"While belief in the sanctity of human life has ancient precedents in many religions of the world, the foundations of modern human rights began during the era of renaissance humanism in the early modern period."
The study of human rights and their historical evolution in various societies and cultures.
Natural Law: The idea that all humans have inherent rights and freedoms that are not granted by any legal system or government.
Enlightenment: The era in the 18th century characterized by the dominant intellectual movement of the time which emphasized reason, science, individualism, and free will.
Declaration of Independence: The document declaring the United States independence from Great Britain in 1776, which famously declared that 'all men are created equal.'.
French Revolution: A period of radical social and political upheaval in France from 1789 to 1799, which had a profound impact on the development of human rights.
Abolitionism: The movement to end the transatlantic slave trade and slavery in general, which gained traction in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.
Industrial Revolution: A period of rapid industrialization and urbanization from the late 18th to the mid-19th centuries, which had significant social and economic impacts on society.
Women's Suffrage: The movement to secure voting rights for women, which gained momentum in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Universal Declaration of Human Rights: A landmark document adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1948, which sets out a broad range of civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights that are considered fundamental to all human beings.
Civil Rights Movement: A series of social and political movements that sought to end racial segregation and discrimination against African Americans, which gained steam in the 1950s and 60s.
Feminism: The movement for gender equality and the rights of women, which has its roots in the 19th century but gained significant momentum in the 20th.
"The European wars of religion and the civil wars of seventeenth-century Kingdom of England gave rise to the philosophy of liberalism and belief in natural rights."
"Natural rights became a central concern of European intellectual culture during the eighteenth-century Age of Enlightenment."
"Ideas of natural rights, which had a basis in natural law, lay at the core of the American and French Revolutions which occurred toward the end of that century."
"Democratic evolution through the nineteenth century paved the way for the advent of universal suffrage in the twentieth century."
"Two world wars led to the creation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights."
"The post-war era saw movements arising from specific groups experiencing a shortfall in their rights, such as feminism and the civil rights of African Americans."
"The human rights movements of members of the Soviet bloc emerged in the 1970s."
"Workers' rights movements in the West."
"Social activism and political rhetoric in many nations put human rights high on the world agenda."
"By the 21st century, the human rights movement expanded beyond its original anti-totalitarianism to include numerous causes involving humanitarianism and social and economic development in the Developing World."
"The history of human rights has been complex."
"Many established rights, for instance, would be replaced by other systems which deviate from their original western design."
"Stable institutions may be uprooted such as in cases of conflict such as war and terrorism or a change in culture."
"While belief in the sanctity of human life has ancient precedents in many religions of the world..."
"The European wars of religion and the civil wars of seventeenth-century Kingdom of England gave rise to the philosophy of liberalism and belief in natural rights."
"Ideas of natural rights, which had a basis in natural law, lay at the core of the American and French Revolutions."
"Democratic evolution through the nineteenth century paved the way for the advent of universal suffrage in the twentieth century, leading to the expansion of the human rights movement."
"The post-war era saw movements arising from specific groups experiencing a shortfall in their rights, such as feminism and the civil rights of African Americans."
"By the 21st century, the human rights movement expanded beyond its original anti-totalitarianism to include numerous causes involving humanitarianism and social and economic development in the Developing World."