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The tribes who developed the Iroquois Confederacy influenced the founding fathers, and today we have found more then 400 artifacts

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Ur Nammu was a Sumerian king who lived around the year 2000 BCE.  Code of Ur Nammu is oldest written law that we have found.

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Code of Ur Nammu

The Code of Ur Nammu is the oldest legal code that exists in the world today. It was discovered by Samuel Kramer in 1952 in southeast Iraq - the site of the ancient city of Nippur. It is inscribed on clay cuneiform tablets and details nearly 60 laws.

The Code of Ur Nammu is older than the Code of Hammurabi, which dates back to roughly 1754 BC, and even the Ten Commandments, which was one of the earliest and most recognized concepts of laws.

The Code of Ur Nammu is distinct from these two law codes for reasons aside from its age. Unlike the Ten Commandments, the laws listed in the Code of Ur Nammu are not dictated by a god or religious figure but by the government. Compared to the Code of Hammurabi's "eye-for-an-eye" rationale, each law is written in a "cause-and-effect" format, listing each crime and its respective punishment.

Here are just a few of the laws found in the Code of Ur Nammu:

If a man commits a murder, that man must be killed.

If a man commits a kidnapping, he is to be imprisoned and pay 15 shekels of silver.

If a slave marries a slave, and that slave is set free, he does not leave the household.

If a man violates the right of another and deflowers the virgin wife of a young man, they shall kill that male.

If a man proceeded by force and deflowered the virgin female slave of another man, that man must pay five shekels of silver.

If a man divorces his first-time wife, he shall pay (her) one mina of silver.

Impact of the Code of Ur Nammu

Obviously, the law has come a long way since the age of Ur Nammu's reign. However, the Code is very noteworthy for a number of reasons and has greatly influenced the laws we have in place today.

First and foremost, this is the oldest code of laws ever discovered, meaning it set the precedent for other laws written thereafter. It is particularly noteworthy because of the format in which the laws are written. Unlike the Babylonian "eye-for-an-eye" laws, the Code of Ur Nammu listed laws in a cause-and-effect format (i.e. "if this, then that") that specifically outlined the crimes and their respective punishments.

Secondly, the Code of Ur Nammu introduced the concept of fines as a form of punishment - a notion we still rely on today. Fines ranged from minas and shekels of silver to kurs of barley.

Finally, the Code of Ur Nammu identified murder and rape as capital offenses. Murder is still considered a capital offense under the United States Code; however, rape is not unless it results in the death of the victim.

Although it was written thousands of years ago, the Code of Ur Nammu continues to affect our lives. By outlining laws in a cause-and-effect format, Ur Nammu set a precedent that would eventually become the norm.
The Future of the Laws
As we've experienced throughout history, laws are hardly set in stone. We've seen some pretty significant changes in the law over the years, from the abolishment of slavery to the legalization of same-sex marriage. Elections and even petition websites such as Change.org have an enormous influence on laws, putting the power back in the hands of the people. Only time will tell how our laws will continue to evolve and change.

Want more like this article?
Don't miss Ancient Civilizations on Gaia to journey through humanity's suppressed origins and examine the secret code left behind by our ancestors.

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Many Modern Laws Trace Back to This Ancient Sumerian King | Gaia

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The Code of Ur Nammu is the oldest legal code that exists in the world today. It was discovered by Samuel Kramer in 1952 in southeast Iraq - the site of the ancient city of Nippur. It is inscribed on clay cuneiform tablets and details nearly 60 laws.

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Ancient Greek civilizations influenced the Founding Fathers!

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Friday, March 15, 2019

After declaring independence from England in 1776, the founders of the United States possessed a unique opportunity to create a government of their choosing. This was a momentous task, and for guidance they looked to what they deemed the best philosophies and examples of government throughout world history. Along with the Roman model, the democratic model of ancient Greece's system of self-government greatly influenced how the founding fathers set out to construct the new United States government.

Prior to independence, the east coast of what is today the United States was divided into 13 separate colonies. The founders of the United States decided to keep the country divided into states rather than dissolving the colonial boundaries. They did this so that each region could be governed at a local level, with a national government acting as a dominant authority over all. These 13 colonies would become the first states of the newly established country.

A U.S. state resembles the community structure of an ancient Greek polis, or city-state. A polis was composed of an urban center and the land surrounding it, developments similar to that of the major cities and state capitals in the United States and the rural areas surrounding them. In ancient Greece, some of the main city-states were Athens, Sparta, Corinth, Thebes, and Syracuse. These city-states acted independently for the most part. However, sometimes they engaged in war against each other. They also banded together to defend Greece from foreign invaders.

All Greek city-states had sets of rules by which the people lived in observance and laws they were required to obey. In ancient Greece the idea of rule of law came from the philosopher Aristotle's belief in natural law. He claimed the existence of a higher justice in nature-certain essential rights-that superseded the laws written by humans. Aristotle believed that people should align themselves with this natural law and govern by its ethics.

In the United States today, the rule of law is a principle that ensures that all laws are publicly accessible, equally enforced, and independently judged, and that they adhere to international human rights ethics. The rule of law is important because it allows all individuals and institutions (including the government itself) to be held accountable for their actions. By agreeing to follow the rule of law, the United States can prevent abuses of power by leaders who might act as if they are above the law.

Another important ancient Greek concept that influenced the formation of the United States government was the written constitution. Aristotle, or possibly one of his students, compiled and recorded The Constitution of the Athenians and the laws of many other Greek city-states. Having a written constitution creates a common standard as to how people should behave and what rules they must follow. It also establishes clear processes by which people who break the law are judged and those who are harmed as a result can be compensated or given justice.

Like The Constitution of the Athenians, the U.S. Constitution is a vital document. It lays out the government's structure and how the checks and balances of power within it relate to one another. The U.S. Constitution acts as the supreme law of the country and establishes individual citizens' rights, such as the right to free speech or the right to a trial by a jury of one's peers. Today, the U.S. Constitution is still regularly referenced in law as the supreme law of the land and is enforced by the U.S. Supreme Court, the country's highest court.

The original U.S. voting system had some similarities with that of Athens. In Athens, every citizen could speak his mind and vote at a large assembly that met to create laws. Citizens were elected to special councils to serve as organizers, decision-makers, and judges. However, the only people considered citizens in Athens were males over the age of 18. Women, slaves, and conquered peoples could not vote in the assembly or be chosen to serve on councils.

The founders of the United States similarly believed that only certain people should be allowed to vote and elect officials. They chose to structure the United States as a representative democracy. This means that citizens elect officials, such as senators and representatives, who vote on behalf of the citizens they represent in Congress. It also means that instead of each individual citizen voting for president directly, a body called the Electoral College officially casts the votes of each state for president. As in Athens, when the United States was founded only white, landowning men were allowed to vote. Over time, however, all U.S. citizens over the age of 18 who have not been convicted of a felony have gained the right to vote.

The principles behind the ancient Greeks' democratic system of government are still in use today. The United States and many other countries throughout the modern world have adopted democratic governments to give a voice to their people. Democracy provides citizens the opportunity to elect officials to represent them. It also allows citizens to choose to elect a different person to represent them if they are dissatisfied with their current elected officials. Today, democracy and the rule of law provide people around the world with a means of protecting their human rights and holding each other accountable as equals under the law.

legislative branch of the government, responsible for making laws. The U.S. Congress has two bodies, the House of Representatives and the Senate.

group of people selected to determine facts in a specific case.

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Tyson Brown, National Geographic Society

Author

Freddie Wilkinson

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Gina Borgia, National Geographic Society
Jeanna Sullivan, National Geographic Society

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Sarah Appleton, National Geographic Society
Margot Willis, National Geographic Society

Producer

Clint Parks

Last Updated

March 15, 2019

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Freddie Wilkinson

Clint Parks

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The United States has a complex government system. One important tenet of this system is democracy, in which the ultimate power rests with the people. In the case of the United States, that power is exercised indirectly, through elected representatives. Although the U.S. has been a strong proponent of democracy, it did not invent democracy.

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This is where Tomas Hobbes was born! Thomas Hobbes thought that the majority of humans were bad. He is a philosopher who influenced the Founding Fathers and the United States Constitution.

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Sea travel expanded the horizons of many European nations and created prosperity and the conditions for the Enlightenment. In turn, the Enlightenment ideals of liberty, equality, and justice helped to create the conditions for the American Revolution and the subsequent Constitution.

Democracy was not created in a heartbeat. In a world where people were ruled by monarchs from above, the idea of self-government is entirely alien. Democracy takes practice and wisdom from experience.

The American colonies began developing a democratic tradition during their earliest stages of development. Over 150 years later, the colonists believed their experience was great enough to refuse to recognize the British king. The first decade was rocky. The American Revolution and the domestic instability that followed prompted a call for a new type of government with a constitution to guarantee liberty. The constitution drafted in the early days of the independent American republic has endured longer than any in human history.

Where did this democratic tradition truly begin? The ideas and practices that led to the development of the American democratic republic owe a debt to the ancient civilizations of Greece and Rome, the Protestant Reformation, and Gutenberg's printing press. But the Enlightenment of 17th-century Europe had the most immediate impact on the framers of the United States Constitution.

The Philosophes

Europeans of the 17th century no longer lived in the "darkness" of the Middle Ages. Ocean voyages had put them in touch with many world civilizations, and trade had created a prosperous middle class. The Protestant Reformation encouraged free thinkers to question the practices of the Catholic Church, and the printing press spread the new ideas relatively quickly and easily. The time was ripe for the philosophes, scholars who promoted democracy and justice through discussions of individual liberty and equality.

The ideas of 18th-century philosophes inspired the Founding Fathers to revolt against what they perceived as unfair British taxation. Washington Crossing the Delaware is one of the most famous depictions of the American Revolution.

One of the first philosophes was Thomas Hobbes, an Englishman who concluded in his famous book, Leviathan, that people are incapable of ruling themselves, primarily because humans are naturally self-centered and quarrelsome and need the iron fist of a strong leader. Later philosophes, like Voltaire, Montesquieu, and Rousseau were more optimistic about democracy. Their ideas encouraged the questioning of absolute monarchs, like the Bourbon family that ruled France. Montesquieu suggested a separation of powers into branches of government not unlike the system Americans would later adopt. They found eager students who later became the founders of the American government.

John Locke

The single most important influence that shaped the founding of the United States comes from John Locke, a 17th century Englishman who redefined the nature of government. Although he agreed with Hobbes regarding the self-interested nature of humans, he was much more optimistic about their ability to use reason to avoid tyranny. In his Second Treatise of Government, Locke identified the basis of a legitimate government. According to Locke, a ruler gains authority through the consent of the governed. The duty of that government is to protect the natural rights of the people, which Locke believed to include life, liberty, and property. If the government should fail to protect these rights, its citizens would have the right to overthrow that government. This idea deeply influenced Thomas Jefferson as he drafted the Declaration of Independence.

Important English Documents

Ironically, the English political system provided the grist for the revolt of its own American colonies. For many centuries English monarchs had allowed restrictions to be placed on their ultimate power. The Magna Carta, written in 1215, established the kernel of limited government, or the belief that the monarch's rule was not absolute. Although the document only forced King John to consult nobles before he made arbitrary decisions like passing taxes, the Magna Carta provided the basis for the later development of Parliament. Over the years, representative government led by a Prime Minister came to control and eventually replace the king as the real source of power in Britain.

The ideas of the French Enlightenment philosophes strongly influenced the American revolutionaries. French intellectuals met in salons like this one to exchange ideas and define their ideals such as liberty, equality, and justice.

The Petition of Right (1628) extended the rights of "commoners" to have a voice in the government. The English Bill of Rights (1688) guaranteed free elections and rights for citizens accused of crime. Although King George III still had some real power in 1776, Britain was already well along on the path of democracy by that time.

The foundations of American government lie squarely in the 17th and 18th century European Enlightenment. The American founders were well versed in the writings of the philosophes, whose ideas influenced the shaping of the new country. Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, James Madison, and others took the brave steps of creating a government based on the Enlightenment values of liberty, equality, and a new form of justice. More than 200 years later, that government is still intact.

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This is where John Locke was from. John Locke believed that most humans are good. He is one of the philosophers that influenced the United States Founding Fathers!

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Liberty and equality.

These words represent basic values of democratic political systems, including that of the United States. Rule by absolute monarchs and emperors has often brought peace and order, but at the cost of personal freedoms. Democratic values support the belief that an orderly society can exist in which freedom is preserved. But order and freedom must be balanced.

In the early days of the French revolution, the members of the third estate agreed to stick together in the face of opposition from the king and nobles. The "Tennis Court Oath" became the first step towards representative democracy in France.

The Influence of the Enlightenment

The American government has its roots in the seventeenth and eighteenth century Enlightenment in Europe, a movement that questioned the traditional authority of the monarch to rule. What gives one person the right to rule another? Enlightenment philosophes answered the question by acknowledging the importance of establishing order. They were influenced by the chaos of medieval times, when a lack of centralized government brought widespread death and destruction. Havens from invaders and attackers were necessary for survival, so weaker people allied themselves with stronger ones, and kings came to rule who provided protection in return for work and allegiance from their subjects.

John Locke was the English philosopher who theorized that government was the manifestation of a general will of "the governed" that allowed the governed to change their governors at will. His book, Treatises on Civil Government, was very influential in the American revolution.

As order was established and new economic patterns emerged, people began to question the king's right to rule. For example, John Locke, an eighteenth century English philosopher, theorized that the right to rule came from the "consent of the governed." Montesquieu wrote with admiration about three "branches" of government that checked one another's power. Rousseau believed that communities were most justly governed by the "general will" or majority rule of their citizens. Though the philosophes believed that rulers were important for maintaining order, they questioned the sacrifice of individual freedom that they saw under European monarchs.

Two Kinds of Balance

Imagine a society in which everyone was perfectly free to do as he or she pleased. How long would it take for chaos to set in? Order implies a necessary loss of freedom if people are to survive. However, how far can order go? Democratic countries cherish individual freedom and generally believe that laws should not be repressive; a little order can be sacrificed in the name of liberty. So one kind of balance is between order and liberty.

Democratic societies also expect another kind of balance: a compromise between liberty and equality. Complete liberty logically leads to inequality. A strong or ambitious person might acquire more goods and property than another, and someone is bound to dominate. But the line has to be drawn before an individual seizes power that greatly restricts the liberties of others.

The ideals of the first French revolution also inspired the 1830 revolution in Paris. The ideas of "Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity" were immortalized in the three colors of the French flag. In Delacroix's painting, Liberty is seen leading the people toward these ideals.

Shouldn't governments help preserve some degree of equality for their citizens? But if they overemphasize equality, won't they restrict their citizens' liberty? For example, governments can bring about more equality by taxing rich citizens more than the poor, but if they carry their policies too far, won't they restrict the individual's freedom to strive for economic success? The balance between liberty and equality is an important cornerstone of democratic government.

In the late 18th century the Founders created the blueprints for the United States government in an effort to achieve these delicate balances - between liberty and order, and between liberty and equality. Their success is reflected in the continuing efforts to refine them. The formula has changed with time, but the framework provided by the Constitution and the values expressed by the Declaration of Independence remain the same.

Montesquieu: Spirit of the Laws
Charles de Secondat, Baron de Montesquieu was a researcher into French history and law, and in his book The Spirit of the Laws he presented his ideas on government. It is from Montesquieu that the founders of the United States received the idea of the separation of powers into branches of government. Read excerpts from Spirit of the Laws published by the Internet Modern History Sourcebook.

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Voltaire
Voltaire was another of the French philosophes who fomented the ideas that lay behind the American and French revolutions. This page by an independent Voltaire scholar has a biography of Voltaire, several articles on the thinker, and also electronic versions of two of his major works: the Philosophical Dictionary and Candide.

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The Declaration of the Rights of Man
The most important French revolutionary document about the values of democracy is The Declaration of the Rights of Man. It established the rights of citizens that could not be infringed upon by government, thus insuring liberty. Yale University provides this online version of the Declaration.

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Tocqueville
Alexis de Tocqueville was a French observer of American democracy. He found in his journeys across the new country that many of the ideas held dear by the democratic philosophers of France were working in America. Tocqueville published his observations in the book Democracy in America. C-SPAN, to celebrate Tocqueville's work and to celebrate democracy, presents this illustrated website that includes excerpts from Tocqueville's writings and interactive exhibits about his travels in America.

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Democratic Values - Liberty, Equality, Justice [ushistory.org]

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Liberty and equality. These words represent basic values of democratic political systems, including that of the United States. Rule by absolute monarchs and emperors has often brought peace and order, but at the cost of personal freedoms. Democratic values support the belief that an orderly society can exist in which freedom is preserved.

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The tribes that made up the Iroquois Confederacy had a form of government that influenced the United States Founding Fathers!

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Published: November 1, 2016

Alaka Wali, Curator of North American Anthropology, Negaunee Integrative Research Center

Alert

We are a nation built on the ideals of many, and Native North American contributions to our collective culture and society are immeasurable. The founders who wrote our U.S. Constitution, based on their democratic ideals, were influenced in part by Native American way of government.

The Iroquois Constitution, also known as the Great Law of Peace, is a great oral narrative that documents the formation of a League of Six Nations: Cayuga, Onondaga, Mohawk, Oneida, Seneca, and later on, the Tuscarora nations. The date of origin is contested, but it was well before the arrival of European settlers to America.

The constitution, also commemorated on Wampum (beads fashioned from the shells of whelks and quahog clams), included more than a few familiar concepts:

A restriction on holding dual offices

Processes to remove leaders within the confederacy

A bicameral legislature with procedures in place for passing laws

A delineation of power to declare war

A creation of a balance of power between the Iroquois Confederacy and individual tribes, according to later transcriptions.

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We are a nation built on the ideals of many, and Native North American contributions to our collective culture and society are immeasurable. The founders who wrote our U.S. Constitution, based on their democratic ideals, were influenced in part by Native American way of government.