Liberalism - History

History

Liberalism as a political movement spans the better part of the last four centuries, though the use of the word liberalism to refer to a specific political doctrine did not occur until the 19th century. Perhaps the first modern state founded on liberal principles, with no hereditary aristocracy, was The United States of America, whose Declaration of Independence states that "all men are created equal and endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights. among these life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness," echoing John Locke's phrase "life, liberty, and property". A few years later, the French Revolution overthrew the hereditary aristocracy, with the slogan "liberty, equality, fraternity", and was the first state in history to grant universal male suffrage. The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, first codified in 1789 in France, is a foundational document of both liberalism and human rights.

While liberal ideas were advocated by many early thinkers, including Marcus Aurelius, Cardinal Cajetan, and the School of Salamanca, most historians trace the beginnings of liberal political government to a reaction to the religious wars gripping Europe during the 16th and 17th centuries, especially in France. The Enlightenment, which challenged tradition, eventually coalesced into powerful revolutionary movements that toppled archaic regimes all over the world, especially in Europe, Latin America, and North America. Liberalism fully exploded as a comprehensive movement against the old order during the French Revolution, which set the pace for the future development of human history.