Democratic Concepts Chart Directions: Use your knowledge from the lesson to fill in the missing content in the charts below. Once you have completed your charts, be sure to answer the focus question at the bottom of the page.

Tracing the roots of the American political process to Athens
Ancient Greece was made up of a lot of different poleis or city-states. While they shared a common language, religion, and culture, each city-state had its own laws and its own government. Use your knowledge of the four basic types of government to complete the missing boxes on your first chart.

What is it called? Monarchy Tyrant Oligarchy Democracy
Who ruled it? Government by a single person
How did they get their power? Usually to power by force Usually noble by birth, but had support of the poor The power for these rested in a small group of families Ruled by all its free citizens
How did they keep their power? Their power died with them Ruling hand in the power of the people
The road to democracy in ancient Athens was long and full of challenges. Four key figures, however, played an especially important role. Use your knowledge of the four key figures of Athenian government to complete the missing boxes on your second chart.

Who are the key figures? Draco Solon Cleisthenes Pericles
What contribution did I make on the road to democracy? (You must add at least two contributions to the blank boxes) I am an Athenian lawmaker who introduced the first written code of law in ancient Greece. I spelled out the consequences of breaking the laws.
How did my contribution change government? My laws became the foundation of Athenian democracy. I taught the belief that citizens have a responsibility to vote on all matters. My contributions gave more power to the people and led to Athens’s Golden Age.
The ancient Athenians played a role in how the United States government was established. Its laws and government served as models for countries in the modern world. For example, the idea of two legislative bodies reflects influence from ancient Greece. Use your knowledge of the role played by Ancient Athens on how the United States government was established to complete the missing boxes on your third chart.

Athenian Government Athenian Concept American Democracy American Democracy Concept
The Archon Athens set 30 years as the minimum age to be an archon The President The United States set 35 years as the minimum age to be president.
The Council of 500 The U. S. Senate has two people to represent each state.
House of Representatives The Constitution gave Congress the power to determine the size of the House and to divide representation according to state population. States with large populations have more representatives than small states.
The Law and Courts The U. S. uses judges and juries. The U. S. has 12 jurors per case.
Every citizen had to vote on every issue. Decisions were made based on a consensus from the majority of voters. Representative/Indirect Democracy
Citizenship limited Over the years, the laws have been changed to allow citizens who were non-landowners, former slaves, Native Americans, and women to vote. In 1965, the Voting Rights Act was passed to support minorities and remove the literacy requirements for voting.
Focus Question: How important of a role did the ideas from ancient Greek civilizations play in the development of the American political process?

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