Time Line
2350 BC  Urukagina's Code:   This code has never been discovered, but it is mentioned in other documents and laws laid down by Mesopotamian Kings.  This code confirmed that the "King was appointed by the Gods."
1850 BC  The Earliest Known Legal Decision:   The earliest known legal decision was a murder case.  A woman was not happy with her husband, so she had three men kill him. The men were executed in front of the victim's house, but the woman was spared. 
2[1].jpg (19678 bytes)1700 BC  Hammurabi's Code:   Hammurabi developed 282 laws that were carved on a huge rock column. Hammurabi's laws are considered harsh by today's standards.  By example, for stealing you would cut off the finger or hand of the thief. There was no 13th law because then, as now, the number 13 was considered to be unlucky. Laws 66 to 100 are missing to this day because the tablets were never found. 
1300 BC  The Ten Commandments:   Most people think of the Ten Commandments as religious rules, but some Commandments are laws today.  Two commandments that are still laws today are thou shalt not kill and thou shalt not steal. 
339 BC  The Trial of Socrates:   After the Athenians lost the Peloponnesian Wars, some conservative Athenians blamed Socrates for corrupting their youth.  They brought Socrates to trial and found the 70 year old philospher guilty and he was executed .  Socrate's teachings are still taught today.
604 AD  The Seventeen Article Constitution of Japan:   This Article is the exact opposite of how the United States and Europe write laws.   In the United States and Europe, laws are written to resolve disputes, while "Oriental Law" seeks to prevent disputes.   These laws sometimes sound like parents talking to children, by example "peace and harmony should be respected because they are very important for intergroup relationships." 
1215 AD Magna Carta:   The Magna Carta forced the British Royal Family to give the power to the noblemen and property owners of England. The British goverment is still run by this document today.  The King and Queen of England can't legislate law even today. 
1689 AD The English Bill Rights:The English Bill of Rights was the precursor to the American Bill of Rights and set strict limits on the Royal family. It also limited the right to raise taxes only through Parliment. 
1740 AD South Carolina Slave Code:   South Carolina was the first state to put slave laws on the book.   These laws included not just African American, but Native Americans.  This  infamous legislation made use of slaves for other states.
1776 AD The American Declaration of Independence:   "We the people" starts the Declaration of Independence, which was proclaimed on July 4, 1776.  We declared our independence from Great Britrian rule and the thirteen individul colonies came united as one.
1804 Napoleonic Code:  This law also included Roman Law.  The code became a model for the Civil War.  Perhaps the most important aspect of the code was the fact that the laws were written in a non-technical style and thus more accessible to the public. 
1865 AD The Thirteenth Amendment:   By this change to the American Consititution, slavery was abolished in the U.S.
1948 The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT):   The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade was developed by the United Nations and has served as a catalyst for the lifting of legal barriers against the free movement of goods and services of people.

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