DEMOCRACY 2
1
Democracy
Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliation
Democracy
Document A: Pericles
1. Who was Pericles? Pericles was one of the prominent leaders in Athens. He played an integral role in development of democracy in Athens. Why did he give this speech? Pericles gave his speech after a number of Athenian soldiers died during the Peloponnesian war. He gave his speech aiming to present the significance of democracy and equality and justice to all people.
2. Based on what you know about Pericles and how this speech was recorded, what are the strengths and weaknesses of this document as a source about Athens’ political system? Pericles was a staunch supporter of democracy and democratic values in Athens. There are several strengths as well as weaknesses in the document as a source of Athens political system. The document highlights the main characteristics of democracy. Democracy tends to favor the majority rather than the few in the society. The document also highlighted the element of class in the society. Social class should not have a significant impact on individual’s merit. The document does not address oppression towards the minority in the Athenian political system.
3. According to Pericles, what were the characteristics of Athenian democracy? There are several features of Athenian democracy as presented by Pericles. The people possess the supreme power. Athenians exercised direct democracy through directly taking part in voting for or aganaist government policies and laws. Pericles also included equality and inclusivity as a feature of democracy. The minority rights such as voting rights must be protected.
Document B: Athenian Constitution
1. What kind of document is this? The Athenian constitution lays down the major elements of Athenian democracy. It provides a comprehensive description of Athens political systems. What was its purpose? The Athenian constitution outlines how Athenians are entitled to Athens citizenship and the voting processes. The vote plays an essential role in Athenian constitution. Personnel such as military officers are elected through vote process.
2. According to the Athenian Constitution, who had the right to vote in Athens? The Athenian constitution outlines the class of people eligible as voters. Citizens born in Athens and have attained the age of 18 years qualify as voters. People who are not approved by courts as Athen citizens lack voting rights.
3. How did someone become “enrolled” as a citizen in Athens? Explain. Individuals were enrolled as citizens in Athens mainly through birth. Children born by Athenian parents were directly registered as Athen citizens. Some individuals became citizens through a court process. The courts considered various options in making a decision whether they qualify as Athen citizens.
Document C: Athenian Population
1. What percentage of Athens’s total population was able to vote? The percentage of total population able to vote in Athens was 12%.
2. Which groups of Athenians were able to vote? Only citizen men have ability to vote. Which groups were not able to vote? Groups such as Citizen Women, children of citizens, metrics and slaves were not able to vote.
Document D: Professor Hansen
1. Who is Hansen? Hansen was one of the prominent philosophy professors at the University of Copenhagen. He was one of the experts in Athenian democracy. What are the strengths and weaknesses of this document as a source about Athens’s political system? There are several weaknesses as well as strengths of the document. One of the notable weaknesses was the exclusion of maniacs and minors as part of Athenian democracy. However the document appreciated democracy as the rule of the people and by the people. The document considers people to be supreme. The other weakness is elimination of citizen women in voting process.
2. According to Hansen, how was Athens’s political system more democratic than democracies we think of today? According to Hansen, the Athenian democracy was stronger due to the direct contribution by the people. The Athenian democracy was a direct democracy. How was it less democratic? On the other hand, it is less democratic compared to the modern democracies due to the element of government by the people rather than government comprising of leaders elected by the people as in the case of modern democracies across the world.
Document E: Professor Camp
1. Who is Camp? Camp was a Classics professor at Randolph College. What are the strengths and weaknesses of this document as a source about Athens’s political system? There are several strengths of the document as a source of Athens political system. The document outlines the impacts of casting votes in evaluation of risks to Athenian democracy. People deemed to be a threat on Athenian democracy were exiled. After the voting process, people in Athens had the opportunity to remove from office people deemed as a threat to democracy.
2. What was ostracism in ancient Athens? Ostracism in ancient Athens comprise of a process through which voters could remove from office and expel political leaders for 10 years. What was its purpose? The purpose of Ostracism was to help in protecting the Athenian democracy. Political leaders considered as being a threat to Athenian democracy were removed through Ostracism.
3. Did ostracism make Athens more or less democratic? Use evidence from the document to support your answer. Ostracism made Athens less democratic. As illustrated in the document, there were several pitfalls and vulnerabilities in the use of Ostracism strategy. Some powerful Athens statesmen with votes used this process to eliminate their weak rivals.
Democracy in ancient Athens can be considered as one of the true democracies across the world. In all the five documents, there is a direct involvement of adults in governance process. The citizens eliminate leaders threatening Athenian democracy through voting process. The democracy in ancient Athens was a direct democracy the leaders take part directly in voting and governance. However, the exclusion of citizen women in voting process raises critics on Athenian democracy.
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