Civil society/Timelines

Timeline for Civil Society

A sequence of significant events in the evolution of the idea of civil society.

1767

Adam Ferguson's Essay on the History of Civil Society is published in Edinburgh, Scotland.

1776

Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations is published in Edinburgh.

The American revolution began.

1789

French Revolution.

1822

George W.F. Hegel published Elements of the Philosophy of Right, containing his discussion of civil society, in German.

1832

Alexis de Tocqueville and Gustave de Beaumont visit the United States to study the penitentiary system.

1845

Tocqueville's De la démocratie en Amérique is published in Paris.

1848

Revolution of 1848.

1862

The first English-language edition of Democracy in America is published in Cambridge MA by Sever and Francis.

1901

Voluntary association is legalized in France.

1943

In WV Board of Education vs. Barnett, the Supreme Court ruled that the the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution meant that students whose religious beliefs were opposed could not be forced to salute the American flag or recite the Pledge of Allegiance in school.

1945

The Bradley, Reeve and Bowen translation of Tocqueville's Democracy in America is published by A.A. Knopf in New York. It contains the specific language that most English speakers regard as Tocqueville's original language.

1948

Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by the United Nations on December 10. (See the official website for the declaration).

1990

Activism by Solidarity led to semi-free elections in Poland. The resulting coalition government was one of the major steps in the emergence of civil society in central and eastern Europe.

2000

In Boy Scouts of America v. Dale, the U.S. Supreme Court held that applying New Jersey’s public accommodations law to require the Boy Scouts to accept an openly gay but otherwise qualified scoutmaster violates the Boy Scouts’ First Amendment right of expressive association.

2001

Robert Putnam's Bowling Alone: The collapse and revival of american community is published in the U.S.