-
Athenian democracy developed around the fifth century BC in the Greek city-state of Athens, comprising the city of Athens and the surrounding territory of Attica, and is the first known democracy in the world. Other Greek cities set up democracies, most following the Athenian model, but none are as well documented as Athens'.
-
The Roman Senate votes to give extraordinary powers to Octavian who then adopts the name Augustus, essentially ending the Roman Republic
-
The concept of the right of revolution was also taken up by John Locke in Two Treatises of Government as part of his social contract theory.
-
The Spirit of the laws. Montesquieu is a founding father of political philosophy. He was able to describe the spirit of reason which characterizes the law.
-
Ben Franklin wrote to James Parker about how he wanted everyone in the colony to unite and come together to fight for independence from the British
-
The Continental Congress adopted a document saying that the 13 colonies were no longer part of the British Empire and were now a new nation called The United States of America.
-
Canada was a province and not yet a country. He helped to protect French language rights and believed in democracy. His position was similar to a Prime Minister.
-
The Triple-E Senate is a proposed variation of reform to the current Canadian Senate, calling for senators to be elected to exercise effective powers in numbers equally representative of each province.
-
Lenin dies, opening the door for Stalin to take power in the USSR (leading to a ruthless dictatorship)
-
The Persons Case was a constitutional ruling that established the right of women to be appointed to the Senate.
-
Hitler passes the Enabling Act, moving Germany from a democracy to a dictatorship
-
World War II ends, which also ends American-Soviet cooperation
-
Truman establishes the Marshall Plan to contain communist expansion.
-
Creation of NATO to deter any aggression from the Soviet bloc
-
Korean War begins after the USSR fails to show up for a veto in the UN, starting the first proxy war.
-
The Hungarian Uprising demonstrates that the Warsaw Pact is not ideologically unified, but this liberation movement is crushed by Warsaw Pact forces.
-
First Nations peoples in Canada are granted suffrage
-
Cuban Missile Crisis almost leads to a nuclear war between the superpowers due to brinkmanship
-
The Prague Spring ends when the Soviet Union invades, followed by the Brezhnev Doctrine.
-
The Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty is signed
-
Khrushchev calls for peaceful co-existence
-
Berlin blockade and consequent airlift increases tensions
-
Vietnam War ends, demonstrating the failure of containment and the Domino Theory.
-
Helsinki Accords provide a degree of détente during the Cold War.
-
Soviet invasion of Afghanistan leads to an increase of hostilities
-
Solidarity trade union organizes the pro-democracy movement in Poland
-
START is signed to reduce the number of nuclear weapons being created as a form of deterrence
-
The Soweto Uprisings in South Africa protest the majority tyranny laws that prevented Black students from getting an education in their preferred language under the Apartheid rules; some students are killed by police.
-
The Warsaw Pact is dissolved, with some members seeking to join NATO
-
Berlin Wall is built to prevent further Western expansion in the region
-
Berlin Wall is torn down, a year later Germany is reunified
-
The Soviet Union ceases to exist, effectively ending the Cold War
-
Creation of the Warsaw Pact as a response to NATO through collective security.
-
The Charlottetown Accord was a package of proposed amendments from the Canada federal and provincial government to the Constitution of Canada.
-
The Electoral College is a process, not a place. The founding fathers established it in the Constitution as a compromise between election of the President by a vote in Congress and election of the President by a popular vote of qualified citizens.
-
The secret ballot is a voting method in which a voter's choices in an election or a referendum is anonymous, forestalling attempts to influence the voter by intimidation, blackmailing, and potential vote buying.
-
President Mugabe of Zimbabwe blames the UK for the cholera outbreak in his country, thus making the UK a scapegoat for the problems being faced in his country.
-
This enactment amends the Canadian Human Rights Act to add gender identity and gender expression to the list of prohibited grounds of discrimination.
