Aim: Identifying the Differences Between Athenian Democracy and US Democracy

Democracy Develops in Athens 500 BCE People of Athens try governing themselves Develop Democracy: Rule by the people In Democracy, all citizens share in ruling power. Citizen: Member of a democracy, who has certain rights and responsibilities 2

Greek Democracy vs US Democracy Greek democracy different from US Democracy Athens used Direct Democracy Every citizen can vote on every issue U.S. uses Representative Democracy People vote for representatives who decide on issues in their name 3

How did Direct Democracy work? Athens had assembly: Lawmaking group Any free man could speak in Assembly and vote on new laws Not all Greeks believed that democracy was a good type of government Powerful speakers sometimes persuaded ordinary citizens to vote unwisely 4