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CLU3M - Law Unit 2 Dev. of Rights and Freedoms. PP #1 Ms Pannell Source: Gibson, Murphy, Jarman and Grant,. ALL ABOUT THE LAW Exploring the Canadian Legal.

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Presentation on theme: "CLU3M - Law Unit 2 Dev. of Rights and Freedoms. PP #1 Ms Pannell Source: Gibson, Murphy, Jarman and Grant,. ALL ABOUT THE LAW Exploring the Canadian Legal."— Presentation transcript:

1 CLU3M - Law Unit 2 Dev. of Rights and Freedoms. PP #1 Ms Pannell Source: Gibson, Murphy, Jarman and Grant,. ALL ABOUT THE LAW Exploring the Canadian Legal System. 5th. Toronto: Nelson, 2003. Print. Pp3-6

2 Introduction What does Canada have that many countries don’t? Civil Rights (and freedoms) - limit the power that a government has over its citizens Human Rights – protect people from being unfairly discriminated against by other individuals Canadians can feel secure in almost all areas of their lives Canadians are free because laws are passed and enforced to protect their rights and freedoms Wealth, gender, race, age, belief, family status … are not supposed to determine how you are treated in Canada – equal under the law

3 Development of Human Rights and Freedoms A Quick Rundown! 1215 – Magna Carta Limited the king’s power Only nobility received more rights, not ordinary folk! 1689 – Glorious Revolution English Bill of Rights Monarchs promised to obey the laws of Parliament and allow free elections Only nobility and wealthy landowners could vote and control parliament, not ordinary folk!

4 Rights and Revolution 17 th Century Legal and moral thinkers of the Enlightenment gave way to western philosophy, proposing: humans have natural rights (life, liberty, and security) These rights exist independently of any rights or duties created by ruler, government, Church or society Those in power (monarchs, the Church, nobility) felt threatened by these ideas which spread rapidly throughout Europe

5 The American Revolution 17 th Century Thirteen Colonies fought for independence from Great Britain British Parliament had passed laws favouring Britain and not the American colonies Colonies had no representation in British Parliament British ignored colonies’ demands and imposed new taxes Americans protested violently “no taxation without representation” - 1775

6 The American Revolution continued 1776, American Congress issued the Declaration of Independence Written by Thomas Jefferson Proclaimed the existence of a new country, the U.S.A. Britain responded by sending more troops. Fighting continued until 1783 Last British troops driven out of New York (1783) signed the Treaty of Paris (U.S.A. was officially born!) Thomas Jefferson

7 The American Revolution continued Constitution of the U.S.A was made law in 1788. Written by wealthy powerful men Did not include a bill of rights – the powerful elite feared giving rights to ordinary folk! Feared “mob rule” (belief that ordinary folk could not be trusted to govern themselves Criticism 1791 – 10 amendments (changes) were made to the Constitution – becoming the U.S. Bill of Rights

8 American Declaration of Independence (1776)- Exerts We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights…. these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it. For Discussion What are the major understandings contained in these excerts? Why was this document so revolutionary? As Canadians, do we accept these ideas today? If so, in what ways

9 The American Revolution – Its Legacy American Revolution inspired people throughout the world (France 1 year later!) It was influenced by new ideas that were sweeping through western Europe The powers of the Church and rulers were being challenged Significant revolutionary idea: The rules governing people must be changed if they failed to protect the “natural rights” of citizens

10 The French Revolution 1789 French philosophes – published papers attacking the power of the King, Church and nobility Wanted an end to feudalism Success of the American Revolution (flow of ideas, stories and people) fed the growing demand for change in France

11 The French Revolution 1789 1789 – The French people roe up and violent overthrew their rulers (monarchy, Church and nobility) Thousands were killed Privileges of feudalism and the Church were abolished A National Assembly made of elected members (like a House of Commons) was established Gave way the “Nation State” as we know it today.

12 The French Revolution 1789 (continued) National Assembly passed the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen Guaranteed all French citizens their basic freedoms and became the basis of future modern democracies Student activity: Read page 40 of your text “The Law, the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen”, and answer questions 1-5 on page 41 Discussion Questions 1. What groups of people in French society would oppose the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen? Which would approve? Why? 2. What is so revolutionary about this document? 3. According to the law passed by the National Assembly, where does all power lie? 4. Explain what is meant by the word “nation” in this document. 5. Compare the excerpts from the American Declaration of Independence (1776) with the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (1789). What similarities exist?


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