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History of Democracy

Athenian Democracy (Direct Democracy) United States Democracy (Indirect Democracy) If all people voted in America? Work Cited

Athenian Democracy (Direct Democracy) One of the earliest democracies to be developed was in the city-state of Athens, Greece, in the year 570 B.C. Most historians believe that a man named Cleisthenes created the first democracy in Athens. He developed a form of democracy called direct democracy. This system of government worked much like town meetings in colonial New England. Every citizen in Athens was required to attend every meeting which happened four times a month. At the meetings there would be a debate on an issue and then everybody had to cast a vote. All votes were counted and the majority ruled. "Everybody" was not actually allowed to vote. Only native Greek, land owning, males had the right to vote. In Athens there were an average of 10,000 voters, while in the total population of the city there were 60,000 people. Direct democracy allowed every voter to have a voice. Anybody could have gone to a meeting and voiced their opinion to everybody there. There was not a leader that could make a decision without a vote and every persons vote was worth the same amount. Every decision was made according to the voice of the people. United States Democracy (Indirect Democracy) The United States first voiced its ideas for a democratic government in the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. The colonists had become tired of being ruled by Britain’s King and decided to become their own country with a more equal government. On May 10, 1776, a resolution was passed asking all the colonies to join together as a new country. Soon after, the new country was working on a constitution. Each state made their own constitution, but Virginian's constitution served as an outline for all of the colonies. This constitution called for: popular sovereignty rotation in office freedom of elections These ideas show the difference between United States Democracy and the form of democracy practiced in Athens. Remember that Athenian government had no leader. In The U.S. we have representatives. The United States has a form of democracy called indirect democracy or representative democracy. In this form of government the people of a nation vote to elect a leader whom they believe will pursue their own interests on issues, while in direct democracy, the people vote directly on each issue. The candidate who receives the most votes becomes the representative. It is believed that the colonies decided to have an indirect democracy because of their last government. When Britain ruled over them, a king was the leader. When the colonists made their own government, they kept the idea of one leader but added democratic values into the role of the leader. This idea, of one leader in a democratic government, is considered “the world's first formal blueprint for a modern democracy” (www.historyworld.net).

If all people voted in America?

What if everyone who could vote had to vote in the United States? Today, according to a poll done by the government on the 2000 and 2004 presidential vote, 60% of the 217.8 million eligible voters actually voted (www.census.gov). There were also 153.9 million eligible Caucasian voters, 26.4 million black, 26.3 million Hispanic, 10 million Asian, 3 million Native American, and 647,000 native Hawaiian. What if all these people did vote on the presidential election that occurred in 2004? If all the Army, Air Force, Navy, and Special Forces had to vote at the presidential election maybe George Bush would not have been elected for a second term. They would have known what Bush’s beliefs were, and known that they would be sent to war. They might have chosen a different leader if they had to vote. Decisions would be made purely by majority rule, in a way making it a more democratic system. The result of a vote would really reflect the voice of the entire nation. One problem though, is that some people may not be informed voters. Some people choose not to vote because they don’t understand the issue. They think that they might vote for something they do not want. If you forced everyone to vote, this would happen more often. I do not think that it would be good to require everyone to vote, but encouraging and informing people would be beneficial. Higher voter turn out is important in a true democratic election, but people need to be able to make well thought out decisions.

Work Cited http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?groupid=2648&HistoryID=ac42 http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_1741500781/United_States_Government.html http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?groupid=2648&HistoryID=ac42 http://usinfo.state.gov/products/pubs/histryotln/national.htm http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/facts_for_features_special_editions/002957.html http://www.springfield.k12.il.us/schools/southeast/pprojects/Group%208%20Projects/Group%208%20pics/pericles.gif (Image of United States government system) http://www.cita.uiuc.edu/courses/2006-09-rehab711/lec05/slide28.html (Image of Cleisthenes) http://www.historiasiglo20.org/1ESO/Athensdemocracy2.html (Image of Athens government system) http://usinfo.state.gov/products/pubs/histryotln/index.htm (Image of the writing of the Constitution)