Pursuing Democracy : An Analysis Of The Development Of American Government

The Greek society was a direct democracy with people voting on the issues themselves instead of representatives voting on their behalf. Any male citizen over the age of eighteen was allowed to vote. Like the Romans, the Greek government was divided into separate parts. The Greek government consisted of an assembly, council, and courts, with each requiring a different number of voters present. The people all gather and vote on issues by hand, and this is the simplest form of majority rules. The role of the people is extremely important in how the society and state is governed and run. This early form a democracy was detailed by Pericles funeral oration during the Peloponnesian War. Pericles was an eminent Athenian politician who states in regards to the government of Athens, “Its administration favors the many instead of the few; this is why it is called a democracy (Pericles, “Funeral Oration”, pp. 2)”. Here, Pericles states that the people have all the power and their opinion is highly valued. Likewise, the Romans valued the people’s opinions so highly that they entrusted with them rewards and punishments, vital aspects that held the society together. Pericles also states, “…nor again does poverty bar the way, if a man is able to serve the state, here is not hindered by the obscurity of his condition (Pericles, “Funeral Oration”, pp. 2)”. Here is the essence of democracy, every man no

Today, much of the world’s governments have converted to democracies. In the Ancient World, there was only one truly notable example of a democratic society: The City-State of Athens. This is actually the birthplace of democracy, where instead of the rich or powerful ruling, it was the citizens of the city-state that held the power. This advanced way of government was so effective and well structured, it even laid the foundations for the development of our own democracy, right here in the United States, over 2,000 years in the future. Prior to Athens’s collapse during the Peloponnesian War, it truly had an efficient and very organized system of government.

During the times of Ancient Greece, two major forms of government existed, democracy and oligarchy. The city-states of Athens and Sparta are the best representatives of democracy and oligarchy, respectively. The focus of the times was directed towards military capabilities, while the Athenians were more interested in comfort and culture. It was the oligarchy in Sparta that put a war-like attitude as its first priority and best met the needs of Ancient Greece. These factors empowered Sparta and led to the development of an authoritative and potent state. Other contrasting issues included women’s rights, social classes, and value of human life.

The Athenian government was a direct democracy, meaning the citizens of the city-state take absolute control over any vote. This was the plan for the government to control their people since the citizens

Democracy, as most people think of it today, did not exist during the first few decades of U.S. history.

Throughout the history of the American government, there have been changes that have ultimately influenced the way our society runs. From the rapid growth of the thirteen colonies to today’s 21 century political and legal systems, the development of the American government has grown substantially from the creation of the Continental Congress to the what is now known as the United States Supreme Court. The origins of the American government traces all the way back to the struggle between the developing colonies and England. During the development of the United States of America, there arose many issues that resulted in violent outbreaks caused by the overrated demands from the government against their people. The hatred toward the government took the form of the Revolutionary War, and its success against England gave the American people the opportunity to provide a legal way to their ideas as expressed in the Declaration of Independence.

In this paper I will address the question of where the American system of democracy originates from, and what aspects are and are not based on the Haudenosaunee system. One of the most important aspects seems to be the union of states– it’s more closely comparable to the Five Nations than to anything in the history of Europe or the West. Ben Franklin notably said: “It would be a strange thing if Six Nations of ignorant savages should be capable of forming a scheme for such an union, and be able to execute it in such a manner as that it has subsisted ages and appears indissoluble; and yet that a like union should be impracticable for ten or a dozen English colonies, to whom it is more necessary and must be more advantageous, and who cannot be

Ever since the government was put in place in America, two fundamental questions have emerged distinctly: how should the government rule its followers? Moreover, what should the government do? America gained independence in 1776 after Richard Henry Lee moved a motion in the Continental Congress requiring Britain to grant the country its independence. The motion was approved on July, 2nd the same year. Thomas Jefferson wrote the declaration of independence, which justified a revolution. Today, historians study and interpret the declaration as a philosophy (Matzke, 14).

In the Athenian democracy, every citizen was required to participate or suffer punishment. This practice stands in stark contrast to modern democratic governments in which citizens can choose whether or not they wish to participate. In Athenian democracy, all citizens pulled their weight. Not everyone in Athens was considered a citizen. Only free, adult men enjoyed the rights and responsibility of citizenship.

This source provides many definitions and concepts that make it easier to understand the terminology we hear about in our everyday life or in the sources that we use. Being able to relate back to a source that contains facts and examples helps us form our own opinion instead of jumping on somebody else’s bandwagon. This source is a reliable source because it was written by two political science professors that truly care about the subject of Analyzing American Democracy. Jon Bond and Kevin Smith are the main authors but used others to contribute to the book so that they would have the proper facts and

al. 7). At the time Athens had the most active citizen participation than in any of the other city-states. Pericles showed great pride when he announced, “’Our constitution is called a democracy because power is in the hands not of the minority but of the whole people’” (Beck et. al.

Greek democracy was best developed in the city-state of Athens from where the very word “democracy”, meaning “the rule of the people” stems. People ‘ruled’ by electing officials through lot and making important decisions by majority rule. Democracy was direct, meaning that the Athenians “allowed the whole citizenry to assemble in the central eklisia, or the equivalent today of the main city hall, to vote on important issues” (Makedon 1995). In this sense, Athenian democracy differed from representative democracy that is currently prevalent in most states, in which officials are elected through democratic vote and then given authority to make decisions for the people. In Athens, elected officials were paid, but the pay was very low so that it compared with the wages of the poorest citizens and only covered the compensation of their time and effort.

"United States can be seen as the first liberal democracy. The United States Constitution, adopted in 1788, provided for an elected government and protected civil rights and liberties. On the American frontier, democracy became a way of life, with widespread social, economic and political equality. The system gradually evolved, from Jeffersonian Democracy or the First Party System to Jacksonian Democracy or the Second Party System and later to the Third Party System. In Reconstruction after the Civil War (late 1860s) the newly freed slaves became citizens, and they were given the vote as well." (Web, 1)

The United States of America officially became a country, declaring independence and separation from Great Britain, on July 4, 1776. On this historic day, American’s welcomed the idea of self-government into their newfound country. The definition of a self-government is a government of a country by its own people, especially after being a colony. Although July 4th, the day of American independence, and the creation of the Constitution serve as monumental moments in the creation of a self-government in the United States of America, it should be noted that similar ideas and customs of self-government were being created long before the Founding Fathers. Ideas of self-government can be traced back to colonial times when Europeans were arriving

According to source I a key feature was that everyone was involved and active in their democratic system and that the community was more important than each individual, because the phrase "In the hands not of the few, but of the many" suggests that. So the people seems to enjoy their rights and responsibilities because they put public matters before themselves. The content also says that someone who's quiet is regarded as "useless", this suggests that you are expected to attend to public affairs regarding the state and that it is one of your responsibilities, it almost seems like it was compulsory, unless you wanted to be "useless". Another key feature is that the system is unique and different from the other Greek