Part I
Growth of Intelligence through Inventions and Discoveries

Chapter I. Ethnical Periods

Progress of Mankind from, the Bottom of the Scale. — Illustrated by, Inventions, Discoveries and Institutions. — Two Plans of Government — one Gentile and Social, giving a Society (Societas); the other Political, giving a State (Civitas). — The former founded upon Persons and Gentilism; the Latter upon Territory and Property. — The First, the Plan of Government of Ancient Society. — The Second, that of Modern or Civilized Society. — Uniformity of Human Experience. — Proposed Ethnical Periods — I. Lower Status of Savagery; II. Middle Status of Savagery; III. Upper Status of Savagery; IV. Lower Status of Barbarism; V. Middle Status of Barbarism VI. Upper Status of Barbarism; VII. Status of Civilization.

Chapter II. Arts of Subsistence

Supremacy of Mankind over the Earth. — Control over Subsistence the Condition. — Mankind alone gained that Control. — Successive Arts of Subsistence — I. Natural Subsistence; II. Fish Subsistence; III. Farinaceous Subsistence; IV. Meat and Milk Subsistence; V. Unlimited Subsistence through Field Agriculture. — Long Intervals of Time between them.

Chapter III. Ratio of Human Progress

Retrospect on the Lines of Human Progress. — Principal Contributions of Modern Civilization. — Of Ancient Civilization. — Of Later Period of Barbarism. — Of Middle Period, — Of Older Period — Of Period of Savagery. — Humble Condition of Primitive Man. — Human Progress in a Geometrical Ratio. — Relative Length of Ethnical Periods. — Appearance of Semitic and Aryan Families.

Part II
Growth of the Idea of Government

Chapter I. Organization of Society upon the Basis of Sex

Australian Classes. — Organized upon Sex. — Archaic Character of the Organization. — Australian Gentes. — The Eight Classes. — Rule of Marriage. — Descent in the Female Line. — Stupendous Conjugal Systems — Two Male and Two Female Classes in each Gens. — Innovations upon the Classes. — Gens still Rudimentary.

Chapter II. The Iroquois Gens

The Gentile Organization. — Its Wide Prevalence. — Definition of a Gens. — Descent in the Female Line the Archaic Rule. — Rights, Privileges and Obligations of Members of a Gens. — Right of Electing and Deposing its Sachem and Chiefs. — Obligations not to marry in the Gens. — Mutual Rights of Inheritance of the Property of deceased Members. — Reciprocal Obligations or Help, Defence and Redress of injuries — Right of Naming its Members — Rights of Adopting Strangers into the Gens — Common Religious Rites, Query. — A Common Burial Place. — Council of the Gens — Gentes named after Animals. — Number of Persons in a Gens.

Chapter III. The Iroquois Phratry

Definition of a Phratry — Kindred Gentes Reunited in a Higher Organization. — Phratry of the Iroquois Tribes. — Its Composition. Its Uses and Functions. — Social arid Religious. — Illustrations. — The Analogue of the Grecian Phratry; but in its Archaic Form. Phratries of the Choctas. — Of the Chickasas. — Of the Mohegans. — Of the Thlinkeets. — Their Probable Universality in the Tribes of the American Aborigines.

Chapter IV. The Iroquois Tribes

The Tribe as an Organization — Composed of Gentes Speaking the same Dialect. — Separation in Area tea to Divergence of Speech, and Segmentation. — The Tribe a Natural Growth. — Illustrations. — Attributes of a Tribe — A Territory and Name, — An Exclusive Dialect — The Right to Invest and Depose ifs Sachems and Chiefs. — A Religious Faith and Worship. — A Council of Chiefs — A Head-Chief of Tribe in some Instances. — Three successive Forms of Gentile Government; First, a Government of One Power; Second, of Two Powers; Third, of Three Powers.

Chapter V. The Iroquois Confederacy

Confederacies Natural Growths. — Founded upon Common Gentes, and a Common Language. — The Iroquois Tribes. — Their Settlement in New York — Formation of the Confederacy. — Its Structure and Principles. — Fifty Sachemships Created — Made Hereditary in certain Gentes. — Number assigned to each Tribe. — These Sachems formed the Council of the Confederacy. — The Civil, Council. — Its Mode of Transacting Business. Unanimity Necessary to its Action. — The Mourning Council. — Mode of Raising up Sachems. — General Military Commanders. — This Office the Germ of that of a Chief Executive Magistrate, — Intellectual Capacity of the Iroquois.

Chapter VI. Gentes in Other Tribes of the Ganowanian Family

Divisions of American Aborigines. — Gentes in Indian Tribes; with their Rules of Descent and Inheritance — 1, Hodenosaunian Tribes. — 2, Dakotian — 3, Gulf 4, Pawnee — 5, Algonlcin — 6, Athapasco-Apache — 7, Tribes of Northwest Coast — Eskimos a Distinct Family — 8, Salish, Sahaptin, and Kootenay Tribes. — 9, Shoshonee. — 10, Village Indians of New Mexico, Mexico and Central America. — 11, South American Indian Tribes. — Probable Universality of the Organization in Gentes in the Ganowanian Family.

Chapter VII. The Aztec Confederacy

Misconception of Aztec Society. — Condition of Advancement. — Nahuatiac Tribes. — Their Settlement in Mexico. — Pueblo of Mexico founded, A.D. 13.25. — Aztec Confederacy established A.D. 1426. — Extent of Territorial Domination. — Probable Number of the People. — Whether or not the Aztec were organized in Gentes and Phratries. — The Council of Chiefs. — Its probable Functions. — Office held by Montezuma. — Elective in Tenure. — Deposition of Montezuma. — Probable Functions of the Office. — Aztec Institutions essentially Democratical. — The Government a Military Democracy.

Chapter VIII. The Grecian Gens

Early Condition of Grecian Tribes. — Organized into Gentes. — Changes in the Character of the Gens. — Necessity for a Political System. — Problem to be Solved. — The Formation of a State — Grote’s Description of the Grecian Gentes. — Of their Phratries and Tribes. — Rights, Privileges and Obligations of the Members of the Gens. — Similar to those of the Iroquois Gens. — The Office of Chief of the Gens — Whether Elective or Hereditary. — The Gens die Basis of the Social System, — Antiquity of the Gentile Lineage. — Inheritance of Property. — Archaic and Final Rule. — Relationships between the Members of a Gens. — The Gens the Centre of Social and Religious Influence.

Chapter IX. The Grecian Phratry, Tribe and Nation

The Athenian Phratry — How Formed. — Definition of Dikaearchus. — Objects chiefly Religious. — The Phratriarch. — The Tribe. — Composed of Three Phratries — The Phylo-Basileus. — The Nation — Composed of Four Tribes. — Boule, or Council of Chiefs, — Agora, or Assembly of the People. — The Basileus. — Tenure of die Office. Military and Priestly Functions. — Civil Functions not shown. — Governments of the Heroic Age, Military Democracies. — Aristotle’s Definition of a Basileus. — Later Athenian Democracy. — Inherited from the Gentes. — Its Powerful Influence upon Athenian Development.

Chapter X. The Institution of Grecian Political Society

Failure of the Gentes as a Basis of Government. — Legislation of Theseus. — Attempted Substitution of Classes. — Its Failure. — Abolition of the Office of Basileus. — The Archonship, — Naucraries and Trittyes. — Legislation of Solon. — The Property Classes. — Partial Transfer of Civil Power from the Gentes to the Classes. — Persons unattached to any Gens. — Made Citizens. — The Senate. — The Ecclesia. — Political Society partially attained, — Legislation of Cleisthenes. — Institution of Political Society. — The Attic Deme or Township. — Its Organization and Powers. — Its Local Self-government — The Local Tribe or District. — The Attic Common-wealth. — Athenian Democracy.

Chapter XI. The Roman Gens

Italian Tribes Organized in Gentes. — founding of Rome. — Tribes Organized into a Military Democracy — The Roman Gens. — Definition of a Gentilis by Cicero. — By Festus. — By Varro. Descent in Male Line. — Marrying out of the Gens. — Rights, Privileges and Obligations of the Members of a Gens — Democratic Constitution of Ancient Latin Society. — Number of Persons in a Gens.

Chapter XII. The Roman Curia, Tribe and Populus

Roman Gentile Society. — Four Stages of Organization. — 1, The Gens; 2, The Curia, consisting of Ten Gentes; 3, The Tribe composed of Ten Curia; 4, The Populus Romanus, composed of Three Tribes. — Numerical Proportions. — How Produced. — Concentration of Gentes at Rome. — The Roman Senate. — Its Functions. — The Assembly of the People. — Its Powers, — The People Sovereign, — Office of Military Commander (Rex). — Its Powers and Functions. — Roman Gentile Institutions essentially Democratical.

Chapter XIII. The Institution of Roman Political Society

The Populus — The Plebeians. — The Clients. — The Patricians. — Limits of the Order. — Legislation of Servius Tullius. — Institution of Property Classes. — Of the Centuries — Unequal Suffrage — Comitia Curiata. — Supersedes Comitia Curiata. — Classes supersede the Gentes. — The Census. — Plebeians made Citizens. — Institution of City Wards — Of Country Townships. — Tribes increased to Four. — Made Local instead of Consanguine, — Character of New Political System. — Decline and Disappearance of Gentile Organization. — The Work it Accomplished.

Chapter XIV. Change of Descent from the Female to the Male Line

How the Change might have been made. — Inheritance of Property the Motive. — Descent in the Female Line among the Lycians. — The Cretans. — The Etruscans — Probably among the Athenians in the time of Cecrops. — The Hundred Families of the Locrians. — Evidence from Marriages, — Turanian System of Consanguinity among Grecian Tribes. — Legend of the Danaidae.

Chapter XV. Gentes in Other Tribes of the Human Family

The Scottish Clan — The Irish Sept. — Germanic Tribes. — Traces of a prior Gentile System, — Gentes in Southern Asiatic Tribes. — In Northern. — In Uralian Tribes. — Hundred Families of Chinese. — Hebrew Tribes. — Composed of Gentes and Phratries Apparently. — Gentes in African Tribes. — In Australian Tribes. — Subdivisions of Fejees and Rewas. — Wide Distribution of Gentile Organization.

Part III
Growth of the Idea of the Family

Chapter I. The Ancient Family

Five successive Forms of the Family — First the Consanguine Family. — It created the Malayan System of Consanguinity and Affinity. — - Second, the Punaluan. — It created the Turanian and Ganowanian System- — Third, the Monogamian. — It created the Aryan, Semitic, and Uralian system. — The Syndyasmian and Patriarchal Families Intermediate — Both failed to create a System of Consanguinity, — These Systems Natural Growths. — Two Ultimate Forms. — One Classificatory the other Descriptive. — General Principles of these Systems — Their Persistent Maintenance.

Chapter II. The Consanguine Family

Former Existence of this Family. — Proved by Malayan System of Consanguinity. — Hawaiian System used as Typical. — Five Grades of Relations. — Details of System. — Explained in its origin by the Intermarriage of Brothers and Sisters in a Group. — Early State of Society in the Sandwich Islands. — Nine Grades of Relations of the Chinese. — Identical in Principle with the Hawaiian. — Five Grade of Relations in Ideal Republic of Plato. — Table of Malayan System of Consanguinity and Affinity.

Chapter III. The Punaluan Family

The Punaluan Family supervened upon the Consanguine. — Transition, how Produced. — Hawaiian Custom of Punalua. — Its probable ancient Prevalence over wide Areas. — The Gentes originated probably in Punaluan Groups. — The Turanian System of Consanguinity. — Created by the Punaluan Family. — It proves the Existence of this Family when the System was formed. — Details of System. — Explanation of its Relationships in their Origin. — Table of Turanian and Ganowanian Systems of Consanguinity and Affinity.

Chapter IV. The Syndyasmian and the Patriarchal Families

The Syndyasmian Family. — How Constituted- — Its Characteristics. — Influence upon it of the Gentile Organization. — Propensity to Pair a late Development. — Ancient Society should be Studied where the highest Exemplifications are found. — The Patriarchal Family. — Paternal Power its Essential Characteristic. — Polygamy subordinate. — The Roman Family similar — Paternal Power unknown in previous Families.

Chapter V. Monogamian Family

This family comparatively Modern. — The term Familia. — Family of Ancient Germans — Of Homeric Greeks. — Of Civilized Greeks. — Seclusion of Wives. — Obligations of Monogamy not respected by the males. — The Roman Family. — Wives under Power. — Aryan System of Consanguinity. — It came in under Monogamy. — Previous System probably Turanian. — Transition from Turanian into Aryan. Roman and Arabic Systems of Consanguinity. — Details of the Former. — Present Monogamian Family. — Table of Roman And Arabic Systems.

Chapter VI. Sequence of Institutions Connected with the Family

Sequence in part Hypothetical. — Relation of these Institutions in the Order of their Origination. — Evidence of their Origination in the Order named. — Hypothesis of Degradation Considered. — The Antiquity of Mankind.

A Note. On Mr. J. F. McLennan’s “Primitive Marriage.”

Part IV
Growth of the Idea of Property

Chapter I. The Three Rules of Inheritance

Property in the Status of Savagery. — Slow Rate of Progress. — First Rule of Inheritance. — Property Distributed among the Gentiles. — Property in the Lower Status of Barbarism. — Germ of Second Rule of Inheritance. — Distributed among Agnatic Kindred. — Improved Character of Man. — Property in Middle Status. — Rule of Inheritance imperfectly Known. — Agnatic Inheritance probable.

Chapter II. Three Rules of Inheritance — Continued

Property in the Upper status of Barbarism. — Slavery. — Tenure of Lands in Grecian Tribes. — Culture of the Period. — Its Brilliancy. — Third Rule of Inheritance. — Exclusively in Children. — Hebrew Tribes. — Rule of Inheritance. — Daughters of Zelophehad. — Property remained in the phratry and probably in the Gens. — The Reversion. — Athenian Inheritance. — Exclusively in Children. — The Reversion — Inheritance remained in the Gens. — Heiresses. — Wills. — Roman Inheritance. — The Reversion. — Property remained in the Gens. — Appearance of Aristocracy. — Property Career of Human Race. — Unity of Origin of Mankind.