19th Century Transgressions
Samantha Noel
AP European History / Period 6
Mr. Kuester
31 October 2014
The Transgressions of European Crime and Punishment
From the 15th century through the 19th century, the attitude toward misdemeanors and their consequences changed over time, resulting in more morally just and socially beneficial codes. The power to decide what was just and unjust was decided by the nobles that governed the area, thus resulting in a multitude of varying laws for each territory. Not only was this confusing, but it was also exceedingly inefficient; if there is such a large variance in laws, what justification do the individuals delivering the punishments truly have? The standards of one or few, who are not sympathetic to the majority, are usually not …show more content…
A higher level of intellect was brought about by the Enlightenment, which allowed for the development of a higher reasoning in regards to the basis of a government’s laws. The law reform of this time period was fueled by the principles of “the rule of law, reason, liberty, and humanitarianism” (Wiegand). As opposed to the unjust and shallow nature of government codes to this point, the improvements of this era allowed more freedom than ever to common citizens. In early modern Europe, the definition of crimes were based upon religion, families, and clans early in history. Thus, there was no unity in any way in regard to what constituted a crime (Brackett). This shoddy system of social standards served little justice to the victims involved; those who broke the law were faced with certain punishment. Many early governments’ courts were ruled by the church, and so, the laws of that area were centered around the moral codes of the church. However, due to the Reformation, only Catholic countries had churchly authority (Brackett). The Protestant Reformation essentially split the Christian church- new sects of Christianity were created, including Protestants, Anabaptists, and Calvinists. This brought about a large amount of conflict among the new Christian churches. Unfortunately, the conflicts were mainly over very small details about showing one’s faith. Besides, the prejudice of homosexuals during this time was also an issue mainly due to the changes that happened within the church, which was the product of changes in society’s values (Halsall). The new set of values had little to do with faith at all; the members of the church let their personal opinions ooze into what was considered right. What was right was determined by those in power. Later on, the intolerance of homosexuals had reached a breaking point; they were constantly made aware that what they preferred was sinful, and their violations were be
AP European History / Period 6
Mr. Kuester
31 October 2014
The Transgressions of European Crime and Punishment
From the 15th century through the 19th century, the attitude toward misdemeanors and their consequences changed over time, resulting in more morally just and socially beneficial codes. The power to decide what was just and unjust was decided by the nobles that governed the area, thus resulting in a multitude of varying laws for each territory. Not only was this confusing, but it was also exceedingly inefficient; if there is such a large variance in laws, what justification do the individuals delivering the punishments truly have? The standards of one or few, who are not sympathetic to the majority, are usually not …show more content…
A higher level of intellect was brought about by the Enlightenment, which allowed for the development of a higher reasoning in regards to the basis of a government’s laws. The law reform of this time period was fueled by the principles of “the rule of law, reason, liberty, and humanitarianism” (Wiegand). As opposed to the unjust and shallow nature of government codes to this point, the improvements of this era allowed more freedom than ever to common citizens. In early modern Europe, the definition of crimes were based upon religion, families, and clans early in history. Thus, there was no unity in any way in regard to what constituted a crime (Brackett). This shoddy system of social standards served little justice to the victims involved; those who broke the law were faced with certain punishment. Many early governments’ courts were ruled by the church, and so, the laws of that area were centered around the moral codes of the church. However, due to the Reformation, only Catholic countries had churchly authority (Brackett). The Protestant Reformation essentially split the Christian church- new sects of Christianity were created, including Protestants, Anabaptists, and Calvinists. This brought about a large amount of conflict among the new Christian churches. Unfortunately, the conflicts were mainly over very small details about showing one’s faith. Besides, the prejudice of homosexuals during this time was also an issue mainly due to the changes that happened within the church, which was the product of changes in society’s values (Halsall). The new set of values had little to do with faith at all; the members of the church let their personal opinions ooze into what was considered right. What was right was determined by those in power. Later on, the intolerance of homosexuals had reached a breaking point; they were constantly made aware that what they preferred was sinful, and their violations were be