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Ancient Greece was a very important civilization that existed from around 2200 BCE to 130 BCE. The Greeks established the Assembly, a group of citizens elected to make decisions for the people, in which the US later adopted as it's own.
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In 1100 CE the Iroquois were a historically powerful and important northeast Native American confederacy. They formed an alliance and worked together to limit the power of a government.
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In 689 CE, and English philosopher, John Locke published a book about the natural rights held by everyone. He was a big influence to the way the US looks at individual rights now.
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The ancient Roman Empire was one of those who started representative governments. It was originally ruled by kings but later changed into a democracy.
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The Magna Carta stated that no person is above the law. Before the Magna Carta laws applied to everyone but the king or government. This influenced the US Constitution and other constitutions around the world.
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The Petition of Right is a major English constitutional document that sets out specific liberties saying that even the king cannot break laws.
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Montesquieu was the first person to describe anything related to what Checks and Balances came to be. In 1748 he wrote that the power must be divided in government to prevent one part from becoming too powerful.
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Thomas Paine was an English-American political activist, philosopher, political theorist, and revolutionary. He was also one of the founding fathers and influenced the rebels to fight for their independence from Britain.
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The Bill of Rights, published in 1791, was written in order to protect all individuals. When finished, this was attached to the end of the constitution.
