Civics 6.1

jurisprudence - study of law

concerned with examining the theory and philosophy of law as well as analyzing its purpose, structure, and implementation in society

US Law can be traced to civilizations before us

Legal codes - set of written laws and rules for implementing those laws

earliest example is the Code of Hammurabi - ancient Babylon king

ex. eye for an eye

has influenced many civilizations

moral code - set of guidelines stating what is morally right/wrong and directing people how to live

Ancient Hebrews / Jewish law - Ten Commandments (Old Testament or Pentateuch/ Torah)

influenced Jewish society but Christianity as well

Jews and Christians believe Mosaic Law was given to Moses by God

many American laws have basis in Mosaic Law

Mosaic Law is very similar to Code of Hammurabi

621 B.C. Draco's Laws - very strict Greek lawgiver who created the first written Greek law code which gave the people a voice in Ancient Athens and allowed the people to appeal decisions

529-534 Byzantine Emperor Justinian I compiled centuries of Roman laws into a legal code

Justinian Codes which revived Roman laws into the Middle Ages

firmly established emperor as an absolute monarch with unlimited power

English model of government and law greatly influenced 13 colonies

Magna Carta (1215) granted certain rights to nobles, weakened the king of England by placing him under the law

English Bill of Rights (1689) further limited authority of the monarch by forcing them to have Parliament's approval before enacting some laws and guaranteeing some rights to citizens

British common law - law based on tradition or past court decisions rather than written statutes also impacted US law by establishing the idea of accepting past court decisions as authoritative in cases where no formal law existed or was considered vague

Mayflower Compact - document which guaranteed the people a voice in government in Massachusetts

1620 - first bipartisan government in the New World

"civil body politick"

House of Burgesses (Virginia) - modeled after British Parliament and became the first representative body of government in the colonies

principles in the Mayflower Compact and the House of Burgesses will be reflected in the Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution

late 1500s Iroquois tribes of the Northeast organized for peace and formed the Iroquois League

made themselves the dominant tribe

impressed and influenced Benjamin Franklin in his Albany Plan of Union 1754 which failed to unite colonies against French