-
539 BCE
THE CYRUS CYLINDER
The armies of Cyrus the Great, the first king of ancient Persia, conquered the city of Babylon.
He freed the slaves, declared that all people had the right to choose their own religion, and established racial equality.
These were recorded in a clay cylinder in the Akkadian language with cuneiform script. -
1215
THE MAGNA CARTA
After King John of England violated a number of ancient laws and customs by which England had been governed, his subjects forced him to sign the Magna Carta, which enumerates what later came to be thought of as human rights.
Among them was the right of the church to be free of governmental interference
rights of all free citizens to own and inherit property, among others ...
Widely viewed as one of the most important legal documents in the development of modern democracy. -
PETITION OF RIGHT
Produced by the English Parliament and sent to Charles I as a statement of civil liberties.
Parliament's refusal to finance the king's unpopular foreign policy had caused his government unwelcome events.
Was based upon earlier statutes and asserted four principles:
(1) No taxes may be levied without consent of Parliament
(2) No subject may be imprisoned without cause shown.
(3) No soldiers may be quartered upon the citizenry.
(4) Martial law may not be used in time of peace. -
UNITED STATES DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE.
The United States Congress approved the Declaration of Independence.
Thomas Jefferson, wrote the Declaration as a formal explanation of why Congress had voted on July 2 to declare independence from Great Britain.
Congress issued the Declaration of Independence in several forms.
Philosophically, the Declaration stressed two themes: individual rights and the right of revolution.Influencing in particular the French Revolution. -
THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Written during the summer in Philadelphia, is the fundamental law of the US federal system of government and the landmark document of the Western world. It is the oldest written national constitution in use and defines the principal organs of government and their jurisdictions and the basic rights of citizens.The Bill of Rights protects freedom of speech, freedom of religion, the right to keep and bear arms, the freedom of assembly, prohibits unreasonable search and seizure, cruel among others. -
Period: to
BILL OF RIGHTS
The first ten amendments to the Constitution—the Bill of Rights—came into effect on December 15, limiting the powers of the federal government of the United States and protecting the rights of all citizens, residents and visitors.
Among the legal protections it affords, the Bill of Rights prohibits Congress from making any law respecting establishment of religion and prohibits the federal government from depriving any person of life, liberty or property without due process of law. -
DECLARATION OF THE RIGHTS OF MAN AND THE CITIZEN
The people of France brought about the abolishment of the absolute monarchy and set the stage for the establishment of the first French Republic. Was adopted by the National Constituent Assembly as the first step toward writing a constitution for the Republic of France. The Declaration sees law as an “expression of the general will,“ intended to promote this equality of rights and to forbid “only actions harmful to the society.” -
Period: to
THE UNITED NATIONS - WORLD WAR II HAD RAGED
As the end drew near, cities throughout Europe and Asia lay in smoldering ruins. Millions of people were dead, millions more were homeless or starving.
Russian forces were closing in on the remnants of German resistance in Germany’s bombed-out capital of Berlin. In the Pacific, US Marines were still battling entrenched Japanese forces on such islands as Okinawa. -
THE UNITED NATIONS
In April 1945, delegates from fifty countries met in San Francisco full of optimism and hope. The goal of the United Nations Conference on International Organization was to fashion an international body to promote peace and prevent future wars.“We the peoples of the United Nations are determined to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war which twice in our lifetime has brought untold sorrow to mankind.”The Charter of the new United Nations organization went into effect on October 24. -
THE UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS
Under the dynamic chairmanship of Eleanor Roosevelt—President Franklin Roosevelt’s widow, a human rights champion in her own right and the United States delegate to the UN—the Commission set out to draft the document that became the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It was adopted by the United Nations on December 10, 1948.
In its preamble and in Article 1, the Declaration unequivocally proclaims the inherent rights of all human beings.
“...free and equal in dignity and rights.“
