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Jan 1, 700
Democracy of Greece
700 and 350 BCE. The ancient Greeks had the first democracy! Only men born in athens were considered 'citizens' at the time. Woman and slaves were NOT considered 'citizens'. -
Jan 1, 1000
Monarchy / Parliament
During the middle ages most European countries were ruled by kings and queens. The kings and queens felt asthough they were 'the chosen ones' and that they owed their power from god. They called this Devine Right Of Kings. If you were to question them, it was said to be the same thing as questioning god. This all ended in 1215 with a group of british nobility that forced the kings to give up all their power and to create a 'Parliament'. The word Parliament came from the word parler. -
Jan 1, 1215
Magna Carta
In 1215 the Magna Carter was signed by King John. The Magna Carta marks the beginning of our Parliamentary Democracy. It was a document that safeguarded the rights of the citizens. An example being, the king could not confiscate carts or horses from the citizens, nor take any of their firewood. -
Democracy of America
The american revolution took place between 1775 and 1781. This was the first true democracy. The government had three different branches which helped when one branch tried to abuse its power, the other two branches would over ride it. All people were considered citizens and could vote. Although woman weren't aloud to vote until 1919. African Americans were worth 3/5's of a white person and also could not vote including slaves. -
French Revolution
The french revolution lasted ten whole years from 1789-1799. The french used the guillotine to kill their enemies. Those who fought for freedom soon had to deal with the brutal dictator Napoleon who tried to conquer Europe. -
Hitler's Rise to Power
Adolf Hitler rose to power in German politics. His actions caused World War 2 and the Holocaust. He killed 55 million people, 6 million being jewish and 5 million being enemies of the state. -
United Nations
The U.N created the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which meant that all people "are born free and equal, and that all have the right to life, liberty and security of person". -
Democracy of Rome
509 BCE. Again only men could be a citizens of rome. Rich families (known as patricians) ended up taking over. They ruled over the poor people, known as 'plebs'. Eventually the plebs won more rights along side the Athenians who helped create a new democratic institution called the Senate. People had a say in this republic, although the patricians were the only ones who could become what they called 'senators'.
