1. 5.1
History of Law

2. Preview Questions How have legal codes changed over time?
What role have philosophers played in the development of law in the United States?
Should moral codes play a role in society?

3. Philosophy of Law
Laws are rules that are binding on all people living in a community, state, or nation.
They:
Bring order to or lives
Penalties to discourage people from committing crimes
Allow people to settle disagreements peacefully in a fair system of justice
Protect citizens from abuse by other people, organizations, and even the government
Promote welfare of society by protecting it from certain dangers
Laws can be good or bad

4. Enlightenment Philosophers

5. Charles Montesquieu
European political thinker during the Age of Enlightenment
These philosophers stressed reason
Most famous for his thoughts on Separation of Powers
No single branch would have all of the power.
They would be independent of each other.

6. John Locke English philosopher Famous ideas: Natural Right
Social Contract

7. Jean Jacques Rousseau Inspired the French Revolution
He believed that man could be corrupted by society. There was no “good” or “bad”
He believed if you give up some freedom to live in a society and be controlled by the government, you will have a better society (Social Contract).
He believed the people should decide and agree how they are governed (Popular Sovereignty)

8. Jean Jacques Rousseau

9. The Social Contract
The idea that the people should decide how to be governed (popular sovereignty)
Everyone is born with certain “natural rights”
Hobbes, Locke, & Rousseau were the most famous philosophers of this idea
Inspired democracy & Thomas Jefferson

10. The Social Contract

11. Magna Carta Latin for the Great Charter (1215)
Most significant early influence on constitutional law
Limited the King of England’s power
Influenced common law and the US Constitution
One of the most important legal documents in the history of democracy

12. British Common Law In its earliest days, England had no written laws
People developed rules to live by and these rules and customs came to have the force of law
As a system of courts arose, the courts’ decisions became the basis of law.
When the judges would look to decide cases, they would look for a precedent, or a ruling in an earlier case that was similar.

13. English Bill of Rights Added in 1689 after the Glorious Revolution
Basic document, along with the Magna Carta in British constitutional law
Protected the rights of the citizens and limited the power of the constitutional monarchy
We borrowed much of the English Bill of Rights in our US Bill of Rights

14. House of Burgesses 1st elected legislative assembly in the New World
Established in Virginia in 1619
It was a representative assembly.

15. Mayflower Compact
1st governing document in the Plymouth colony (Massachusetts)
Drafted by the Pilgrims in 1620
The government would get its power from the consent of the governed
It is an example of direct democracy through town meetings.

16. Declaration of Independence
Signed by the 2nd Continental Congress July 4, 1776
The USA declared its independence from Great Britain
Written by Thomas Jefferson, explaining to the king and Parliament why we are breaking away
Inspired by John Locke, British taxes, Common Sense, and all that other Revolutionary War stuff!!!

17. Signing of the Declaration of Independence

18. The U.S. Constitution USA most important document
It is the government that we currently use and have used for over 200 years.
Preamble, 7 Articles, and the 27 Amendments
The ability for the Constitution to change is the reason for its success.
It is a “living document”

19. Legal vs. Moral Codes Legal Code
Complex definitions of “right” and “wrong” and based on a value system
Dictate proper personnel conduct
Rarely is there anything simple about one’s values, ethics, etc
The difficulty lies in the fact that morals are often part of a religion. Separation of Church and State?
Legal Code
A body of law written and enforced by a state
Specifies court procedures and rules of evidence
Broadcasts an idea of public morality and the way people should live

20. Legal Codes

21. Hammurabi’s Code
About 4,000 years ago King Hammurabi of Ancient Babylon had a series of laws
Put together in a list, or code of laws
1st written laws
The punishments were very harsh
“Eye for an Eye, Tooth for a Tooth”

22. Justinian Codes
Ancient Romans, took their complex legal system to all lands they conquered
Laws became a science called jurisprudence (the study of law)
In the 6th century, Emperor Justinian I produced a simplified legal code
The word “justice” comes from his fair system of legal codes.

23. Draconian Laws A code of laws prepared by Draco of Athens, Greece
These laws were very severe, and the term “Draconian” is now sometimes applied to any laws of unusual harshness

24. Napoleonic Code
Years after Justinian, Napoleon Bonaparte updated his code.
It was carried to all French colonial lands, including Louisiana (sold to the US in 1803)
Louisiana’s laws are still based on this code

25. The Ten Commandments
Another early set of written laws found in the Old Testament of the Bible
Many of the commandments are found in laws today
Thou shalt not murder
Thou shalt not steal
Many people believed God would punish them for breaking his laws