Cesare Beccaria was an Italian legal reformer. He wrote On Crimes and Punishments during the Enlightenment in the 18th century (Kishlansky, Mark; Geary, Patrick; O'Brian, Patricia. Unfinished Legacy: A Brief History of Western Civilization, p.432, and 436). It had a very large impact on European law. It was also the first published reformation on the treatment of crimes committed and how these crimes should be punished. The ideas presented in On Crimes and Punishments slowly made their way through other civilizations and consequently had a substantial impact on the laws of future societies. After this document was published, the laws of a state, the crimes committed by criminals, and the punishments dealt to the criminals were written, and handled in an entirely different light than in the past.
             One of Beccaria's main reasons for recording On Crimes and Punishments was to institute happiness within a society. The definition of happiness, used by Beccaria, comes from "If personal good was pleasure, then social good was happiness (Unfinished Legacy p.436)." It was said by Francis Hutcheson that the object of government was "the greatest happiness of the greatest number (Unfinished Legacy p.436)." This principle was the core of Beccaria's thoughts in On Crimes and Punishments. It also reflects a little bit of democracy, which was the government basis of the future United States. Beccaria also used this document to make more fair judgments for the criminal and victim, and the punishments were to act as deterrents rather than as retribution (Unfinished Legacy p.436).
             The statement about happiness was very important because a few year later, in 1796, there was the American Declaration of Independence, and in it contained a statement "...life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness (Unfinished Legacy P.436)." These three things were the
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