America: The Modern Day Athens :: essays research papers

America The Modern solar day capital of Greece"We do not copy our Ancestors, but are an ideal to them. It is true weare called a Democracy, for the administration is in the hands of the many another(prenominal) andnot in the few. " This is the foundation for which democracy is ruled. Withoutthis democracy does not exist. In this es govern there will be comparisons ofAthenian democracy and our innovational day democracyGreece, in ancient times, was not a unite land. There existed many littleprovinces of control, called city-states. Two examples of the more powerful and immut subject city-states were Sparta and Athens. Sparta, whose people lived anaustere and militaristic figure of speech of life, based its government on the needs of thearmy which things centered around this.Athens, another powerful city-state, substantial a more balanced life for itscitizens. Central to this development was the skip over of democracy. Called the"cradle of democracy," Athens de veloped a pack democracy. Those citizens thatwere eligible could talk at forums and vote on issues. These people were knownas the Council of euchre they were chosen annually. To be take they had to beat least 25 years of age and a citizen. They directly had a voice. This is whyAthens is an example of a direct democracy. A point should be make here thatAthens, for all its noble ideas about men being able to govern themselves,excluded most of the people that lived within its cities walls. Women, forexample had no say in government. They were subjected to running the homes,raising children, and tending to the needs of their husbands. Slavery, whichexisted in Athens, overly caused a blot on the noble experiment of democracy.Slaves had no vote, no participation in government, and no recourse from a cruelmaster.Athenian government relied upon direct democracy to raise taxes, make laws,and gather arm forces when necessary.The American experiment in democracy differs significantly from theAthenian hold of government. America utilizes a representative form ofdemocracy. Because of the huge population, when compared to Athens, a directdemocracy is impractical. Americans vote for representatives to the Legislativeand Executive branches of government. It is hoped by the citizen that therepresentatives that are elected protect their constituents interests.There are, however, some dark spots on our form of government. Like theAthenians, America did not grant slaves the right to vote. It took a polite Warthat nearly destroyed our nation before slavery was abolished and that hazardof the population could have a say in our government. Additionally, women, who