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Taoism introduced the idea of natural law to civilizations. Natural law is all about rules that exist in the world regardless of human influence.
This idea led opened the door to holding leaders accountable. If all humans have to obey natural laws, why shouldn't leaders obey human laws?
Rome
Rome
From 509 BC to 27 BC, nearly 500 years, Rome was a republic. This was a more advanced version of the type of democracy used in Athens, Greece.
It fell apart when they appointed Octavius to be "dictator." Roman law allowed for a temporary dictator in times of emergency. When Octavius was appointed as dictator, he never gave up his emergency powers and he transformed the republic into a dictatorship.
Magna Carta
Magna Carta
The Magna Carta was signed in 1215 AD, over 1,200 years after the fall of the Roman Republic and over 800 years before now. The major part of this agreement was that the King agreed to be accountable to laws.
This was a huge deal - for once, the leader had rules. It would take a while longer for the agreement to really work, but the Magna Carta marked a milestone for the Rule of Law.
United States
United States
In 1776, the 13 colonies declared independence from King George III. They established a federal republic based on many ideas from Rome and the Rule of Law established in the Magna Carta.
After a Civil War that lasted four years, the United States grew into an industrial powerhouse and a global superpower. A union of 50 states, the United States of America has combined some of the best ideas from history and enjoyed nearly 250 years of success. The Roman Republic lasted 500 years - what lies ahead in America's next 250 years?
Just as Greece and Rome had flaws, the US has its history of successes and failures. Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis described America as a "laboratory of democracy" - what will it take for this experiment to succeed? After all, success is not guaranteed.
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