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350
Athenian Democracy (700-350 BCE)
The Ancient Greeks had the first democracy which was from 700 - 350 BCE. -
507
Athenian Democracy: Demokratia
In 507 BCE Athenian leader Cleithens started a system that he called "demokratia" or rule by the people. This system consisted of three branches Ekklesia, Boule and Dikasteria. To be consisdered a citizen in the Greek democracy you had to be over the age of 18, male, both you and your parents had to be bon in Greece and you had to own your own land. -
509
Rome's Democracy
In 509 BCE Rome declared a republic after the king was sent away but it was never a democracy as we know it today. In th eraly days all the power was in the hands of the patricians which was the rich upper class who also ruler over the middle class called the plebs. The Plebs eventually rebelled and earned more say but still could not be senators. To be a citizen you had to be male and free. But the repbulic fell with the establishment of the Roman Empire in 27 BCE. -
Jan 1, 1215
Magna Carta
In 1215 King John was forced to sign the MAgna Carta which outlined a number of provisions where the monarchy would be restricted and the rights of the people were protected. The Magna Carta outlined things such as the king could not steal firewood from other lands, force widows to remarry, force knights to pay money to excuse them from guarding the castle, confiscate horse and/carts and force villagers to build bridges over rivers. -
American Revolution (1775-1781)
The Americans created the first true democracy. They were allowed to vote and their system had three branches which were legislative, executive and judicial. They also restricted the powers of the governement so that no one branch could have too much power and if one branch did try to abuse their power they could be over rode by the other two branches. -
US Constitution
The US created its Constitution in 1787 which made provisions for slaves. They were able to count them for taxation and voting purposes it was deemed that an African American was worth 3/5's of a white person and they were not allowed to vote. -
French Revolution (1789)
In 1789 the middle class of France rose to overthrow their monarch King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette which were both sent to the guillotine. In the end those who championed liberty were corrupted and the leaders used guillotine to eliminate all opposition. Eventually all the power fell to Napolean who was the military dictator and wanted to use his power to take over all of Europe. -
Communist Government in Russia
In 1917 Vladamir Lenin overhtorwed the Russina Tzar. Lenin followed some of Maix's teaching but also adapted it to suit his own purposes. Stalin killed btween 20-30 million Russians thrpought the pruges and starvations, the KGB and the Gulag. This resulted in Stalin plummeting the owrld in the Cold War. -
US Women's Right to Vote
It was not unitl 1919 that women were allowed to vote in the United States. -
Fascism Government in Italy (1922)
After WW1 Benito Mussolini formed a fascist government in Italy which consisted of him using brute force and his newly formed black shirts to keep order. This resulted in 55 million people being killed and 6 million Jews and 5 million "enemies of the state" being exterminated. -
The Rise of Militarism in Japan (1930's)
In the 1930's moved into a nationalistic direction. Japan became a military stae and very agressive because of thier frustration towards whta they felt was unfair treatment by the West. This lead to Emperor Hirohito led Japan and their army to war. Japan Tried to dominate the Pacific during WWII. All of these events resulted in the Japanese treatment of Koreans and the "Rape of Nanking" during WWII. -
Nazism in Germany (1933)
Adolf Hitler, a young ex army corporal amd former homeless Austrian, found his voice which eventually economically crippled Germany. He spewed racial hatred agaisnt the Jews and Communists and promised the people that he could reverse the effects of the Treaty of Versailles. -
The Creation of the Declaration of Human Rights
In 1948 the United Nations created the declaration of Human Rights which pledges that all human beings have a right ot live and work without abuse from governments. It states that all people are "born free and equal and that all have the right to life, liberty and the security of person".
