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2200 BCE
Ancient Greece
An important civilization that influenced America's Founding Fathers as they developed American democracy. Ideas in democracy such as consent of the governed can be traced back to 510 BCE in which parts of Greece became democratic. Even back then, democracy required participation of the people. -
1100 BCE
The Iroquois
A group of native American tribes that formed an alliance to work together toward a common goal, similar to how each state has its own constitution and makes its own laws, but still must follow the United States Constitution and all the national laws. -
689 BCE
John Locke
An English philosopher that published a book about the natural rights held by every human being. Locke's ideas about natural rights helped to form the way we think about individual rights today. -
500 BCE
The Roman Empire
The beginnings of representative government could be seen in the ancient Roman Empire. Though it was originally ruled by kings, it changed into a form of democracy--it could not be considered a true representative democracy, since not all of its important officials were elected. However, citizens were allowed to vote for some of their representatives, and if these representatives did not please the people, they could be voted out and replaced. -
1215
The Magna Carta
An English-written document that had a great deal of influence on the United States constitution and on other constitutions and charters around the world. It was one of the first formal documents that had concepts of the rule of law--which means that no person, not even government officials, is above the law.
