How inclusive (consider: religion, race, ethnicity, gender, wealth, etc.) were these human and civil rights during the Enlightenment and, most importantly, how justly were these ideas and laws applied throughout American history and how justly are they applied today?
The Enlightenment saw the reemergence of classical ideals of democracy first established in ancient Greece. The Anglo-American tradition of legal guarantees of rights dates back to the Magna Carta, or “Great Charter,” of 1215. In it King John of England guaranteed certain liberties to the free men of his kingdom. In 1628 the English Parliament […]