Democracy is one of the most advanced forms of government known to mankind. Most of the existing states (117 out of 194) have a democratic structure and power. In what country was democracy born?
Instructions
Step 1
The word "democracy" itself has a Greek form and has two roots: "demo" - people and "kratos" - power, government. Literally translated, it means "the rule of the people."
Step 2
The foundations of a democratic system emerged in the Greek city-states (city-states). The leader - the tribune and the city council - were elected by a general vote. Adult men, ready for war and with land, had the right to vote.
Step 3
Many of the Greek principles of “hereditary” governance migrated into the constitution of the “eternal city” of Rome. In the Italian citadel, democracy was elevated to a cult and seriously changed - a Senate was created, in which both foreign policy and internal laws of the proclaimed republic were decided. A unified judicial and legal system was created - "Roman Law".
Step 4
With the fall of the Roman Republic, democracy suffered severe damage. Power began to be concentrated in the hands of kings, kings and sultans. The monarchs actively used the church and religious teachings to prove their "divine mission" (even the Egyptian pharaohs did this in ancient times).
Step 5
The struggle between the unification of large landowners in England with King Johannes Landless led to the signing in 1225 of an important document for the fate of world democracy - the "Magna Carta". She limited the power of the monarch and forced him to take into account the decisions of the created Parliament.
Step 6
Russia also had its own democratic state. In the Novgorod principality, decisions were made at a city meeting at the sound of a bell. This gathering was called "Veche". The cross on the freedom of Novgorod was put up by Ivan the Terrible, who ruined the city.
Step 7
The oldest existing democratic constitution was adopted in the United States of America. The "Declaration of Independence" was proclaimed in 1776 to liberate from the oppression of the metropolis - Great Britain. It enshrines the idea of equality and the right to freedom of all citizens of the state.
Step 8
Thus, many peoples have contributed to democracy. The Greeks were the first to become the bearers of "people's power"; the Americans revived it.
