European Influences Timeline

Judeo-Christian Beliefs

1812 BCE

The Judeo-Christian philosophy said that people should seek to create a just society based on respect for the law. It also created the concept of natural law, that there exists a universal set of moral principles that apply to every culture and system of justice. This influenced the idea of rights that cannot be taken away by the government. Human law cannot contradict the natural law.

Greece

550 BCE

750 to 550 BC
The Greeks created the direct democracy, where everyone voted directly on issues. The Greeks also come up with the idea of citizenship. They decided that only men who owned large plots of land could be citizens (white wealthy males). Only citizens could vote. Due to the small geographic area of Athens and Sparta, direct democracy worked.

Rome

350 BCE

750 BC-35 AD
The Romans come up with the idea of a republic, where people elect officials to make the laws for them (representative democracy). At first, only patricians (the Roman upper class) can vote and serve in the government, but later the plebians (Roman lower class) could vote and serve. The Romans also came up with the idea of writing the laws down.

Magna Carta

1215

The barons (wealthy elite) forced King John to sign the Magna Carta, or the Great Charter. This stated that the king could not place taxes on the barons without permission from the Great Council. It also said that no free person could be imprisoned without a jury trial. The Magna Carta also decreased his power and forced him to respect vertain rights of the nobles.

Parliament

1258

Created representatie govenment with limited monarchy. Was originally the Great Council, which created a requirement where they discussed political ideas/policies with the king.

Petition of Right

1628

A petition sent to the king with many complaints of violations of the law (abusing of power). Charles I taxed the nobles iwthout their consent. Unlike in 1215 England had a Parliment and the governing body passed the Petition right. It also included Habeus Corpus: everyone must face a trial, they cannot just hold someone in jail.

Hobbes

1670

Hobbes thought that a monarchy was the best way to control the country, and everyone should "obey the king or choose death." He also thought that religion would be a constant source of civil war so it should become a branch of the government. He was a very influential philosopher who wrote The Leventhian.

Bill of Rights

1689

In exchange for the throne, Parliment made the new queen and king sign the Bill of Rights. This gave the Parliment more power than the monarchy, and it stated that the monarchy could not make or change laws, raise taxes, or maintain an army without the approval of the Parliment.The bill also said that the monarchy could not interfere with Parliamentary elections. It also said that the monarchy cannot declare that laws made by parliment should not be obeyed.

Locke

1690

Locke wrote First and Second Treatises on Government. These books explained his theories about a state of nature as well as our natural rights. He thought that all people had the right to life, liberty, and property. He also wrote that people chose to be governed in order to live in an orderly society, and the ruler only had power as long as they had the consent of the governed.

Montesquieu

1748

Montesquieu wrote The Spirit of Laws, a book explaining how the that the government should ne organized so that its power is limited. In order to limit the power it should be organized into 3 branches.

Rousseau

1762

Rousseau wrote The Social Contract, a book about an ideal society. In this society, people would form a community and make a contract with each other, not with a ruler. Everyone would give up some freedoms for the good of the majority, and majority rules.
Mayflower Compact was the frist social contract.