Section I:
1. History
Even in prehistoric time there were laws. They were passed down to generations by mouth. If someone murdered another person, it weakened the group. The murderer would either be killed, kicked out of the group, or have to take care of the family of the person they murdered. In France during the Middle Ages, it was not uncommon to force an accused criminal to submit to a "trial by combat". The person who was accused of the crime and the person who accused them of the crime fought. The person who lost was held to be guilty.
THE LAWS OF ANCIENT GREEKS
DRACO
Draco was hired to write new laws because there were thousands of poor people who could not earn a living because of debts they owed. Draco set up a specific legal system that had courts to deal with all cases. Draco gave people the right to vote who had never been able to vote before.
English: Montpetit Hall, University of Ottawa, Ott...
Solan district of Himachal Pradesh
19th century painting of lawyers, by French artist...The problems with Draco's laws were that the punishments were too strict. Death was the punishment for almost any crime, even petty theft. Any man who did not have a job, could not vote. If the man with no job was from a foreign country, he was killed. Any law today that is harsh would be called Draconian because of Draco's cruel punishments.
SOLAN
There seemed to be a revolt forming because of Draco's laws. Solan was hired to make new laws. Solan was a wealthy man and was known for being honest. He traveled to other countries to see what kind of laws the people had there. Solan set up a new government that had a Council and an Assembly. The Council had four hundred members that were elected by people. Citizens who wanted to participate...