classical liberalism because there had been previous categorized classes which were socially strict. If you were a peasant, that would never change. But as classical liberalism took place in modern society, the radical ideas resulted in social distinction being declined.
