Similarities Between Greek And American Democracy

The Greco Roman Traditions ideas of democracy influenced today’s American government . The Greco Roman tradition includes the ideas from the two ancient civilizations, Greece and Rome. Some valuable ideas about government came from the Greek city state Athens. Athens was the first city state to adopt direct democracy, direct democracy allows the assembly of ordinary citizens to make decisions, the Athens democracy required that all citizens were to vote on major issues. One idea that Athenians believed was that all citizens have a responsibility. One important duty of an Athenian was to serve on juries, a body of people sworn to verdict in a legal case on the basis of evidence submitted to them in court. Not only did Athens’s ideas of about

In comparing Athenian and American democracy, they are very different however some aspects are the same. The similarities include citizens were allowed to vote for their leader(s). However, the definition of a citizen is completely different now that it was then. A citizen back then was a male landowner in Athens, on the other hand, citizens now days are people that are born within the country or have parents

How has democracy changed since athens golden age? When you think of American democracy you first have to think of athenian democracy because they were quite similar in many ways for example. Both americans and athenians believed that a government should be fair and ran by not just one person or leader but that citizens should have a say in what happens. Another thing similar to american and athenian democracy was that speeches or oration was an important way for people to gain popularity and to also to inspire,persuade, or entertain people, to be a part of a government public speaking is essential it helps people better understand what someone wants to do and it will persuade people either in a good or a bad way so in both american and athenian

It’s hard to define something big as democracy in few short words, but president Abraham Lincoln does it best by defining democracy as a “Government of the people, by the people, for the people” (Bleicherstrasse). The Merriam Webster Dictionary barely scratches the surface of what democracy really means. It tries to define democracy as “a form of government in which people choose leaders by voting, a country ruled by democracy, an organization or situation in which everyone is treated equally and has equal rights”, but democracy is so much more than that. For a government to be considered true democracy it must support these four key elements “A political system for choosing and replacing the government through free and fair elections, the active participation of the people, as citizens, in politics and civic life, protection of the human rights of all citizens, a rule of law, in which the laws and procedures apply equally to all citizens” (Diamond, 2004). If we go by this definition of democracy than America is not consider to be true democracy.

The Greeks have city states and they were the first democracy, America adopted that idea. The city states had rulers who would protect the people by shielding them in castle like structures with high walls during war. A different idea America adopted from Greece is boys would be enlisted into the military when they became a man and America used the draft in some wars. Something that is different however is Greece unlike America could choose to keep their children or to possibly drop them off the nearest cliff. Despite the differences from Greece, America learned and gained democracy, literature, and history. The history recorded by the Athenians was about the lives they lead and encounters they had. Athenians are one of two types of people

The word democracy is from the Greek word ¨demokratia¨: demo, meaning the people, and kratia, meaning power or rule. Therefore, democracy technically means rule by the people or citizens. There are many examples of democracy, such as letting all citizens, at a certain age, vote for a presidential canidate. In fact, there is a gigantic debate about whether Ancient Athens was democratic or not. Based on the evidence, No, Ancient Athens was not truly a democracy.

www.dictionary.com defines democracy as 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. There are many different types of democracy, for example Direct Democracy (is when most, if not all, members of society take part in political political process). Another type of democracy is Representative Democracy, when citizens vote to put someone into power to represent them in political decisions or actions. Although Ancient Greece had bits and pieces of democracy here and there, they were mainly not democratic.

By implementing democratic reform, Athens was ushered into a period of achievement and prosperity. Pericles, an Athenian statesman and general during the Golden Age of Greece was a firm believer in this direct democracy. In his Funeral Oration, Pericles made several points about the importance of democracy and equality before law, stating that “democracy favors the many instead of the few.” This holds true today in American government, as does equality before law. In Pericles’ Funeral Oration he states:

Greek influences on the American Democracy is exceptionally similar in today American society.Giving example, homosexuality was a subject that existed and was common.Mature men showered younger boys with gifts which was acceptable as long as it haulted with marrage.In todays cultures not everyone accepted the idea of two men together but according to goverment it is now lawful.Times have evovled around that subject.Since the changes in law i belive more people have adopted the idea as normal. Here in the united states legitimate marriages orrur through out states.Everyone should be themselves despite there relationship liking without

Because republican and democratic systems are similar in outward appearances, it is easy to understand why a lot of people are confused in thinking the American government is a democracy. The United States is not a true democracy but a blend of a republic and democratic system. Both systems are based on government by popular consent, and have many similar attributes but with specific details of ideology that set them apart from each other. Both systems also believe in safeguarding the rights of individuals but democracy has an emphasis on property rights. A republic is ruled by the people through layers of representatives that are elected to act on the behalf of the common good. While democracy is ruled by the people also, it can either be directly or indirectly. (pg. 17)

Personally, I think that Greek Democracy was better than American democracy today. There were problems though. Not everyone could vote in Greece, like women and slaves. But, there was a large variety of men, and in vote this meant not as many biases because of people of different backgrounds. In democracy today, we vote for representatives who vote on the problems for us. So, there isn’t as many people, and most of the time, they stay in the same position. Compared to modern democracy on this level, Greece was good. Our modern democracy also has variety, but in different ways. We don’t have slaves, and women can be representatives. This can help the bias issue that the Greek’s democracy had. Greece had a direct democracy, which meant literally

Another similarity that Greece and Persia had was the influence that they had on modern day politics. Politics is different in every civilization, there are monarchies, democracies and even anarchies in some indigenous tribes.Greece was a democracy which allowed important men to vote on community issues. This being one of the first democratic locations in written history, a lot of America’s government is based on. America has a system like that of Greece, although, unlike ancient Greece, America has let women vote since the 1920’s and non-land owning men could vote. When people are given the ability to be autonomous and decide the activities that occur in their community, only positive effects will be an outcome, but when others come to a disagreement

In all actuality, the United States is not a true democracy. This is largely due to the fact that many of the people in the country do not take part in its political process, choosing instead to merely function as spectators and consumers. There is a very finite number of people who actually do take part in this process certainly no more than 50 percent (in a liberal estimate) and probably limited to approximately 25 percent most of the time. When one considers this aspect of the extremely limited form of U.S. democracy due to the circumscribed involvement of the majority of its citizens, it means that essentially the country's future, and that for the rest of the world, will be determined by a small, select group of individuals typically the ones financing campaigns and ensuring that measures representing their interests are enacted. In essence, then, an oligarchy will determine the future of the country and that of the rest of the world.

A democracy is described as a system of government run by the citizens or by the eligible members of a state, typically through elected representatives. “Ever since the United States was founded, Americans have proclaimed the new country’s special destiny: to create a new form of government, a democracy (Brozo et al. 13).” People now disagree over whether America is a democracy and republic. The reasons that the United States of America could be considered a democracy is because states have the citizens vote for or against a new official or a new law. The votes are sent to the elected representative who takes action based upon the vote of the majority of citizens. The United States of America could also be categorized as a republic because the country has an elected president or governor who holds supreme power. The president or governor also shares the power with the people through their votes. Though either way, the colonists received what they had hoped for. They got a nation where they, too, held the power with a

The citizens of the United States today refer to their country as a democracy, when in fact, we have a more nuanced form of a government. We are a federal republic and a constitutional democracy. Republic and democracy are often used interchangeably by the common citizens, and even leaders at times. But they are not synonyms; quite the opposite actually. The differences in the two approaches can be seen in the fundamentally opposing views of the political parties in the USA that bear these names.