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508 BCE
Ancient Greek Democracy
In Ancient Greek they had one the first democracies to ever exist and the strongest democracy occurred in Athens. It was different way of democracy than what we know today meaning that they didn't elect representatives to vote for them but voted for executive bills and what not themselves. This links to the contribution to classical liberalism because of the democracy they used, it's helped to form todays democracies, which is one of the most used forms of government. -
1215
Magna Carta (1215)
A Charter made with the intent to make peace between King John of England and a group of Barons. It contained 63 clauses in which the King agreed on. It was used to balance out power between the king and his subjects as a result the Magna Carta became one of the most celebrated documents in history. The Magna Carta contributed to the development of classical liberalism by leading to the constitutional rule and being a strong influence to the Bill of Rights. -
1450
Renaissance (14th-16th C.)
A period in European history that renewed an interest in Greek and Roman culture. This revived the belief in the importance of an individual. During this time Europe recovered from economic depression. The belief in humans gave way to a society with more rights and freedoms. -
1500
Haudenosaunee Confederacy (15th C. - 1776)
6 nations called Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca and Tuscarora came together by abiding the "Great Peace of Law". The a few principles of the Great Peace of Law were equal participation of all people, even women, divided power among the levels of government and included individual freedoms. The Great Law of Peace was known for influencing Benjamin Franklin as well as Thomas Jefferson to write the American Constitution. -
1517
Reformation (1517-1648)
The Reformation refers to the restructuring of the Church in Europe. The Reformation began with a belief from Martin Luther. He believed that the church was corrupt and it had too much power. This links to liberalism in a way that it shows what can happen when individuals see corrupt power and how they will stand up to improve society which brought self-interest, more freedoms, and equality. -
American Revolution (1776)
The American Revolution started with ideas from John Locke along with early liberal thinkers. Influenced by these ideas, American colonists declared independence from the British crown in which they followed a republican form of government where the power rested in the hands of its citizens. This event contributed to classical liberalism through development of America being independent and giving the power to the people rather being ruled, it led to those by following early liberal thinkers. -
French Revolution (1789)
This event happened shortly after the American Revolution. This event happened because the french monarch Louis XVI would not make changes to things that were bringing society down such as the outdated taxation systems. Because there was no change representatives of the common people revolted. afterwards the Declaration of the Rights of man and of the Citizen was written up which was a document for individual freedoms. This document showed indications of liberalism influencing the French. -
Enlightenment (18th C.)
A time in the late 17th century where where the ideas behind classical liberalism spread throughout Europe and changed the beliefs of many people Human beings, religion and reason. This carried out through the 18th century. This is a contribution to classical liberalism because it's the period in which the ideas of classical liberalism spread. -
Industrial Revolution (18th C. - 19th C.)
The Industrial Revolution talks about how Britain goes from being an Agricultural society to a modern industrial society. In 1801 the Inclosure act was passed where fewer agricultural workers were needed due to mechanized farms and farmers did not get very much money for their land. This links to classical liberalism because of when the belief in sanctity of private property came in. -
Changes to class system (19th C.)
In the 19th century one of the impacts of the Industrial Revolution was the the class structure. Originally the aristocrats that controlled land dominated on the social structure but when industrialization started to take off and progress factory owners, bankers and other professionals started to dominate in wealth. This contributed to classical liberalism due to the power arising from workers rather than land owners after the Industrial Revolution took place.