Transcript Greco Roman Concepts - Teaching Louisiana History

Greco Roman Concepts
History of Direct and Indirect Democracy
Video Explanation of Concepts
• Video 1:
http://app.discoveryeducation.com/player/view/assetG
uid/35FC88E1-E562-400B-882C-800E8520DCD3
• Video 2:
http://app.discoveryeducation.com/player/view/assetG
uid/C664FD46-045D-43E4-8968-1B2C49C7CD03
• Video 3:
http://app.discoveryeducation.com/player/view/assetG
uid/CDCB2412-28EF-49C6-B87C-C2C15AE5F4D8
What is Government?
• Government: a system for controlling society
• Throughout history people have recognized
the need for a system to organize society.
• For much of history, people lived under the
rule of kings or rulers with absolute power.
• Opposite of democracy
• First democracies=GREECE & ROME
The World
Arctic
Ocean
Arctic
Ocean
Pacific
Ocean
SOUTH
POLE
Atlantic
Ocean
Arctic
Ocean
Indian
Ocean
SOUTH
POLE
Pacific
Ocean
Rise of Democratic Ideas In Greece and
Rome
Mediterranean Sea
Atlantic
Ocean
Pacific
Ocean
Pacific
Ocean
Indian
Ocean
Romans
509 B.C.
Greeks
594 B.C.
The Rise of
Democracy
The Parthenon
in Athens
***Our government is based on ideas
from Ancient Greece & Rome.
***We call Greece “The Birthplace of
Democracy.”
***A democracy is a government ruled by the people.
Ancient Greece
People lived in a polis
(city-states).
Political unit made
up of a city and
area around it.
Overtime city-states
would change
governments.
Sometimes they
were ruled by
Tyrants and other
times they were a
democracy.
The First Democracy

The city-state of Athens evolved into a democracy.
(demo=people kratos=power)
• Government in which the people exercise power.
• The word “people” meant adult male citizens who had
military training ONLY.

Athens evolved further into a direct democracy.
• In a direct democracy, all citizens meet in one place
(town meetings) to make the laws for their state. The
laws are directly voted on by the people. However, the
officials were chosen from all the citizens by lottery.
• Switzerland is an example of direct democracy today.
Bodies of Government
• There were three main bodies of the government: the Assembly,
the Council of 500, and the Courts.
• The Assembly included all citizens who showed up to vote.
Everyone who was a citizen could participate as part of the
assembly. The assembly would decide on new laws and
important decisions, like whether or not to go to war.
• The Council oversaw much of the day-to-day running of the
government. The Council was determined by lottery. If your
name was chosen, then you would be on the council for one
year.
• The Courts handled lawsuits and trials. The courts had large
juries to help make decisions. For private lawsuits the jury was
at least 201 people, for public lawsuits the jury was at least 501
people.
How did each of these Athenian leaders
contribute to the development of democracy?
Solon
Cleisthenes
Pericles
Outlawed
slavery based
on debt
All free male
adults are
citizens
All citizens
submit laws for
debate
Council of 500
– members
chosen
randomly.
Why?
Increased # of
paid public
officials
Paid jurors –
why is this
important?
Council of 400
Why do some historians believe
that Athens was not a “true
democracy?”
• Not considered
citizens:
1. Women
2. Slaves
3. Foreign residents
**Only men who
completed their
military training
could vote.
Why did democracy end in
Athens?
• Peloponnesian War
• Athens v. Sparta
• Invasion by
Macedonia
338 B.C.
The end of Democracy
in Greece and…..……
The beginning of a
foreign Monarchy.
*Direct democracy
*Paying jurors so more people can
participate
in
government
Greeks
*3 branches of government
*Written Legal Code
*Natural law
The lands of the Roman
Empire, who allowed conquered
people the right of equal treatment
under the law.
Invading Roman Army
Romans, welcoming their emperor.
The Roman
Republic
Roman aristocrats
overthrew the harsh
king & set up the new
government: the
Republic
The Romans were the
first to give us
Representative
Democracy with their
senators.
***The Romans used a
Republican form of Government Representative Democracy.
A Representative Democracy is a government in which the people elect
(vote for) a smaller group to make the rules & laws for everyone.
The Roman Republic
In 509 BC, the Romans overthrew their king and created a
republic.
a government in which citizens rule through
representatives, whom they elect.


Patricians (members of the landholding upper class) ruled.
Plebeians (common farmers, merchants, and artisans) could
rule.

Plebeians demanded laws be written=first written code of
law.
Government set up separate branches (separation of
powers).

Twelve Tables
• Roman laws were carved
on 12 tablets and publicly
displayed.
• Why is the formation of a
written law code
necessary in a democratic
government?
• Established the idea that
all free citizens had the
right to protection of the
laws and that the laws
would be fair to all.
Republican Government
• Legislative
branch made up
of the Senate
• Senate was made
up of only
patricians.
• Why do you
think plebeians
were not allowed
to be senators?
Romans
*Representative democracy
*the Individual is a citizen of the State not
just a subject to a ruler.
*Written Legal Code
*3 branches of government
*All citizens had the right to :
equal treatment under the law
considered innocent until proven guilty
burden of proof rested with the accuser
*Any law that seemed unreasonable or
grossly unfair could be set aside.
Lets practice!!!! Get out
your whiteboards!!
Which kind of government do we have in the United States?
Do we have a Direct Democracy?
Do we have a Representative Democracy?
This one is correct!
Scenario 1: Direct or Indirect
Democracy in which votes
choose delegates to create the
laws of government on their
behalf. This is an example of ?
Indirect
Scenario 2: Direct or Indirect
People directly vote on whether a
law will be passed or a person
elected. This is an example of ?
Direct
Scenario 3: Direct or Indirect
In the United States, we vote for
representatives in the Electoral
College to help us vote for
President. This is an example of ?
Indirect
Scenario 4: Direct or Indirect
The people of Athens voted directly
on the city-states laws without the
help of elected representatives.
This is an example of ?
Direct
Scenario 5: Direct or Indirect
The Romans Legislative Branch was
made of Senators who would
represent the Roman people during
voting just like the U.S. Senators and
HOR do today. This is an example
of ?
Indirect
As a class, lets see how this
works!!!
Exercise 1 (Direct Democracy): Lets vote on two new class
procedures (using cell phones or chewing gum in school).
-By show of hands vote for only one of the
procedures above. We will tally the votes and the
procedure with the most votes wins.
Exercise 2 (Indirect Democracy): Lets vote on two new class
procedures (using cell phones or chewing gum in school).
-For each 5 students in the class, the class will have a
representative that will count as 1 vote. How many votes
will our class have? Let’s see which procedure wins now!