Foundations of Democracy- GR/Rome/JC

Foundations of Democratic Thought: Athens, Rome and Judeo- Christian Contributions Modern World History: Dan McDowell and Abigail Anders.

Set up notes: (Skip lines!!!!)  Part I: Athens - Who’s who?  Solon-  Cleisthenes-  Pericles-  Message  U.S. comparison?  Socrates  Plato  Aristotle 2

Again: skip lines! Athens, Greece Pt II  Government Structure:  The Assembly  The Council of 500  The Board of Generals  Judicial System  Contradictions 3

Athens Olympics! Democracy! Classical Art and Architecture!

Solon  Came to power in 594 BCE  Reorganized the government and economy to allow for upward social mobility  If a man could increase his income, he could be eligible for office  Reforms are moderate and no one is happy – not enough for the poor, too much for the nobility 5

Cleisthenes  Came to power in 508 BCE  Supported more reforms, considered by later Athenians to be a principal founder of democracy  Set up the Council of 500 to help guide general assembly 6

Pericles  Came to power in 460 BCE  Believed that government officials should be chosen based upon abilities – not wealth or family  Set up the jury system  Often considered the father of democracy 7

Pericles  “Here each individual is interested not only in his own affairs but in the affairs of the state as well: even those who are mostly occupied with their own business are extremely well-informed on general politics – we do not say that a man who takes no interest in politics is a man who minds his business, we say that he has no business here at all.” ~ Thucydides’ account of a speech by Pericles 1.Explain the author’s message about political participation in Athens? 2.Is a similar attitude held in the United States of America? Explain. 8

Greek Philosophers  Use logic and reason to investigate the nature of the universe  Socrates-socratic seminar-a question and answer approach. His greatest pupil---  Plato-greatest work The Republic His vision of a perfectly governed society was governed by the wisest, not by the rich and powerful. His student-----  Aristotle- examined the nature of the world and of human belief, thought, and knowledge. In Politics, he wrote “Man is by nature a political animal; it is his nature to live in a state.” 9

 Plato Socrates Plato Aristotle 10

Plato’s Republic “Until philosophers are kings, or the kings and princes of this world have the spirit and power of philosophy and political greatness and wisdom meet in one………. cities will never rest from their evils, nor the human race.” 11

Socrates  Socratic method- question/ question/ question!  Believed people should seek truth and wisdom  After Peloponnesian war, was accused of dishonoring gods, condemned to death  Plato was Socrates student, set up ‘the Academy’  Aristotle was student at Academy 12

Government Structure  Three major components:  The Assembly  The Council of 500  The Board of Generals 13

The Assembly  Any male citizen over eighteen who could attend the meetings held thirty-five times a year – every one to two weeks  Anyone could speak at the Assembly, however it was a tough crowd unless you were a highly respected citizen.  Members could present laws  Everyone in attendance voted on the laws 14

Council of 500  Athens & the surrounding countryside divided into ten demes (or tribes).  Each demes selected by lot fifty men who were at least thirty years old to sit on the Council  Members served one year terms, could not serve two consecutive terms, and could only serve twice overall 15

Council of 500  These term limitation rules ensured that many different citizens would participate and that no individual would have too much power  Being on the Council was a fulltime job; members were paid  The Council prepared the agenda for the Assembly meetings, researched the resolutions for possible problems, and made recommendations 16

Board of Generals  These men replaced the Archons who had obtained power through wealth and nobility  Each of the demes elected one member to the ten person board  Job included the execution and enforcement of laws and resolutions passed by the Assembly  These were the only elected positions in Athens 17

Judicial System  Juries drawn from 6000 citizens  Size varied, but were at least 201 people  Jurors were paid for their service 18

Judicial System  No attorneys: accused and accuser spoke on their own behalf  The trials lasted a single day to avoid any chance of corruption in the jury  There were no appeals and all judgments were final  Non-citizens were represented by owners or employers – could not represent themselves. 19

Contradictions  The Athenian democratic government was revolutionary, but we must not idealize it  Of a city of 250,000 – there were only 45,000 citizens 20

Contradictions  Women had no political or social voice and were regulated to domestic affairs  Resident aliens and slaves also had no political voice  Only about 6000 citizens regularly participated in the Assembly (about 13%) – compare that to modern voter turnouts  Athens participated in the colonization of the Mediterranean region and later forced neighboring city- states to pay to keep the Delian League up and running 21

Pericles Funeral Oration P. Now, write about what you read! Your paragraph should be 5-7sentences AND answer the following questions •Who did Pericles address in his oration? •What was the subject of Pericles’ oration? (what was he talking about)? •When was Pericles giving his address the Athenians? •Where was Pericles giving his oration? •Why was Pericles addressing the Athenians? •How was Pericles addressing the Athenians? 22

What do you remember about Greece? The Roman Republic

Set up Notes for Rome! SKIP LINES!  Roman Republic  Three social classes:  1.  2.  3.  Branches:  2 Consuls (exec.)- skip 2 lines for ea. branch  Senate  Assembly  Roman Law (skip four lines here) 24

Foundations  The Roman Republic was founded in 509 BCE when the Etruscan king was forced out  Set up a Republic which evolved over the next 200 years  Republic – A government where citizens have the right to elect leaders who make government decisions  res publica means “public affairs”  First representative government 25

Social Classes  Patricians – Wealthy landowners, usually part of the nobility  Plebeians – Commoners of Rome, including merchants and farmers  Slaves – Prisoners of war, debtors, and criminals 26

Power Struggle  Initially Patricians held all of the power  Plebeians had no rights, and all of the laws strongly favored the Patricians  During the “Conflict of Orders,” the Plebeians struggle to gain social, economic, and political equality 27

Power Struggle  As Rome begins to expand its dominion the Plebeians become more valuable as soldiers  Patricians eventually trade political rights for military service – the Assembly is set up 28

The Roman Republic 29

Government Structure  Three branch system created  Each branch had different powers and relied upon the other to be successful and efficient  An early form of checks and balances 30

Branches  Two Consuls  Usually Patricians and military generals  Elected for one year terms, but they could be re- elected  During a national crisis, the consuls could appoint a temporary dictator to make quick decisions 31

Branches  Senate  Patricians selected by the two consuls, served life terms  Were the most influential citizens in Rome  Assembly  Patricians and Plebeians elected into office  The assembly held some power, but not enough to make any significant changes 32

The senate and the people of

Roman Laws  Brought system of laws to conquered lands  Laws published universally  All citizens received equal treatment before the law  A person was innocent until proven guilty  Burden of proof stood with the accuser 34

What do you remember about Rome? Judeo-Christian Tradition

Set up Notes: Judeo- Christians  Judeo-Christian Tradition  Judaism  1.  2.  3.  4.  Christianity  1  2  3 Monotheistic Legacy: 36

Judaism  Covenant with god in which he would protect them and they would follow the ten commandments  God was just because of his religious laws  A high standard of moral conduct  A religion of justice, morality, and individual relationship with god 38

Christianity God's kingdom open to all Should love your fellow human beings (“Golden Rule”) Teachings of love, equality, and equ salvation would attract poor,

Legacy of Montheistic Religions Duty of the individual and the community to combat oppression The worth of the individual (individualism = belief in the importance of the individual and in the virtues of self-reliance and

Connection? What does this have to do with the United States? 41

Foundations of Democracy- GR/Rome/JC

by aadb41 on Jul 29, 2008

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Foundations of Democracy- GR/Rome/JC Presentation Transcript