Published for the first time in 1904, The Evolution of Modern Liberty was originally intended to be a comparison study of the American and French bills of rights. However, Scherger expanded his volume into much more—a timeless look at the modern idea of liberty and the steps taken to get there. A fragment of history in and of itself, this classic of early twentieth-century historical study is a must-have for the collection of any history or political buff. Coming up on its 110th year of publication, this volume is a fascinating insight on the notion of liberty, published during a time when it was still unfolding. Skyhorse Publishing, as well as our Arcade imprint, are proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in history--books about World War II, the Third Reich, Hitler and his henchmen, the JFK assassination, conspiracies, the American Civil War, the American Revolution, gladiators, Vikings, ancient Rome, medieval times, the old West, and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home. George L. Scherger graduated from Indiana University, studied at the University of Leipzig and the University of Berlin, and received his doctorate from Cornell. From 1899 until 1933, he was a professor of history at Chicago’s Armour Institute of Technology (now Illinois Institute of Technology). Beginning in 1915, he also taught English and English literature at Columbia College in Chicago, later serving as dean of several departments and then as president from 1927 to 1929. He was a Lutheran pastor and a musician as well. The Evolution of Modern Liberty An Insightful Story of the Birth of American Freedom and How It Spread Overseas By George L. Scherger Skyhorse Publishing Copyright © 1904 George L. Scherger All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-1-62914-390-3 Contents INTRODUCTION, PART I THE HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT OF NATURAL LAW, CHAPTER I ANTIQUITY AND THE MIDDLE AGES, CHAPTER II THE SIXTEENTH AND SEVENTEENTH CENTURIES, CHAPTER III THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY, PART II HISTORY OF THE DOCTRINE OF THE SOVEREIGNTY OF THE PEOPLE, CHAPTER IV ANTIQUITY AND THE MIDDLE AGES, CHAPTER V THE REFORMATION AND THE MONARCHOMACHISTS, CHAPTER VI INDEPENDENTS, LEVELLERS, AND WHIGS, CHAPTER VII ROUSSEAU, PART III THE AMERICAN BILLS OF RIGHTS, CHAPTER VIII THE POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS AND DOCTRINES OF THE AMERICAN COLONISTS, CHAPTER IX THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION AND THE BILLS OF RIGHTS, PART IV THE FRENCH DECLARATION OF THE RIGHTS OF MAN AND OF THE CITIZEN, CHAPTER X FRANCE AND THE PRINCIPLES OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION, CHAPTER XI THE CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY AND THE DECLARATION OF THE RIGHTS OF MAN AND OF THE CITIZEN, CHAPTER XII THE EFFECTS OF THE DECLARATION OF THE RIGHTS OF MAN, CHAPTER 1 ANTIQUITY AND THE MIDDLE AGES BEFORE taking up the history of Natural Law it may be well to show how Natural Law differs from Positive Law on the one hand and from Moral Law on the other. The Moral Law deals with such actions as tend to promote the interests of society or else to become detrimental to its welfare. Actions are morally right or wrong with reference to the individuals composing society, according as they are good or bad for society as a whole. Positive Law includes the enactments of a particular government, enjoining certain actions upon the citizens and prohibiting others. Laws of Nature follow from the nature of things and are not dependent upon any particular form of society or government. They are universal rules of action, discovered by natural reason. They form the ideal according to which men should fashion their actions. Of these three classes of laws one is set down by society and forms the Right; the second is prescribed by the government and forms the Law; the third is discovered by reason as Good. While in any particular instance all three may coincide, there is the possibility of a conflict. The ancient Greeks were fond of speculating about the origin and meaning of Law. They first of all peoples developed the conception of Natural Law. The germs of the conception of Natural Law are contained in the teaching of Heraclitus, whose influence reached its height about 460 B.C. The central thought of his system is the view that all things are in a state of incessant flow. Yet in this world of constant change there prevails an immutable and reasonable law to which all things are subject. This divine law or common reason illumines also the mind of man. All human wisdom is but an imitation of Nature and the Divinity. This divine law should guide not only the individual, but also the State. Human laws are but the efflux of the divine laws. Heraclitus is the first philosopher who believes in the Logos or rational world-soul — the eternal, all-comprehensive order of things. This conception of the Logos ha