Schoolcraft College

Portfolio Reflection
Laws of our Ancient Ancestors Shape Society Today

Trevor McKersie
History 134
Professor Masters
December 14, 2014

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Laws have been around for as long as time had people in charge of others whether it be a
king, a dictator or a president. There were always laws there to help a group of people become
more than savages but become a civilization. If history has taught us anything it is that it will
repeat itself and the best defense is knowledge of the past. Knowing of what happened in history
is part of what being a human is and what we take away from it will give us better understanding
of what to prepare for. Laws were created to bring order although some led to chaos it would
eventually be known from history and the mistakes of our ancestors the best laws and the laws
that were useless. Laws had a system to process through what ones were good and the others that
were bad and some that would work at the time but not today in our society. Looking back on the
past one of the greatest laws created around 1772 B.C. Hammurabis code was created, this was
one of the first universal laws people had to follow1. Then came the torah a book based on the
Jewish faith that had religion and laws mixed together. After came the great civilizations of
Greece which led to the creation of the republic of Rome. All of these past influences sparked a
revolution of laws that today we see as propositions or bills being passed through congress.
Hammurabi was a king in ancient Babylonian times he was the sixth king of the Amorite
dynasty the first dynasty in Babylon1. His rule wasnt fierce but fair in an area that had multiple
cultures dissolved together and working as a community. This led to bloody feuds and vendettas
through racism of other cultures. Hammurabi knew he could create a fair system and he did he
created a set of laws most famously known as Hammurabis code. This code was about fairness
and equal justice. although to most it would seem very barbaric in todays society, it got the job
done. His code created retributive justice and a system where more people used evidence of a
1

Mark, Joshua. "Hammurabi." Ancient History Encyclopedia. Ancient History, 12 Nov. 2011.

Web. 9 Dec. 2014. <http://www.ancient.eu/hammurabi/>.

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crime to pursue punishment than just taking their rage upon an innocent man1. This would
change the world of laws and bring justice to those who have truly committed a crime.
This leads to the effect of what the Torah had done in ancient society, it created a set of
laws that people believed would grant them access to heaven from under one god. These rules
are still here today and many Jews still abide by these rules. They may not deal out punishment
like the used to when someone breaks these laws but they do bring a certain person happiness
who follows them to truly become a part of their religion. The torah is comprised of five books
known as the Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. These books create a
narrative and lessons on worship. In Genesis there are the stories of the primeval history, Jacob,
Abraham and Joseph. Then the Exodus has the story written about Moses and the exodus of the
Jews from Egypt which leads to Leviticus and its teachings of clean and unclean living2. The
clean and unclean living standards set what life is meant to be about and what is sinful and
would make some not accepted into heaven. Which leads to the Numbers book and
Deuteronomy which translates from the Greek word deuteronomion or second law. This book
shows little narrative but mainly gives life goals and the pursuit of the Jewish faith2. These laws
changed history for the better to have faith and become something greater than yourself. It
created peace amongst people and a higher level of life, this is what laws do today in our society
extend our beliefs in the system that it will work out in the end.
Throughout ancient Greece and Rome there were laws created these laws took into
consideration the balance between justice and fairness with the type of punishment that would fit
the crime. These type of governments would also foreshadow our type of government and how
2

King, Justin. "Torah." Ancient History Encyclopedia. Ancient History, 9 May 2012. Web. 9

Dec. 2014. <http://www.ancient.eu/Torah/>.

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the United States uses laws through a system of checks and balances. In Athens the democracy
puts everyone equal before the law, having assemblies to talk about laws and what to vote on3. In
roman society there were only two high ranking classes that ever truly got real freedom which
were the consuls and the equestrians, also known as knights, this wouldnt measure up to the
type of freedom that has been in place today but truly these two civilizations paved the path to
democracy4. Both Greece and Rome truly created something different and although it may not
have been ideal living conditions at the time it started the spark that ignited our passion for
democracy and the power to the people we hold true today.
Through out this history class I have learned that throughout much of history it has all
brought us to this point in time no matter how barbaric, how ugly, or how disturbing things got it
all shaped our society to create what we see today. Throughout time laws have been through a
system of trial and error, learning from the mistakes of our ancestors we try to create a society
that uses laws to the greatest extent to extend our freedom. The issues in today's society is how
far will tolerance need to be? Is there a point where when someone is tolerated it infringes on
someone else's freedoms? In the future looking back on these issues people will feel like the
solution was simple and not think anything of it. At this point in time we see that with the
revolutionary war or with how Greece and Rome's try at giving the government didn't work and
it ended in chaos. The point is that life is filled with laws that we owe to our ancient ancestors
without their dedication and trials of error we would see a world very different. If the Greeks
3

Cartwright, Mark. "Greek Government." Ancient History Encyclopedia. Ancient History, 17

Mar. 2013. Web. 9 Dec. 2014. <http://www.ancient.eu/Greek_Government/>.

4

Kamm, Antony. "The Romans." The Classics Pages: Antony Kamm's '': 2.1 State Officials.

Taylor & Francis Books. Web. 9 Dec.2014.<http://www.the-romans.co.uk/officials.htm>.

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never truly gave democracy a try or if the Torah was never created and then if Hammurabi never
was born to create his code. This would spark a chain reaction and create a different society than
the one I know today. I am thankful for what history has taught me and my hope is that someday
we will have the answers to the questions today and people can learn from our mistakes as well.

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Works Cited
Mark, Joshua. "Hammurabi." Ancient History Encyclopedia. Ancient History, 12 Nov. 2011.
Web. 9 Dec. 2014. <http://www.ancient.eu/hammurabi/>.
Throughout Joshuas article he gives a description about Hammurabi and his crowning
achievement the Hammurabi code. These set of rules were eye for an eye very primitive
in todays society but this really created punishment for your actions. It created a way for
people to settle their differences.
King, Justin. "Torah." Ancient History Encyclopedia. Ancient History, 9 May 2012. Web. 9 Dec.
2014. <http://www.ancient.eu/Torah/>.
Justin had described the Torah being the Jewish bible for the Jewish faith and its place
in history. Throughout the years this book has taught people lessons more and more times
over. It helped through creating laws of the Jewish faith of what not to do and what to do,
this kind of help from religion had never been done before it was a new pathway for laws.
Cartwright, Mark. "Greek Government." Ancient History Encyclopedia. Ancient History, 17
Mar. 2013. Web. 9 Dec. 2014. <http://www.ancient.eu/Greek_Government/>.
Mark had described the democracy of ancient Greece mainly Athens having laws created
to fit the needs of people as a whole and to create a society that was truly made by the
people. Although some of Athens had slaves and mistreated women the main thing to
pull away from their society was the laws they had created to make everyone equal.
This would help establish our United States constitution.

Kamm, Antony. "The Romans." The Classics Pages: Antony Kamm's '': 2.1 State Officials.
Taylor & Francis Books. Web. 9 Dec.2014.<http://www.the-romans.co.uk/officials.htm>.
During much of ancient Roman society they had a republic which meant commonwealth

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and the rule for the people. This didnt necessarily hold true since a lot of men and
women were enslaved at the time the laws were mixed up but the messages these laws
meant helped shaped todays society. It created laws that may not have truly helped
anyone but in todays society a world where everyone lives truly free is great gratitude to
the laws that this civilization created.