Hammurabi's Code
Maya Church
Mr. Harris
4B
8-16-13
Hammurabi’s Code: Was it Just?
In the early 18th century, a guy by the name of Hammurabi made up Hammurabi’s Code. Hammurabi’s Code includes laws, punishments, and rewards. These laws cover subjects such as family life, agriculture, theft and professional standards (doc A). Is Hammurabi’s Code really just? In my opinion there is not an exact answer to this question simply because there are some laws that I think are pretty fair and some I highly think are not just. One of Hammurabi’s important topics that he covers in the laws is family life. One law states, “if a son has struck his father, his hands shall be cut off”(doc C, law 195). Personally I think this law is too harsh of a punishment because even though the son has tried to harm their parent they probably realized they were wrong but back in there period this law probably appropriate. Law 129 in document C states if a women cheats with another man her and the person she cheated with should be thrown into water. I think this law is pretty fair because back then it was almost forbidden to cheat and even in our days it’s a huge problem when people cheat. Family Laws are a prime example of how people can see both fairness and unfairness in Hammurabi’s Code. Hammurabi’s Code includes property laws which are the set of laws that dealt with personal property and theft situations. Law 53 and 54 deal with flooding a neighbor’s field and how the person that flooded the neighbor’s field should reimburse the crop that was damaged (document D). Most people think this law is just including myself because I believe whatever you damage you should always pay it back because that is whats fair. One law discussed how a man doesn’t have to pay his creditor if his crops are damaged due to a storm or flooding (document D). This law isn’t just because I think the creditor still needs the money because that is a fair deal. The most fair law in property laws is a law that
Mr. Harris
4B
8-16-13
Hammurabi’s Code: Was it Just?
In the early 18th century, a guy by the name of Hammurabi made up Hammurabi’s Code. Hammurabi’s Code includes laws, punishments, and rewards. These laws cover subjects such as family life, agriculture, theft and professional standards (doc A). Is Hammurabi’s Code really just? In my opinion there is not an exact answer to this question simply because there are some laws that I think are pretty fair and some I highly think are not just. One of Hammurabi’s important topics that he covers in the laws is family life. One law states, “if a son has struck his father, his hands shall be cut off”(doc C, law 195). Personally I think this law is too harsh of a punishment because even though the son has tried to harm their parent they probably realized they were wrong but back in there period this law probably appropriate. Law 129 in document C states if a women cheats with another man her and the person she cheated with should be thrown into water. I think this law is pretty fair because back then it was almost forbidden to cheat and even in our days it’s a huge problem when people cheat. Family Laws are a prime example of how people can see both fairness and unfairness in Hammurabi’s Code. Hammurabi’s Code includes property laws which are the set of laws that dealt with personal property and theft situations. Law 53 and 54 deal with flooding a neighbor’s field and how the person that flooded the neighbor’s field should reimburse the crop that was damaged (document D). Most people think this law is just including myself because I believe whatever you damage you should always pay it back because that is whats fair. One law discussed how a man doesn’t have to pay his creditor if his crops are damaged due to a storm or flooding (document D). This law isn’t just because I think the creditor still needs the money because that is a fair deal. The most fair law in property laws is a law that