Democracy is a word from the Greek language - demokratia meaning rule by the people.
A sort of democracy was practiced by the ancient Greeks in the city of Athens. Everyone who was a citizen (slaves, women, foreigners, and children could not vote) would pick a leader by writing the name of their favorite candidate on a piece of stone or wood. The person with the most votes became the leader. In effect only 10% of the population had the vote.
In ancient Athens, the citizens could vote each year to banish any person who was growing too powerful, as a threat to democracy. This process was called Ostracism.
In 351 BC, the plebeians or ‘plebs’ of Ancient Rome were given their first taste of democracy — the right to stand for election as Censor, the officer responsible for maintaining public morality.
The pastor and founder of Hartford, Connecticut, Thomas Hooker, argued in the State court in 1638 that the colony’s citizens should have the right to appoint their own magistrates. For this reason he is sometimes known as the father of American democracy.
The Dutch-Jewish philosopher Spinoza published his Tractaus anonymously in 1670. As the work promoted democracy as the most natural form of government he feared it was unlikely to be welcomed by the authorities.
The term 'democracy' is not mentioned once in the US Constitution.
A sort of democracy was practiced by the ancient Greeks in the city of Athens. Everyone who was a citizen (slaves, women, foreigners, and children could not vote) would pick a leader by writing the name of their favorite candidate on a piece of stone or wood. The person with the most votes became the leader. In effect only 10% of the population had the vote.
In ancient Athens, the citizens could vote each year to banish any person who was growing too powerful, as a threat to democracy. This process was called Ostracism.
In 351 BC, the plebeians or ‘plebs’ of Ancient Rome were given their first taste of democracy — the right to stand for election as Censor, the officer responsible for maintaining public morality.
The pastor and founder of Hartford, Connecticut, Thomas Hooker, argued in the State court in 1638 that the colony’s citizens should have the right to appoint their own magistrates. For this reason he is sometimes known as the father of American democracy.
The Dutch-Jewish philosopher Spinoza published his Tractaus anonymously in 1670. As the work promoted democracy as the most natural form of government he feared it was unlikely to be welcomed by the authorities.
The term 'democracy' is not mentioned once in the US Constitution.
The first democracies in Asia were the 18th century Borneo "Kongsi Republics." Founded by Chinese merchants, these privately-owned states implemented a statewide-version of a Chinese Village Council (where menfolk voted on decisions), which made them Merchant Republics and Asia's first democratic states.
1797 saw the first ever peaceful transfer of power between elected leaders in modern times, when John Adams was sworn in as President of the United States, succeeding George Washington.
In 1941, there were only eleven democracies in the world.
The smallest acting democracy in the world is that of the Pitcairn Islands, currently at a population count of 50 residents, who are descendants of a small collection of mutinous British sailors and Tahitian guests.
Source Chronicle of The World
1797 saw the first ever peaceful transfer of power between elected leaders in modern times, when John Adams was sworn in as President of the United States, succeeding George Washington.
In 1941, there were only eleven democracies in the world.
The smallest acting democracy in the world is that of the Pitcairn Islands, currently at a population count of 50 residents, who are descendants of a small collection of mutinous British sailors and Tahitian guests.
Source Chronicle of The World
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