The basis of a democracy goes back as far as 507 B.C. It was introduced by Ancient Athens’ first leader Cleisthenes. His primary mean was to ensure equality among his people; however, Cleisthenes’ “equality declaration” only spread so far and accomplished so much. Only forty thousand men over the age of eighteen were allowed to be part of Athens’ political affairs. This Athenian democracy was separated into three parts: One was the ekklesia, much like Congress in the United States, in which “the sovereign governing body wrote laws and dictated foreign policy.” The second was the boule, where “representatives from the ten Athenian tribes” made sure that everything was running smoothly. The third part was the dikasteria, The Dikasteria are “the …show more content…
The United States and allies took a stand against Germany and their European allies. This feud brought forth the Anti-German sentiment. It spread like wildfire across the nation. It was a way for Americans to show patriotism for their country. However, several German Americans were residents of Ohio. It became assumed that anyone with any kind of German descent posed a threat to the well-being of all Americans, especially those of Ohio. This problem was so severe that Ohioans changed street names when they were too close in resemblance to anything German related. Any person who was thought to be “pro-German” was forced to persecution. This sentiment dampened the American public’s freedom. People who were legally a U.S. citizen were still treated as they were not because of their ethnic …show more content…
When it was originated, this was the land that every person around the world wanted to be because of the freedoms that were being issued. Even today there are people fighting to enter this country because of how it is based. Economically, no; we are not a free country because of government spending and our national debt rising. We are a democracy – ran for the people, by the people. We elect our officials, and we decide who runs our country. Our freedoms are subjective and change ever-so-often. You can imagine how hard it can be to please billions of people, though. The American Dream still stands, but with different views on how to achieve it, and our country stands tall, with all its
The origin of the Athenian democracy of the fifth and for centuries can be traced back to Solon. Solon was a poet and a wise statesmen but not a Democrat. His constitutional reform package laid the basis on which an aristocrat called Cleisthenes could pioneer democracy. Cleisthenes championed a radical political reform movement which in 508 -507 ushered in the Athenian democratic constitution. Under this political system Athens successfully resisted the Persian onslaughts that victory in turn encourage the poorest Athenian's to demand a greater say in the ruling of their city. In the late 460's a radicalization of power shifted the balance decisively to the poorest sections of society. This was the democratic Athens that laid the foundations of Western rational and critical thought.
Faculty Senate at Truman State University is one small peg in the tradition and history that is representative government and democracy. The term ‘democracy’ is a Greek term that means rule of the people . The earliest democracy and representative government began in Greece, Athens specifically. When representatives were chosen they were selected from wealthy, white males. Usually the men who were chosen were the richest of the possible selection .
Writer Marilyn Vos Savant once stated, “What is the essence of America? Finding and maintaining that perfect, delicate balance between freedom ‘to’ and freedom ‘from’.” When you are an American, freedom is just one of the multitudinous privileges that come with the package. Benefits such as rights, the pursuit of happiness, and diversity are some additional perquisites. However, everything has flaws and America has a few.
The Ancient Greeks were the first to put the power of a nation in the hands of the average citizen, they created the idea of the democratic government, practiced as a direct democracy. Voting, political assembly, and official citizenship are all concepts that can be traced back to Classical Grecian ideas .The Romans developed the concept of the representative democracy .This was best exemplified by the Roman Senate. The upper house of the US Congress is the Senate in ode to this ancient ideal. Although American Democracy is defined as a Representative Democracy, that is to say citizens elect those who make decisions, they owe a great deal to Greek ideas and concepts.
This Athenian democracy was the first of its kind, and was certainly not the last. After Cleisthenes returned from exile, he created the first real government of the people – the demos, aroun...
During the age of Pericles, the ideal form of government was believed to be a government formed by all of the citizens regardless of wealth or social standing. This was known as democracy, literally meaning “ government of the people” [Document 3.] This government favored the many instead of the few. Athens was a direct democracy, meaning every citizen participated in debates. Western civilization used this philosophy of government by many, and created an indirect democracy where citizens elect officials to make and enforce laws.
Government and its different forms appears many times throughout Herodotus’s Histories, sometimes its positive and other times its negative, however in the readings Herodotus demonstrates that it is not the Athenian democratic values that makes freedom but rather the absence of tyranny along with equality among men. Herodotus’s assessment of Athenian democracy is overall a positive development to Greek cultural identity in the eyes of Herodotus.
Around 508 BC, Athens, a Greek city-state, created a democratic constitution. ‘Democracy’ in Greek was
The system of government we have today was starting to developed centuries ago by the Athenians and Romans. Both governments were established with the intent to give power to the people, even though it did not always play out that way in society. The Athenian democracy and the Roman republic were two very different governments in practice, but also maintained similar characteristics in both systems of government.
Democracy is the structure of government still used today in many countries.The definition of democracy is a system of government where people who rule directly are freely elected representatives.In addition, democracy comes from the Greek word demokratia. Demo meaning people and kratia meaning power of rule. For instance, here is an example, Great Britain has a democratic government since elected officials and laws are voted on by the people and also the representatives they elect. Therefore Athens exemplifies a democratic government. “Athenians would meet and vote on a simple question …. is anyone becoming a threat to democracy? If a simple majority voted yes,then they dispersed and reassembled two months later,
The term democracy is ambiguous, but Abraham Lincoln (1863) defines it as the “government of the people, by the people and for the people.” This modern take of democracy should guarantee basic personal and political rights to every individual person, everywhere, every day. Josiah Ober (2007, p.4) points out that “the Greek word dêmokratia conjoins kratos, a term for ‘power’, and dêmos, a term for ‘the people’.” It therefore means ‘power of the people’. But the Athenians did not call it democracy at the time, “they called it ‘isonomia’ or “equality in law”, writes Bernard Randall (2004, p.86). The earliest forms of democracy were formed by the ancient Greeks around 510 B.C in Athens.
American freedom has always been different from the freedoms of other countries. Our freedoms are awesome in their possibilities. The Constitution allows for endless opportunity in changing times, yet preserves the most delicate of all rights. Early Americans were foreigners who appreciated the choices they had been given, choices including immigration, religion, speech, and suffrage. There are alternatives to what we know in America as freedom, but throughout the history of the world, none has come close to creating and maintaining a country of satisfied individuals.
Democracy was a revolutionary development for the Ancient Greek society it was an innovative idea which gave the citizens of Ancient Greeks the freedom to participate in the governmental system and contribute in the processes and decisions, this in turn helped Ancient Greece succeed politically and economically. This democratic society not only helped Greece succeed in the Mediterranean region but also influenced modern day society. The Ancient Greeks succeeded significantly and were highly advanced for this period, the progressive thoughts and ideas demonstrated by individuals in this society contributed to the development of democracy in Athens which has become one of the most beneficial forms of government created.
The term democracy comes from the Greek language and means "rule by the people."(Democracy Building 2012) The democracy in Athens represents the events leading up to modern day democracies. Like our modern democracy, the Athenian democracy was created as a reaction to a concentration and abuse of power by the rulers. Philosophers defined the essential elements of democracy as a separation of powers, basic civil rights, human rights, religious liberty and separation of church and state. The most current definition of a democracy is defined as a “government by the people; a form of government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised directly by them or by their elected agents under a free electoral system.”(Dictionary.com). The American democracy was greatly influenced by the Athenian democracy. The Founding Fathers of the American democracy borrowed ideas from the Athenian way of governing. Presently, Americans live in a democracy that is much different than that the Athenian democracy, and what the Founding Fathers of the American Democracy envisioned. Although there are some commonalities between Athens and what our Founding Fathers intended, there are major differences as well. Differences between the modern American democracy the Athenian democracy and what the Founding Fathers envisioned are size of the democracies, the eligibility of a citizen to participate in the democracy and how a citizen participated.
The Greeks system of democracy was an entirely new concept when it was created, and one that has had lasting affects as it continues to influence present day politics around the globe. Modern day democracies may very well not exist if it wasn’t for the success the Athenians had with democracy. Today we look back at these ancient civilizations and we try to better our current society by learning from their mistakes and building on their success.