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1215
Magna Carta
The Magna Carta (a.k.a Great Charter) was created because there was a threat of rebellion from the people of England because of heavy taxation and unfair policies. It was the first constitution ever created in English history. Around 1776, the Founding Fathers used it as a symbol of freedom when trying to be free from English rule. This connects to the political system because it put out the ground rules for how future monarchs should run the country. -
1514
Nicolaus Copernicus
Copernicus had just completed his work, “Commentariolus” which discussed his heliocentric theory (planets revolve around the sun).
This work created controversy with the general public, especially the Roman Catholic Church because everyone else has thought that everything revolves around Earth. People felt there was not enough evidence in his work to support this new claim. This connects to the moral system because Copernicus' theory did not agree with what the majority thought was true/right. -
1517
Martin Luther: 95 Theses
Luther did not like that the Catholic Church says that salvation only happens when one does a righteous act that pleases God. He then wrote the "95 Theses" that says that people can receive salvation only by their faith and not by their actions and that the bible (not the religious officials) is the central religious authority. This book sparked the beginning of the Protestant Reformation. This connects with moral system because the U.S. has used Christian ideals to shape their moral system. -
Mayflower Compact
The Mayflower ended up landing in territory that was not granted by England which angered some of the passengers. So, the men of the Mayflower decided to sign a document that helped create a self-governing colony where the people had to abide by certain laws and regulations in order to create peace between each other. This connects with the political system because this was the first sign of the people in America coming together and creating laws and regulations for everyone to go by. -
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Rousseau wrote, “Discours sur l’origine de l'inégalité," where he claims that humans are naturally happy and “good” until societies formed. He in terms blames society because vices and levels of inequality were formed as soon as societies were formed. This goes along with moral systems because Rousseau observed how and why humans act the way they act based on how the societies that the humans interact in want them to act. -
Committees of Correspondence
This was how the American colonies first kept communication with each other before the start of the Revolutionary War. Since the colonies were starting to want to part with England, keeping up news and communication was important for the colonies. Because of the rise and popularity of Committees of Correspondence, it had helped create the first Continental Congress. -
Adam Smith: The Wealth of Nations
The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith is a series of books that talk about the themes and functionality of capitalism even though it was not seen as that when it was first published. Ideas such as division of labor, productivity, and free markets are highly mentioned in the series. This connects to the economic system because Adam Smith was the one to really bring the idea of Capitalism into the light, and today the United States uses Capitalism as its main economic system. -
Declaration of Independence
Since the Revolutionary War was heating up, the wanting for independence had grown within the colonies. Five men (including Thomas Jefferson) were assigned to write this document. The Declaration would map out and explain the colonies’ intentions to separate from British rule. -
Federalist Papers
The Federalist Papers consists of 85 letters written by James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay that were sent out to newspapers urging the ratification of the Constitution. They claimed that the Constitution would help preserve the Union and not have it fall and break apart, and it would help protect state's and even individual’s rights. Today it has been read for having good analysis on the principles of the Constitution the United States use today. -
Mary Wollstonecraft
Wollstonecraft was a Women’s Rights Activist. She wrote “A Vindication of the Rights of Women,” where she ridicules notions that women are seen as delicate and helpless and that society has created “gentle domestic brutes.” She says the answer to this problem is educational reform where women should have the same opportunity for education as men. This goes along with political and moral systems because there are rules/norms that women are seen as less than men which needs to change. -
Alexis de Tocqueville: Democracy in America
A study in which de Tocqueville observed prisons in the United States. He found that equality was the political and social idea of the time. He appreciated that America respected the individuality of everyone, but he also felt that individuality could ruin social structures. This connects with political system because de Tocqueville really dug deep into his research on how people in the U.S. interact and make decisions with each other in jails. -
Sojourner Truth: Ain’t I a Women
This was a speech delivered by Sojourner Truth at the Women's Rights Convention in Akron, Ohio. She talks about her struggles and frustrations as an African-American woman in her speech. This is one of the most famous abolitionists and women’s rights speeches in U.S. history. This connects to the moral, political, and economical systems because both these systems throughout history have seen women as less than human. -
Abraham Lincoln: Gettysburg Address
Lincoln was invited to speak at the dedication ceremony for the National Cemetery of Gettysburg. Today, that speech is known as the Gettysburg Address. He spoke about certain topics such as human equality, sacrifices made during the Civil War, and the need for “a new birth of freedom.” This connects to the political and moral systems because Lincoln addressed the problems with those systems with how the Civil War was and how the people should fix it. -
Max Weber: The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism
It is a series of essays that talk about how Protestant ethics and ideas influenced the development of Capitalism. Weber concluded that Protestantism frowned upon giving away money to the poor or for luxuries and instead encouraged people to earn their own money, save it, and invest it which goes along with capitalistic views. This connects to the moral and economic systems because Weber found a link between the two, and the U.S. is run through Capitalism and Christian influences. -
Simone de Beauvoir
De Beauvoir published “The Second Sex” which was a 1000 page critique on the patriarchy and how women are given “second-rate status.” This work helped make her one of the greatest thinkers of the modern feminist movement. This goes along with political and moral systems because these systems give women unequal rights and less privilege, so feminists like de Beauvoir stick up to the system and create controversy for change to be made. -
Milton Friedman
Friedman wrote the book, “Capitalism and Freedom” which discusses how free-market capitalism could solve some of the economic problems people face. However, this goes against John Maynard Keynes’s economic theories and what the majority of economists believe. This connects to the economic systems because Friedman is discussing about an idea that could change how the economic system works. -
Martin Luther King Jr.: I Have A Dream
King performed this speech during the Civil Rights Movement at the Lincoln Memorial. Over 250,000 people came to protest against racial discrimination. He talked about how there needs to be a change in order for freedom and equality for all. This relates to the political systems because the people want a change to be made about how the government treats minority groups, especially people of color. -
Derrick Bell
Bell studied law at Duquesne University where he eventually became a Civil Lawyer. He went on to become the first tenured African-American professor at Harvard Law School. During his time at Harvard, he wrote “Race, Racism, and American Law, a standard law textbook that is used today in many schools. -
Judith Butler
Butler was a philosopher who is most know for writing “Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity," which connects to queer theory. In this writing, she built upon the already known idea that gender is a social construct. She also discusses that “gender is constituted by action or speech.” -
Eve Sedgwick
Sedgwick wrote, “Epistemology of the Closet” which talks about two distinct views on homosexuality. The minoritizing view of homosexuality says there are certain individuals who are truly born gay. The universalizing view says that all heterosexual people are “strongly marked by same-sex influences,” and that everyone is "to some degree bisexual in terms of mind and character." This book made a huge impact on the LGBT community because it is known as one of the key texts for queer theory.