-
510 BCE
Greek Democracy
Reforms in Athens occur and democracy as a political ideology is established.Here lies the foundation of Classical liberalism where a nation controlled by oligarchies is introduced to a new system of government where a segment of the the Greek nations citizens (excluding women) were able to take place in the decisions made by its government. Many battles were fought in the pursuit of a state by and for the people in Greece and eventually The Aristocracy lost its control over the government. -
1215
The Magna Carta
The Magna Carta was established by King John of England in 1215. This was a highly crucial doctrine in the pursuit of liberalism as it sought out to change the legal system in Europe which at the time nobility was exempt from prosecution. It put the blindfold over lady justices eyes and made everyone including the king equal under the law and ensured citizens a right to a fair trial. In terms of liberalism it paved the way for other societies through implementing the Rule of Law. -
Period: 1300 to
Renaissance Period
Renaissance is French for "rebirth" and this era in history was just that for pretty much every aspect of European society. People began to lose their once unshaken faith in the catholic church which prior to the renaissance held all the power over the minds and actions of the public. The ideals of European society in the minds of its people started shifting to a more individualistic approach and moved away from the Catholic Churches ideas about predetermined destiny through divinity. -
Period: 1500 to
Haudenosaunee Confederacy
Unbeknownst to many, The Iroquois people were amongst the first to practice democratic forms of government. The Great Law of Peace was established as an oral constitution between the six comprising members of the newly formed confederacy where chiefs and officiaries were elected by the people. This opposed the way of monarchies of that time, it also laid out other equality rights. This laid the foundation for the classical liberal agenda of the later established constitution of the United States -
Period: 1517 to
Reformation
The power of the Catholic Church grew lesser and lesser since the emergence of the renaissance period and due to abuse of its "divine rights" protestant reformers like Martin Luther called for a more humanistic approach. As support for the once mighty Church dwindled they were forced to introduce doctrinal changes in an attempt to save face through the promotion of mans capability to live freely from the restraints of the Church which sided with the liberal idea that man at his core rational. -
Period: to
The Enlightenment Era
Also referred to as the Age of Reason for good reason, the Age of Enlightenment involved a period in time where substantial contributions to societies thoughts on the nature of man were made by humanist philosophers such as Thomas Hobbes and John Locke. They promoted the idea that man is inherently good and deserves the right to make his own decisions economically and politically. These ideas caught on very quickly following the Reformation Era thus the path to Classical Liberalism was paved. -
Period: to
The American Revolution
The American Revolution was a movement made by its thirteen colonies which At the time they were controlled by British monarchial rule. People were taxed heavily and all imports had unreasonable tariffs placed upon them so in an effort to seek independence from the British empire and establish a new democratic system of government a great war took place from 1775-1783 where much blood was spilled, but the American peoples sacrifice was proven to be worth the result as they emerged victorious. -
The signing of the Constitution of the United States
Post American Revolutionary War after victory was won by the American people and British rule was vacated, the Constitution of the United States of America was set in place which created the new democratic American government and ensured its people inalienable rights to protect the individuals well being from governments abuse of power. It allowed the American people a right to Life, Liberty and the pursuit of happiness and removed the governments ability to impede upon these rights. -
Period: to
The French Revolution
Predating this revolution French nobility controlled the vast majority of the nations wealth and were exempt from taxes. France was under insurmountable piles of debt and while the French people starved in the streets the noble members of the monarch still lived lavishly which led to upheaval and revolt of the lower class. Fed up with its government the people stormed the Bastille prison to arms themselves and a bloody battle ensued in attempt to free France from King Louis XVI's monarchies rule -
The signing of The Declaration of Rights of Man and Citizen
As a result of the French revolution the National Assembly abolished the monarchial rule of Louis XVI to sign a new Constitution resembling that of the American's to protect the Individual Rights and freedoms of Frances citizens and eventually the rest of Europe followed suit in the pursuit of liberalism. -
Changes to the Class system
Before the fall of the monarchy in Europe their was a class structure based solely on social standing. The individual was born into their social class and apart from the nobility you were destined to be a servant of the state and that was what you were until you died and then your offspring were handcuffed to the same meagre existence. After the liberalism spread through Europe and America more jobs were made available to the people, the class system evolved to one based on monetary success.
