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Period: 500 BCE to 300 BCE
Ancient Greek Democracy
A direct democracy that was originally developed in Athens where every citizen had the right to vote on every decision. There was a system of lottery for positions in government instead of a system or representation. The definition of a citizen was very limited and only included landowning males who where born in the same state. This was the original democracy and helped to define the democracies of the future. Many principles of democracy are used in the ideas of classical liberalism. -
1215
Magna Carta
The Magna Carta Libertatum translates to the Great Charter of Liberties and is called Magna Carta for short. It is an English charter that was created in 1215 with King John. It protected the personal and political liberty of some people. It protected rights of the church, legal rights for barons, access to justice, limitations on feudal payments. This impacted classical liberalism because it set the base with ideas for many charters to come such as the Untied States Constitution. -
Period: 1400 to
Renaissance
Symbolizing the re-birth of ancient Roman and Greek ideas and the use old art forms and old Greek philosophers. The ideas of humanism were spread and many Roman and Greek works were refurbished and read. This brought back the idea of classical liberalism and helped it to develop into a more modern image that fit the conditions that were in Europe. Classical liberalism was influenced, placing more value on the individual, and increased the rise of secularism, and put value on progress. -
Period: 1400 to
Haudenosaunee Confederacy
An agreement between six nations in America, the Kanien'kehaka, the Shotinontowante'a:ka, the Gan'dagwëni:io'geh, the Kaion'keha:ka, the Oneniote'a:ka, and the Tehatiskaro:ros. These nations came together and made their oral constitution, the Great Law of Peace. It was based on principles of equality, the division of powers, and rights and freedoms. This contributed to classical liberalism because the American constitution used many of the same principles and was strongly based off of it. -
Period: 1517 to
Reformation
The Protestant Reformation promoted beliefs in the importance of reason for Christians. This reformation reduced the prevalence of religion in society. The turbulent times reduced the power of the aristocracy since their wealth was primarily base upon agriculture which was slowly being replaced with entrepreneurship. This developed classical liberalism because it promoted the ideas that individualism could make their own decisions and limiting the power of authorities to support the people. -
Period: to
The Enlightenment
When the Great Thinkers had emerged and people started to put value on philosophy, politics, and society. Ideologies started to expand and there was a popularization of liberal ideas. This was part of the development of classical liberalism because ideas were spread to the public and were not just for the philosophers involved in their creation. -
Period: to
Industrial Revolution
The change of society from an agricultural to a mercantile. Land ownership changed so there was less public and more private meaning that farmers working on the public land were replaced with machines, causing an increase in urban populations. Technology developed and this lead to factories within the cities. There were miserable working/living conditions for the poor. This helped develop classical liberalism because there was a increase of the middle class and capitalism in the economy. -
American Revolution
The American Revolution was started by citizens of the thirteen colonies who were unhappy with being ruled by the British who were very disconnected from them. They declared independence and created the Declaration of Independence, making a republican government which derived power from the consent of the government instead of having a foreign monarch. This developed classical liberalism because it influenced and encouraged the French revolution and gave an example to many other countries. -
The French Revolution
The French monarchy had been spending money on the american revolution and luxuries and this cause tax price to rocket as well as other products such as bread. This made the average French person very poor and the people upraised. The original Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen was developed outlining a new constitution in France based on the ideologies of the revolution. The French Revolution influenced the future revolutions in Europe and helped spread classical liberalism. -
Period: to
Changes to the Class System
Brought on primarily by the industrial revolution, the changes to the class system included the reduction in the power of the aristocracy and the gain of power in the middle class or nouveau riche. The increase in mercants lead to the middle class becoming much wealthier, using labour from the working class to gain wealth. The Aristocracy had gained most of its power from agricultural and use of public land. It promoted liberal ideas like equality and rationality of individuals in economics.
