Since Herodotus' first annotations of history simply for the purpose of ensuring that "the great deeds of man may not be forgotten", there have been many developments in the reasons behind historical enquiry. As John Tosh outlined in "The Pursuit of History", humanity has changed its theories regarding the purpose of history from seeking understanding of our fate as determined by God, to the belief that we determined our own fate and later that history …showed first 75 words of 1016 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1016 total…the social responsibility of governments to their people have shaped much of the Western world today. Due to this moral progress, society has demanded more from governing bodies in terms of protecting the rights of the people, with the U.N. Declaration of Human Rights, anti-discrimination acts and the work of prominent human rights advocates such as Martin Luther King Jr. and Mahatma Gandhi being recognised as the pillars upon which modern society are based.