The Legacy of Ancient Greece and
Rome
Prologue Section 1
Athens Builds a Limited Democracy
• Government- system for controlling the society
• Monarchy- king or monarch; rule is hereditary
• Aristocracy- ruled by a small group of noble, landowning families
• Oligarchy- government ruled by a few people based
upon wealth or ability
• Democracy- “rule of the people”
▫ Adult male citizens participated in governmental
decisions and three nobles were elected to the
assembly and later the council of advisors
▫ Around 600 BC economic problems eventually forced
farmers into slavery
Important People in Athens
• Reforms of Solon (594 BC)
▫ Outlawed debt slavery and canceled farmers debts
▫ Created the Council of 400- prepared business
▫ Any citizen could bring charges against wrongdoers
 Citizen= free adult males; 1/10 population
• Cleisthenes Enacts More Reforms
▫ Reorganized the assembly for rich and poor
▫ Council of 500- proposed laws and counseled the assembly
 Citizens= 1/5 population
• Pericles Strengthens Democracy
▫ Increased paid public officials
▫ Direct Democracy- citizens rule and make laws
directly
Greek Philosophers Use Reason
• 1. The universe is put together in an orderly way
and is subject to absolute and changing laws
• 2. People can understand these laws through
logic and reason
• SPA
▫ Socrates- Socratic Method
▫ Plato- The Republic; rule by philosopher-kings
▫ Aristotle- Politics; live in a state
Legacy of Greece
• Natural Laws- use of reason and intelligence to
discover
• Direct Democracy
• Three Branches of Government
Rome Develops a Republic
• Republic- power rests with citizens who have the
right to elect the leaders who make
governmental decisions; “indirect democracy”
• Patricians vs. Plebeians
▫ Plebeians could vote but not hold government
positions
Roman Government
• Twelve Tables
▫ Written law code to protect plebeians
▫ All free citizens had the right to protection under
law and laws would be fairly administered
• Republican Government
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Dictator- times of crisis
Two Consuls
Senate- Patricians
Two assembles- Plebeians
Roman Law
• All citizens had the right to equal treatment
under the law
• Innocent until proven guilty
• Burden of proof rested in the accuser
• Unfair laws could be set aside
• Justinian Law Code- “a government of laws, not
of men”
Legacy of Rome
• Republic
• Individual is a citizen in a state not a subject
• Written law code
Judeo-Christian Tradition
Prologue Section 2
Judaism
• Hebrews were monotheists who believed in one
god
• Practiced Judaism
• People had dignity simply by being a child of
God and each person was responsible for the
choices they made; emphasis on the worth of the
individual
Jewish Law Teaches Morality
• Moses forms a covenant with God
▫ Ten Commandments- code of morality and
ethics; rules of social and religious behavior
• Prophets taught that people should oppose
injustice and oppression and the community
should assist the unfortunate
Christianity
• The Teachings of Christianity
▫ Love for God, their neighbors, their enemies, and
themselves
▫ Jesus was thought as the “king of the Jews” and
was crucified
 Christianity – Teaching of Jesus Christ
Christianity (cont.)
• The Spread of Christianity
▫ Apostle Paul spread Christianity and stressed the
importance of equality for all human beings
 Religion would welcome any converts
• Rome Spreads Judeo-Christian Ideas
▫ Jewish Diaspora- spread their beliefs that all
people had the right to be treated with justice and
dignity
▫ Christianity became the official religion of the
Roman Empire
Islam
• Monotheistic religion based of the teachings of
Muhammad
▫ Qur’an was a collection of teaching from god
delivered to Muhammad
▫ Emphasized dignity of all human beings and
he brotherhood of all people
• Muslims were required to offer charity to those
in need
Legacy of Monotheistic Religions
• the duty of the individual and the community to
combat oppression
• worth of the individual
• equality of people before God
Renaissance
• Roman Catholic Church- During the middle ages
it controlled all political, social, and religious
aspects of life
• Renaissance- renewed interest in classical
Greek culture; fueled by the invention of the
printing press
▫ Prepared men for public service instead of
service for the church
▫ Encouraged human potential and achievement
▫ Individualism
Reformation
• Reformation- religious reform movement in
the 19th century led by the Protestants
▫ Martin Luther- criticized the Church of selling
pardons
 Salvation came through faith in God not good works
 Protestantism
 Interpret the bible by themselves
 People could find individual paths to God; didn’t
need church
 Questioned political authority
Legacy of the Renaissance and
Reformation
• By challenging authority the Reformation
indirectly contributed to the growth of
democracy
▫ Introduced individuals to reading
• Emphasis on the Individual
Democracy Develops in England
Prologue Section 3
Reforms in Medieval England
• William, duke of Normandy in France, invades
England and defeats the Anglo-Saxons at the Battle
of Hastings (1066)
▫ Ended Feudalism
▫ Began Centralized Government
▫ Development of Democracy
• Henry II
▫ Created a Jury Trial instead of feudal courts
 Royal judge would visit each country
▫ Common Law- reflected customs and principles
established over time
Reforms in Medieval England
• King John
▫ Fought an unsuccessful and costly war against
the France; he tried to raise taxes to pay for the
war
▫ In 1215 angry nobles forced him to sign the
Magna Carta (Great Chapter)
 Limited the power of the king by having them govern
according to law and guaranteed individual rights
and liberties
 Due Process of Law- “judgment by his peers;”
king could not punish subjects
Model Parliament
• Model Parliament (Edward I needed taxes)
▫ Parliament- England’s national legislature
 House of Lords- nobles and bishops
 House of Commons- knights and burgesses
 Limited power of monarch and established representation
• Parliament Grows Stronger
▫ Eventually The House of Commons grew equal to the
House of Lords and Parliament could vote on taxes,
pass laws, and advise royal policies
▫ Divine Right of Kings- king’s power came from God
 Stuart Family and James I
 Conflict with Puritans
 Star Chamber- royal court
 Money
Parliament Overthrows the King
• Charles I asks for money and signs the Petition of Right
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No taxing without Parliament’s consent
Couldn’t imprison citizens illegally
Couldn’t house troops
Couldn’t maintain military government in peacetime
 In 1642 English civil war broke out; royalists vs. antiroyalists
• Oliver Cromwell won control; antiroyalists
• Establishment of Constitutional Monarchy
▫ Cromwell established the Commonwealth of England but
eventually turned it into a Protectorate “military
dictatorship”
▫ Restoration- parliament restored the monarchy under
Charles Stuart II
 Habeas Corpus- prevents police from detaining a person
wrongfully
Glorious Revolution (1689)
• William and Mary invade England and start the
Glorious Revolution
▫ Parliament limited the power of the king and could
control the succession to the throne
▫ Established a Constitutional Monarchy-powers of
the ruler are restricted by the constitution
▫ Bill of Rights- formal summary of rights and
liberties believed to be essential to people
 Protected free speech
 Could not tax or raise an army during peace time
• Excessive bail and cruel and unusual punishment
were forbidden
The Enlightenment and
Democratic Revolution
Prologue Section 4
Enlightenment Thinkers
• Enlightenment- intellectual movement that tried to use the
principles of reason and the methods of science to all aspects of
society
▫ Influenced by the Scientific Revolution
• Thomas Hobbes
▫ Leviation; people were by nature selfish and ambitious and
needed an absolute monarchy
▫ Social Contract-people submitted to the authoritarian ruler to
prevent disorder
• John Locke
▫ Problem was that the king failed to protect the rights of the
people
▫ Natural Rights- right to life, liberty, and property
 People had an absolute right to rebel if the government did not protect
these rights; self-government
Enlightenment Thinkers
• Voltaire
▫ Favor of tolerance, freedom of religion, and free
speech’
• Jean-Jacques Rousseau
▫ The Social Contract- an agreement among free
individuals to create a government that would respond
to the people will
▫ Government from the consent of the governed
• Baron de Montesquieu
▫ Separation of Powers- divided into three branches
 Legislature- make laws
 Executive- enforce laws
 Courts (Judicial)- interpret laws
The Beginnings of Democracy in
America
• French and Indian War- battle b/w France and
Britain for North America
 Seven Years War in Europe
▫ After the victory Britain felt the colonies should help
pay the cost of the war; tax them
▫ Stamp Act of 1765- no taxation without representation
▫ No western movement for colonists
• American Revolution
▫ Battle of Lexington and Concord- April 17th, 1775
▫ Declaration of Independence- July 4th, 1776
▫ End of Revolution- 1781
▫ Articles of Confederation- weak central government
Enlightenment shapes the Constitution
• Representative Government- citizens
elect representatives to make laws and
policies for them (Rousseau)
• Federal System- powers of government
were divided among federal, or central,
government and the states, or local,
governments
• Separation of Powers- executive,
legislative, and judicial (Montesquieu) and
checks and balances
The French Revolution
• Causes:
▫ Louis XVI and his wife Marie Antoinette took the throne with
debts building up in 1774
▫ Inequality among clergy and nobility vs. commoners; only the
poor paid taxes
▫ Enlightenment Ideas and the American Revolution
• Early Reforms of the Revolution
▫ Estates-General was broken up and commoners formed the
National Assembly
▫ Storming of Bastille- prison
▫ Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (Dec. of Ind.)
 Rights of liberty, property, security, and resistance to oppression
• Reign of Terror
▫ Radicals that killed or imprisoned opponents