RC

=A Comparison Of Athenian and United States Democracy= Written By Rory Curtin


 * The democratic system of Ancient Athens
 * The democratic system of the United States
 * A personal reflection on the positive and negative aspects of these governments


 * Athenian Democracy:** Athenian Democracy, or Direct Democracy, was first developed around 500 BC in the Greek city-state of Athens. This revolutionary system is thought to have been developed primarily by Solon, Cleisthenes, and Ephialtes. These three men were great political leaders and drivers of democratic growth in Athens (Wiki). Each of these political revolutionaries were white, landholding males. In fact, all citizens involved in the governing of Ancient Athens fell under those standards. Today, it is argued that their exclusion of slaves and women created an unequal distribution of economic power (democracynature.org). Though this may or may not be true, the framework supporting Athenian Democracy existed for hundreds of years, and remains to be known as having been a powerful government.

Athenian Democracy functioned in that all eligible citizens (white landholding males) gathered in numbers ranging into the thousands and voted with a show of hands, the majority winning the vote. The three main bodies of governance included the assembly, the council of 500, and the courts (image 1) (Wiki). Unlike parliaments or other assemblies of today, those that existed in Athenian time consisted of all eligible citizens whose participation was mandatory. The council of 500 was selected from a lottery of 500 men over the age of thirty, each man only allowed two terms serving on the council over the course of his lifetime. During government gatherings or hearings, it was the job of the council of 500 to “draft preparatory legislation for consideration by the assembly” (Wiki).

Also present at hearings were those involved in the courts. Each juror of the court was responsible for representing the people. Similar to the responsibilities of the assembly, to qualify as a juror, one would need to meet several specifications such as being of age and serving under an oath. The eligible age to serve in the jury courts was thirty, thus giving those serving a higher political standing because of their age and experience.

Other than the three main bodies of Athenian Government, there were also officeholders. This branch of government is often said to have been more prestigious than others, due primarily in part to those serving having a greater amount of experience. For the most part, government positions could be held for only a short term, while an officeholder could serve for longer terms.

A common thread throughout Athenian Democracy was the selection of government positions by allotment, or by a lottery. This system was thought to be more diplomatic, giving “the people” a greater opportunity to express their thoughts from different positions, or levels of power. When those in charge made a mistake, this system prevented direct blame, and government officials could instead pass off the mistake as having been misinformation or a misleading by a member of the assembly (democracynature.org).

Though many government positions were chosen through allotment, there were also a handful of positions gained through election. The two main offices that citizens could be elected into were generals, and those in charge of handling large sums of money. Election often favored the wealthy in the case of those handling money, and the more experienced in the case of generals. When funds were embezzled or had gone missing, the wealthy men whose responsibility it was to protect the money would himself pay the difference (democracynature.org).

When a decision was brought forth to those involved in the governing of democratic Athens, the system fell under what we today call Direct Democracy (democracynature.org). This meaning each man had an equal vote. Though, the variety of positions gave some more opportunity for their personal opinions to be heard than it gave others. The problem with this system is that citizens were separated not only by age but by gender, race, income, and ethnic background. This segregation created what historians believe today to have been biased decisions (domacracynature.org).


 * United States Democracy:** Since the Constitution was adopted on September 17, 1787, the United States Government has built a legacy upon its democratic foundations through a system of checks and balances (image 2)(archives.gov). [[image:last_two.jpg width="484" height="327" align="left"]]



The democratic system that governs the United States is called a Representative Democracy, and is made up of three branches that include the Executive Branch, the Judicial Branch, and the Legislative Branch (image 3). In articles one, two, and three of the Constitution the powers and responsibilities of these branches are stated (bensguide.gpo.gov).

The Executive Branch is made up of the President, the Vice-President, the Departments (or advisers of the President), and the independent agencies that carry-out policies and provide special services. The President is the head of the Executive Branch and is elected for a term of four years at a time. Though, one may only serve two terms as President in a lifetime.

The Judicial Branch was established by the Congress, under the power of the Constitution (bensguide.gpo.gov). The Supreme Court though is the only court that is vested with the judicial powers of the government, and it is the duty of the Supreme Court to make decisions on the meaning and application of laws, and whether they violate the Constitution.

The Legislative Branch of the United States Government is in charge of creating laws. Within the Legislative System, checks and balances are provided. This branch of government is made up of both the House of Representatives and the Senate (image 4). The House of Representatives is based on the population of each state, and each state has two Senators. A Representative can serve for a term of two years at a time, and the three most highly ranked positions inside the House of Representative are the Speaker of the House, the House Majority Leader, and the House Minority Leader (Wiki). The Senate consists of 100 members and the Vice-President is formally known as the President of the Senate, though is in reality only present for special ceremonies and for a tie-breaking vote (bensguide.gpo.gov). Each of these three branches of government can act completely independently of one another. For example: the Congress can impeach the President and members of the courts, the President can veto a bill put forth by the Congress, and so on.

The process that the United States undergoes every four years is called the Presidential Electoral Process. Here, United States citizens vote every forth year for a new President and Vice President to represent their country. Before the elections though, candidates compete by campaigning and raising money. The nominating process does not officially begin until the State primaries and caucuses though. Next come the National Party Conventions where the candidates have been narrowed down. Here, state delegates select who will represent the state in the Electoral College.

During the elections in November, citizens are in reality not voting directly for the candidate of their choice, but for a presidential elector. Collectively, electors across the country are known as the Electoral College. Based on the population of each state, ranging from 54 to three, different numbers of electors are chosen to represent the vote of each state as a whole (Image 5) (www.electoralcollegehistory.com).



The patterns of governance explained above continue down to the state and local levels as well as. For example, each state has a Supreme Court, Senate, and House of Representatives.


 * Personal Opinion:** Throughout history, governments have come and gone. The failure of many of these can be attributed to a lack of understanding of principles of equality by those in control. In the case of the Athenians, those in control developed a genius and revolutionary system of Direct Democracy. Though this system was viewed by the men in Athenian offices as a method to giving each citizen an equal voice, they were in fact not. The exclusion of citizens based on gender, race, and age was what lead to the eventual failure of Athens’ Direct Democracy. Though the United States today works on a system that enables all citizens above 18 to vote, it was not until the last few decades that this was so. Therefore, reinforcing the early genius of Athenian Democracy. This is not saying that the United States system has grown flawless though. In fact, there is no system of government that is entirely fair and just. In all governments, both democratic and not, there will be some elements that one may find inclusive and others will find partisan. Thus, the United States is no exception. The Constitution originally stated that only white landholding males could vote (like the Athenians), and even in the last 15 or 20 years this has been modified further to allow those who are disabled and those whose primary language is not english the right. Today, virtually all ethnic backgrounds and sexes have come to be represented by United States citizens at the polls. Though, illegal immigrants are not. This is not saying that the great quantity of illegal immigrants living and working in this country should have the right to vote one way or the other, but simply proposing how this prospective could change the country. Each culture is surrounded by different values, and when you combine two cultures, the experiences and knowledge from one could theoretically benefit the other. Though the Electoral College is a fair approach to representing each individual and each state fairly in an election, those both running and holding office are often independently wealthy and are influenced by special interest groups. Thus, diminishing the voice of the common man.


 * Works Cited:**

http://www.archives.gov/national-archives-experience/charters/constitution.html http://bensguide.gpo.gov/9-12/government/branches.html http://www.democracynature.org/dn/vol1/fotopoulos_athens.htm http://www.electoralcollegehistory.com/electoral/crs-ec.asp http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athenian_democracy http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_House_of_Representatives Image 1: http://www.historiasiglo20.org/1ESO/Athens%20democracy2.jpg Image 2: http://www2.semo.edu/vending/PS103/ Image 3: http://www.dsl.psu.edu/library/lrr/links/usg/branchdept/orgchart.gif Image 4: http://bensguide.gpo.gov/9-12/government/national/legislative.html Image 5:http://encarta.msn.com/media_461562585_761576768_-1_1/Electoral_College_Membership.html