Greco Roman Concepts

History of Direct and Indirect Democracy

Video Explanation of Concepts

• Video 1: http://app.discoveryeducation.com/player/view/assetGuid/35FC88E1-E562-400B-882C-800E8520DCD3

• Video 2: http://app.discoveryeducation.com/player/view/assetGuid/C664FD46-045D-43E4-8968-1B2C49C7CD03

• Video 3: http://app.discoveryeducation.com/player/view/assetGuid/CDCB2412-28EF-49C6-B87C-C2C15AE5F4D8

What is Government?

• Government: a system for controlling society

• Throughout history people have recognized the need for a system to organize society.

• For much of history, people lived under the rule of kings or rulers with absolute power.• Opposite of democracy

• First democracies=GREECE & ROME

The World

Atlantic

Ocean

Pacific Ocean

Indian Ocean

Pacific Ocean

Arctic Ocean

Arctic Ocean

Arctic Ocean

SOUTH POLE

SOUTH POLE

Romans 509 B.C.

Greeks 594 B.C.

Atlantic OceanPacific

Ocean Indian Ocean

Mediterranean Sea

Rise of Democratic Ideas In Greece and Rome

Pacific Ocean

The Rise of Democracy

The Parthenon in Athens

***Our government is based on ideas from Ancient Greece &

Rome.

***We call Greece “The Birthplace of Democracy.”

***A democracy is a government ruled by the people.

                     

Ancient Greece

People lived in a polis (city-states).

Political unit made up of a city and area around it.

Overtime city-states would change governments. Sometimes they were ruled by Tyrants and other times they were a democracy.

The First Democracy The city-state of Athens evolved into a democracy.

(demo=people kratos=power)• Government in which the people exercise power.• The word “people” meant adult male citizens who had

military training ONLY.

Athens evolved further into a direct democracy.• In a direct democracy, all citizens meet in one place

(town meetings) to make the laws for their state. The laws are directly voted on by the people. However, the officials were chosen from all the citizens by lottery.

• Switzerland is an example of direct democracy today.

Bodies of Government• There were three main bodies of the government: the

Assembly, the Council of 500, and the Courts. • The Assembly included all citizens who showed up to

vote. Everyone who was a citizen could participate as part of the assembly. The assembly would decide on new laws and important decisions, like whether or not to go to war.

• The Council oversaw much of the day-to-day running of the government. The Council was determined by lottery. If your name was chosen, then you would be on the council for one year.

• The Courts handled lawsuits and trials. The courts had large juries to help make decisions. For private lawsuits the jury was at least 201 people, for public lawsuits the jury was at least 501 people.

Solon Cleisthenes Pericles

Outlawed slavery based on debt

All citizens submit laws for debate

Increased # of paid public officials

All free male adults are citizens

Council of 500 – members chosen randomly. Why?

Paid jurors – why is this important?

Council of 400

How did each of these Athenian leaders contribute to the development of

democracy?

Why do some historians believe that Athens was not a “true democracy?”

• Not considered citizens:

1. Women

2. Slaves

3. Foreign residents

**Only men who completed their military training could vote.

Why did democracy end in Athens?

• Peloponnesian War

• Athens v. Sparta

• Invasion by Macedonia

338 B.C.

The end of Democracy in Greece and…..……

The beginning of a foreign Monarchy.

Greeks

*Direct democracy

*Paying jurors so more people can participate in government

*3 branches of government

*Written Legal Code

*Natural law

The lands of the Roman Empire, who allowed conquered people the right of equal treatment under the law.

Invading Roman Army

Romans, welcoming their emperor.

Roman aristocrats overthrew the harsh king & set up the new government: the Republic

The Romans were the first to give us Representative Democracy with their senators.

The Roman Republic

***The Romans used a

Republican form of Government - Representative Democracy.

A Representative Democracy is a government in which the people elect (vote for) a smaller group to make the rules & laws

for everyone.

The Roman RepublicIn 509 BC, the Romans overthrew their king and created a republic.

a government in which citizens rule through representatives, whom they elect.

Patricians (members of the landholding upper class) ruled. Plebeians (common farmers, merchants, and artisans) could

rule.

Plebeians demanded laws be written=first written code of law.

Government set up separate branches (separation of powers).

Twelve Tables• Roman laws were

carved on 12 tablets and publicly displayed.

• Why is the formation of a written law code necessary in a democratic government?

• Established the idea that all free citizens had the right to protection of the laws and that the laws would be fair to all.

Republican Government

• Legislative branch made up of the Senate

• Senate was made up of only patricians.

• Why do you think plebeians were not allowed to be senators?

Romans

*Representative democracy*the Individual is a citizen of the

State not just a subject to a ruler.*Written Legal Code*3 branches of government*All citizens had the right to :

equal treatment under the law considered innocent until proven guilty burden of proof rested with the accuser

*Any law that seemed unreasonable or grossly unfair could be set aside.

Lets practice!!!! Get out your whiteboards!!

Which kind of government do we have in the United States?

Do we have a Direct Democracy?

Do we have a Representative Democracy?

This one is correct!

Scenario 1: Direct or Indirect

Democracy in which votes choose delegates to create the laws of government on

their behalf. This is an example of?

Indirect

Scenario 2: Direct or Indirect

People directly vote on whether a law will be passed or a person elected. This is

an example of?

Direct

Scenario 3: Direct or Indirect

In the United States, we vote for representatives in the

Electoral College to help us vote for President. This is an

example of?

Indirect

Scenario 4: Direct or Indirect

The people of Athens voted directly on the city-states laws without the help of

elected representatives. This is an example of?

Direct

Scenario 5: Direct or Indirect

The Romans Legislative Branch was made of Senators who would represent the Roman

people during voting just like the U.S. Senators and HOR do today. This is an example of?

Indirect

As a class, lets see how this works!!!

Exercise 1 (Direct Democracy): Lets vote on two new class procedures (using cell phones or chewing gum in school).

-By show of hands vote for only one of theprocedures above. We will tally the votes and theprocedure with the most votes wins.

Exercise 2 (Indirect Democracy): Lets vote on two new class procedures (using cell phones or chewing gum in school).

-For each 5 students in the class, the class will have a representative that will count as 1 vote. How many votes will our class have? Let’s see which procedure wins now!