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Period: Jul 4, 1100 to
Evolution of Democracy
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Jan 1, 1200
1772 B.C. The Code of King Hammurabi
Hammurabi, the wise king, established the laws of justice. The code of laws was arranged in orderly groups, so that everyone who read the laws, would know what was required of them. The Code consists of 282 laws, with scaled punishments, adjusting "an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth” as graded depending on social status, of slave versus free man. Here are some of them:
195. If a son strike his father, his hands shall be hewn off.
196. If a man put out the eye of another man, his eye sha -
Jun 15, 1215
King John I: Magna Carta
One of the most important historical events of the Medieval era is the Magna Carta, a collection of 37 English laws. The Magna Carta is a document that King John of England (1166 - 1216) was forced into signing. King John was forced into signing the charter because it greatly reduced the power he held as the King of England and allowed for the formation of a powerful parliament. The Magna Carta became the basis for English citizen's rights. -
John Locke: Concerning Civil Government
The natural liberty of man is to be free from any superior power on earth, and not to be under the will or legislative authority of man, but to have only the law of nature for his rule. The liberty of man in society is to be under no other legislative power but that established by consent in the commonwealth; nor under the dominion of any will or restraint of any law, but what that legislative shall enact according to the trust put in it... -
Declaration Of The Rights Of Man
The “Declaration Of The Rights Of Man” was approved by the National Assembly of France. Some principles were:
3. No body nor individual may exercise any authority which does not proceed directly from the nation.
4. Liberty consists in the freedom to do everything which
injures no one else; hence the exercise of the natural rights
of each man has no limits except those which assure to the
other members of the society the enjoyment of the same
rights. These limits can only be determined by -
Amendment XV to Constitution of the U.S.
The XV amendment, or the 15th amendment was composed of two sections as follows:
Section 1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.
Section 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation. -
New Zealand: Election Act
New Zealand became the first country in the world to allow women to vote in federal elections. The right to vote was given to all women, including those of Maori and Pakeha descent.
This was a huge step forward for the rights of women. -
U.N. Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations, to the end that every individual
and every organ of society, keeping this Declaration constantly in mind, shall strive by teaching and education to promote respect for these rights and freedoms and by progressive measures, national and international, to secure their universal and effective recognition and observance, both among the peoples of Member States themselves and among the peoples of territories under their jurisdict -
European Member States
The Union (of European nations) shall set itself the following objectives: Resolved to mark a new state in the process of European Communities: Enhance further the democratic and efficient functioning of the institutions , to create firm bases for the construction of the future Europe, Confirmtheir attachment to the principles of liberty, democracy, and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms and the rule of law.
