Lesson 1 -Early Human Rights Issues

Del’s Dozen Critical Moments in the History of Human Rights

539 B.C.: The Cyrus Cylinder - the first statement on human rights.

27 BC: Roman Empire and Natural Law - established the idea of rights that you are born with.

1215 AD: The Magna Carta—gave people new rights and made the king subject to the law.

1628 AD: The Petition of Right—set out the rights of the people.

1689 AD: British Bill of Rights - gave people power over the King & Queen of England.

1776 AD: The United States Declaration of Independence—proclaimed the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

1789 AD: The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen—a document of France, stating that all citizens are equal under the law.

1791 AD: U.S Bill of Rights - established rights for white men in the United States.

1931 Gandhi-Irwin Pact - a peace document between Britain and India

1945 Establishment of the UN - the foundation of the collective international body of governance.

1947 India & Pakistan win Independence from Britain - Colonized win freedom from the colonizer

1948 AD: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights—the first document listing the 30 rights to which everyone is entitled.