A Dive Into Democracy | iCivics (2024)

FAQs

What was the average population of ancient Athens a dive into democracy? ›

Not exactly a government of all the people: Athens's population was about 250,00–300,000 yet only 30,00–40,000 were citizens! And only about 5,000 of them regularly attended the Assembly. But meeting two or three times a month isn't very often.

1 THE MODERN CONCEPT OF RULE OF LAW

Legal equality: the principle that laws are to be applied equally to all and that no one – not even a monarch or magistrate – is above the law.

In a direct democracy, the people have the direct authority to deliberate and decide legislation. In a representative democracy, the people choose governing officials through elections to do so.

Supporting democracy not only promotes such fundamental American values as religious freedom and worker rights, but also helps create a more secure, stable, and prosperous global arena in which the United States can advance its national interests.

Athenian democracy was established in 508 BC under Cleisthenes following the tyranny of Isagoras. This system remained remarkably stable, and with a few brief interruptions, it remained in place for 180 years, until 322 BC (aftermath of Lamian War).

The Council of 500 represented the full-time government of Athens. It consisted of 500 citizens, 50 from each of the ten tribes, who served for one year.

Another important idea is the “rule of law.” The rule of law means that everyone must obey the law and no one is above the law. This means that the government and its leaders must also obey the law. Our Constitution was written in 1787.

This means that no person, government official or government is above the law. The following principles are fundamental in preserving the rule of law: All people are ruled by the law. Law enforcers, the government and judges must adhere to the law without bias or prejudice.

Rule of law is a principle under which all persons, institutions, and entities are accountable to laws that are: Publicly promulgated. Equally enforced.

The United States is a representative democracy. This means that our government is elected by citizens. Here, citizens vote for their government officials. These officials represent the citizens' ideas and concerns in government.

Is America a democracy or a republic? ›

The Constitution establishes a federal democratic republic form of government. That is, we have an indivisible union of 50 sovereign States. It is a democracy because people govern themselves. It is representative because people choose elected officials by free and secret ballot.

Freedom of speech and freedom of religion are examples of 2 rights of everyone living in the United States.

Democracy is considered as the best form of government because of the following reasons: In democracy, people have the right to choose their rulers. If rulers do not work well, people will not elect him in the next election.

Democracy is generally associated with the efforts of the ancient Greeks, whom 18th-century intellectuals considered the founders of Western civilization.

(v) Democracy is more accountable form of government. Democracy responds to the needs of the people. A non-democratic government may and can respond to the people's needs, but it all depends on the wishes of the people who rule. A democracy requires that the rulers have to attend to the needs of the people.

Explanation: The average population of ancient Athens during the Classical period is estimated to have been between 300,000 and 400,000 people. However, only about 50,000 of those were considered citizens with political rights.

Citizen families could have amounted to 100,000 people, and out of these some 30,000 would have been adult male citizens entitled to vote in the assembly. In the mid-5th century, the number of adult male citizens was perhaps as high as 60,000, but this number fell precipitously during the Peloponnesian War.

Only free, adult men enjoyed the rights and responsibility of citizenship. Only about 20 percent of the population of Athens were citizens. Women were not citizens and therefore could not vote or have any say in the political process.

Even Athens, by far the largest of all city-states, only contained an estimated population of about 200,000 people in the year 500 BC. Many of these people would have lived not in the city but in the surrounding countryside, and only about 35,000 men would have been full citizens.