Athens had a great new idea of government - democracy. Athens was not always a democracy. Over time the citizens of Athens demanded to have a voice in how decisions were made. Therefore, citizens were given the right to debate and vote. Athens was the very first democracy in history - EVER!! We liked this idea so much in the United States, we stole it. Read below to compare the government in Athens to our government in the U.S. Complete the chart on your study guide on page 2. The answer choices are below the chart - write them in the correct place.
The government in the United States is similar to the democracy in Athens in a few ways. First, we both let people vote. This means that our government, just like the one in Athens, gives people a say or a voice in government. The two governments are also alike because they both made laws for citizens to follow.
Democracy in Athens had large meetings that all citizens attended. They debated ideas and made decisions for the city-state. Citizens were made up of men only. Women were not allowed to be citizens.
The democracy in Athens was a direct democracy. The citizens actually met and voted on each decisions to be made. This was possible because the population wasn't very large. The low population or number of people made it easier to keep track of everyone's vote. However, they still needed someone to be in charge and organize the meetings. Athens used a lottery system for this. Anyone could be selected and not just popular or rich people.
Our democracy in the United States is not a direct democracy. Ours is called a representative democracy. U.S. citizens vote and elect other people to make decisions for them. We send members of Congress to our state capital Topeka, Kansas and national capital Washington DC, to make our laws. We do this because they are too many men and women in the U.S. to meet and vote on every decision. Our high population makes it too difficult for each citizen to vote on every issue. So we have people like Senators and Representatives that vote for us. Examples of offices we vote for in the United States include: president, governor, senator, representative, mayor, city council and school board.