Foundations of Democracy

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Foundations of Democracy

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What is Democracy?

• Rule by the people
• Demos many
• Examples are the USA Canada
• A democracy is different from a monarchy or
  autocracy (rule by one king or queen)

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Ancient GreeceThe First to Develop a Democracy

• The Greeks created Democracy
• Greek democratic ideas are still used today
• ? Voting rights
• ? Juries
• ? Fair code of laws
• ? Ending of slavery

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The Greek Philosophers

• Philosopher lovers of wisdom
• Inspired the spread of democracy
• Great thinkers like Aristotle, Socrates and Plato
  emerged at this time.
• They were focused on understanding the universe,
  human society and morality.

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Ancient Rome

• As the Greek civilization was declining, the
  Romans were becoming more powerful.
• The Romans created a type of democracy known as a
  Republic
• Republic representative democracy like the US
  we vote for people who do the government work for
  us!

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More Roman Contributions to Democracy

• Justice for all people and property
• All citizens were equal under the law
• Innocent until proven guilty
• Written laws
• Can you name one country that follows these
  traditions today?
• Answer USA!

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How did Religion Influence the Development of
Democracy?

• Christianity Judaism
• Humans were created in Gods image.
• Humans have freedom of choice
• Written law (10 commandments)
• Fight injustice
• All people are created equal (a central belief to
  democracy)
• The Greeks Romans believed you had rights
  because of your ability to reason, not God.

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Renaissance

• A cultural movement in that began in the 14th
  century
• Ren. artists included da Vinci and Michaelangelo
• Renaissance means rebirth artists and writers
  were rebirthing ideas from ancient Greece and
  Rome
• The Renaissance focused on the importance of the
  individual
• This idea would influence future democracy-based
  revolutions like the American Rev. and French
  Rev.

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Reformation

• The Catholic Church was full of corruption and
  needed reform
• Example Priests were doing things they
  shouldnt, like having kids
• Martin Luther, a German monk, was fed up with the
  church and wrote down his complaints in 1517
• Called the 95 Theses
• Foundation for the Protestant Church because
  Luther protested against the Catholic Church
• Protestantism added to the growth of democracy by
  challenging the authority of the Pope and
  stressing the importance of the individual.