Roman Republic, Athenian Democracy and the United States
Roman Republic/ Athenian Democracy and the United States
Throughout history there have been several government structures that govern the people of the state, some ran differently, but maybe similar as well. There is a fine line between a democracy and a republic although there are some similarities. In a democracy, the citizens are their own form of government, all having equal say. In a republic, citizens still have high power but use that power to elect representatives to govern the state. I want to focus on two forms of historic government, that both reflect and contradict each other, that of the Athenian Democracy and the Roman Republicanism. The Athenian’s emphasized political and modest display, and believed in the power of the individual human (Cole, Symes, Coffin, & Stacey 2011, 58), therefore citizens of Athens called the shots. Also, the citizens of Rome had the ultimate power, but they used that power to vote in chief executives to help govern Rome. Both governments have left a mark on history and in fact, they even are partially emulated by our very own, the United States of America. The two governments might be a little more democratic than the Federal Republic of the United States but it’s certain that they have been introduced.
In the city of Athens, the change from Monarchy to Democracy was a slow but steady process. Democracy was found here in there in the government of Athens (cite website), in which these institutions eventually created a direct democracy. This democracy consisted of three main structures, the Assembly, the Council, and the People’s Court, and there were the Council of Areopagus, the leaders, who overlooked the Assembly. The assembly was the regular gathering of Male Athenians, around six thousand, in which they discussed matters of Athenian life, allowing all decisions and proposals to be determined by a vote. Although women couldn’t vote, voting rights were given to all males, all with equal power and they carried on
Throughout history there have been several government structures that govern the people of the state, some ran differently, but maybe similar as well. There is a fine line between a democracy and a republic although there are some similarities. In a democracy, the citizens are their own form of government, all having equal say. In a republic, citizens still have high power but use that power to elect representatives to govern the state. I want to focus on two forms of historic government, that both reflect and contradict each other, that of the Athenian Democracy and the Roman Republicanism. The Athenian’s emphasized political and modest display, and believed in the power of the individual human (Cole, Symes, Coffin, & Stacey 2011, 58), therefore citizens of Athens called the shots. Also, the citizens of Rome had the ultimate power, but they used that power to vote in chief executives to help govern Rome. Both governments have left a mark on history and in fact, they even are partially emulated by our very own, the United States of America. The two governments might be a little more democratic than the Federal Republic of the United States but it’s certain that they have been introduced.
In the city of Athens, the change from Monarchy to Democracy was a slow but steady process. Democracy was found here in there in the government of Athens (cite website), in which these institutions eventually created a direct democracy. This democracy consisted of three main structures, the Assembly, the Council, and the People’s Court, and there were the Council of Areopagus, the leaders, who overlooked the Assembly. The assembly was the regular gathering of Male Athenians, around six thousand, in which they discussed matters of Athenian life, allowing all decisions and proposals to be determined by a vote. Although women couldn’t vote, voting rights were given to all males, all with equal power and they carried on