Please let me know if I am missing something from the story. Originally, people had rights only because of their membership in a group, such as a family. Then, in 539 BC, Cyrus the Great, after conquering the city of Babylon, did something totally unexpected—he freed all slaves to return home. Moreover, he declared people should choose their own religion. The Cyrus Cylinder, a clay tablet containing his statements, is the first human rights declaration in history. Major pointsThe idea of human rights spread quickly to India, Greece and eventually Rome. The most important advances since then have included:9th Century :Legal codes of Alfred 1100: Charter of Liberties - set out the bind the king to certain laws. 1215: The Magna Carta—gave people new rights and made the king subject to the law. 1217: Charter of forests - In contrast to Magna Carta, which dealt with the rights of barons, it provided some real rights, privileges and protections for the common man against the abuses of the encroaching aristocracy 1628: The Petition of Right—set out the rights of the people. 1641: Grand Remonstrance 1689: Bill of rights 1776: The United States Declaration of Independence—proclaimed the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. 1789: The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen—a document of France, stating that all citizens are equal under the law. 1948: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights—the first document listing the 30 rights to which everyone is entitled. Magna Carta meaning "Great charter" outlined basic rights with the principle that no one was above the law, including the king. It charted the right to a fair trial, and limits on taxation without representation. No-one should be imprisoned without lawful judgement. It inspired a number of other documents, including the US Constitution and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights Reform acts1729 - Bribery Act Passed to address corruption in elections 1832 - Representation of the People Act (the first 'Reform Act') Extends vote to men meeting property qualification, reduces 'rotten boroughs' and redistributes Parliamentary seats to better represent urban areas 1867 - Representation of the People Act (the second 'Reform Act') Extends vote to urban working men meeting property qualification 1872 - Ballot Act Introduces the secret ballot at elections 1883 - Corrupt and Illegal Practices Act 1883 Effectively ended serious corruption in British elections 1884 - Representation of the People Act (the third 'Reform Act') Addresses imbalance between men's votes in boroughs and counties One man one vote. Suffrage for all men. 1885 - Redistribution Act Boundaries redrawn to produce equal electoral districts. Single member seats become the norm Although many did not have a vote, they could petition their MP. Women and voting1832 The Great Reform Act excludes women from the electorate by defining voters as 'male persons' 1832 First petition on women's suffrage presented to Parliament 1867 First debate on women's suffrage in Parliament, led by John Stuart Mill 1884 Women campaign to be included in the Third Reform Act, without success 1889 The Women's Franchise League is formed and aims to win the vote for married women as well as single and widowed women 1897 Formation of the National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies (NUWSS), led by Millicent Fawcett (1847-1929), drawing together peaceful campaign groups under one banner 1903 The Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU) is founded in Manchester by Emmeline Pankhurst (1858-1928) 1905 Suffragette militancy begins 1907 The Women's Freedom League is formed after a break from the WSPU 1908 Hunger striking by Marion Wallace-Dunlop adopted as a WSPU strategy 1909 Forcible-feeding begins 1910-1912 Parliament considers various 'Conciliation Bills' which would have given some women the vote, but none pass 1911 The suffragette Emily Wilding Davison (1872-1913) hides in a cupboard in the House of Commons on census night 1913 The Prisoners' Temporary Discharge for Ill-Health Act, also known as 'The Cat and Mouse Act', is introduced, targeting suffragettes on hunger-strike 1914 Britain declares war on Germany on 4 August. During the war years, 1914-18, an estimated two million women replace men in traditionally male jobs 1916 A conference on electoral reform, chaired by the House of Commons Speaker, is set up and reports in 1917. Limited women's suffrage is recommended 1918 The Representation of the People Act is passed on 6 February giving women the vote provided they are aged over 30 and either they, or their husband, meet a property qualification 1918 The Parliament (Qualification of Women) Act is passed on 21 November allowing women to stand for Parliament 1918 Women vote in a general election for the first time on 14 December with 8.5 million women eligible 1928 The Equal Franchise Act is passed giving women equal voting rights with men. All women aged over 21 can now vote in elections. Fifteen million women are eligible 1929 On 30 May women aged between 21 and 29 vote for the first time. This general election is sometimes referred to as the Flapper Election ChartistsIn 1838 a People's Charter was drawn up for the London Working Men's Association (LWMA) by Thomas Lovett and Francis Place, two self-educated radicals, in consultation with other members of LWMA. The Charter had six demands: All men to have the vote (universal manhood suffrage)
1838 The People's Charter drawn up for the London Working Men's Association 1839 - First Chartist petition presented to House of Commons 1842 Second Chartist petition presented to House of Commons 1848 Third Chartist petition presented to House of Commons 1867 Representation of the People Act (the second Reform Act) extends vote to urban working men meeting property qualification 1872 Ballot Act introduces the secret ballot at elections 1883 Corrupt and Illegal Practices Act 1883 effectively ends serious corruption in British elections 1884 Representation of the People Act (the third Reform Act) addresses imbalance between men's votes in boroughs and counties 1885 Redistribution Act boundaries redrawn to produce equal electoral districts. Single member seats become the norm 1918 Representation of the People Act extends vote to all men over 21 and most women over 30 1920 Government of Ireland Act 1920 and the Irish Free State Agreement Act 1922 creates the Irish Free State and reduces the number of seats for Irish constituencies at Westminster from 105 to 13 constituencies in Northern Ireland. 1928 Representation of the People Act extends vote to all women over 21 1944 House of Commons (Redistribution of Seats) Act established four permanent boundary commissions for the UK and a regular system for reviewing constituency boundaries. 1969 Representation of the People Act extends vote to men and women over 18 2008 Voting Age (Reduction) Bill - a Private Members' Bill - to reduce voting age to 16 and over. Bill does not become law. LinksReferences |
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