How Roman Law Became the Foundation of the Criminal Justice System | National Humanities Center

Humanities in Class: Webinar Series

How Roman Law Became the Foundation of the Criminal Justice System

Ancient Rome; Legal History

Sarah E. Bond (Professor of History, University of Iowa)

April 13, 2021

How did Roman Law become the foundation for America’s criminal justice system? How did ancient Romans understand crime and punishment—and how did this influence the Founding Fathers in the United States? This webinar explores the ins and outs of law, crime, imprisonment, and capital punishment within ancient Roman society from 753 BCE to 565 CE, and then investigates how Roman law influenced American legislation. Embedded within the foundations of the American legal tradition lies many attitudes first developed in antiquity.

Subjects

History / Law / Ancient Rome / Legal History /