1. What values and beliefs have influenced our government and laws?
Warm Up
What values and beliefs have influenced our government and laws?

2. codification OF LAWS
Period 1: to 600 BCE

3. Codification of laws
Law/Legal Code: systematic and comprehensive written statement of laws Oldest Evidence: Tablets from city of Ebla (modern Syria) ~ 2400 BCE Best Known: Code of Hammurabi (Babylon)

4. Codification of Laws
Why: Disagreements are bound to happen, governments made laws in response Requirements: simple, make sense, give a reason to obey (punishment) Source: “God”- made for harsher punishments

5. Codification of laws Code of Hammurabi Pharaoh's word is law
Mesopotamia
Egypt
India
China
Code of Hammurabi
Pharaoh's word is law
Eightfold Path
Confucius’ Golden Rule
Legalism -total control by political administrators

6. Hammurabi’s code Who was Hammurabi? Babylonian king
United all of Mesopotamia
Pursued ideal of being a just ruler

7. Hammurabi’s code Collection of: 282 edicts
Precedents set between praise of Hammurabi’s rule
Covers:
family law
professional contracts
administrative law

8. Hammurabi’s code Written in “if-then” form:
If a man steals an ox, then he pays 30x its value
Different standards of justice for 3 classes of society
Property owners
Freedmen
Slaves

9. Hammurabi's CODE Punishments severe
Earliest examples of “an eye for an eye”

10. Hammurabi's CODE Carved into stone
2 ½ foot relief of Hammurabi receiving law from God of Justice
7’ 5” columns of cuneiform script

11. Hammurabi’s Code Activity
Study the list of laws taken from the Code of Hammurabi (make notes)
Answer the questions that follow
20 minutes

12. Hammurabi’s CODE AND RELIGION
Hammurabi used the fear of religion to enforce and justify his laws
Does religion have an influence on politics today?
Hammurabi was successful in not only enforcing his rules but setting the standard for countless other civilizations

13. Hammurabi’s code and gender relationships
With so many laws in place for women, there was not way to achieve gender equality due to restrictions on marriage, money, and work.
How are gender relationships influenced by laws today?

14. Hammurabi’s code and moral values
With the code there is justification for morality. Putting strict morals in place instills fear and allows those in power to remain in power.
Do our laws attempt to dictate morality?

15. Then and NOW How is it similar? How is it different?
Semi-permanent/hard to change
Protection of the weak
Innocent until proven guilty
Leaving sentencing up to the god(s)
Severe punishments