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GROWTH OF DEMOCRACY THROUGH HISTORICAL TIMES, Ancient Greek, , The origin of the concept ‘Democracy’ can be traced back to the old Greek city states which have, enjoyed complete local autonomy. They experimented with different forms of government like, Aristocracy, Monarchy, Tyranny, Oligarchy and Democracy. After views various forms of government,, Aristotle gave his favour in the favour of policy or a moderate form of government. The type of, Democracy that prevailed in these states was pure or a direct democracy wherein all the freemen met, together in general assemblies and passed laws and executed them received ambassador and acted as, jurymen. This type of democracy was revived in medieval times by Italian city states. The Forrest, Cannons of Switzerland also had a direct democracy which has come down to modern times. Rousseau,, in the eighteenth century, deprecated indirect or representative democracy on the large scale under, modern conditions. But, he even advocated the fact that pure democracy presupposes many difficult, things to combine. He presupposes 1) a small state, in which people may be easily assembled, and in, which every citizen can easily know all the rest, 2) considerable equality in rank and fortune, 3) great, simplicity on matters, and 4) little or no luxury., , Athens was the first city state to allow ordinary citizens access to government offices and courts. In, theory, all Athenian citizens were eligible to speak and vote in the Assembly which set the laws of the, city-state. In reality, Athens was not a true democracy as women were not included nor were foreigners,, slaves or freed slaves. Also, according to the rules of citizenship both parents must have been Athenian, citizens for a person to qualify to take part in the Assembly. The democracy therefore, was only a very, small minority of the people living in Athens. It was, however, the closest any country had come to, establishing a democratic society at this time., , (All these highlight the incidents which have influenced the whole world and served as a source of, inspiration to uplift the concept of ‘Democracy’)., , Democracy in the middle ages, , The middle ages were a period of European history from the fall of the Roman Empire, (476 AD) until the fall of Constantinople in 1453 AD. It is also known as the Dark Ages., Although there was not a democracy directly in place during the Middle Ages, Christianity, was widely followed and so many democratic ideas were understood and followed by, many of the people. Christianity taught that all men were created equal., , Another form of government, known as feudalism developed during this time. Feudalism, stressed that all people had certain rights and developed a system of courts to defend, these rights. There were feudal lords that were appointed for different counties that, decided the matters and reported the same to the king. It was democratic in a way that, people had the means to express their dissatisfaction and predicaments through these, feudal lords, despite the fact that these feudal lords were appointed by the king and not, through people directly.

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Adoption of Magna Carta, , In medieval England, in 1215, King John had total control and his subjects had no freedom, or say whatsoever. The Magna Carta took some of the king’s power away and gave some, rights and freedom to the people. The Magna Carta is a historical document that means, ‘Great Charter’ (great paper) in Latin. It was written by the barons of England who were, unhappy that the king was abusing his power and increasing taxes. The Magna Carta, contained 63 clauses promising all freemen access to the courts and a fair trial,, eliminating unfair fines and punishments and giving power to the Catholic Church in, England instead of the king., , The Magna Carta was an important milestone in British Law and would become the basis, for many international constitutions in the future, including the Australian Constitution., It was through its adoption that the ultimate and unchallenged powers of the king were, questioned and taken away for the benefit of the people, strengthening the concept of, democracy which is based on rule for the people and by the people., , American Revolution, , The American Revolution is an important event in history that marks a turning point in, democracy. The first step was the creation of the Declaration of Independence, written by, the American President, Thomas Jefferson in 1776. In this document many ideas were, taken from two famous philosophers of the time, Jean Jacques Rousseau and John Locke,, which outlined freedom and equality which forms the essence of democracy., , At the end of the Revolutionary War, in the 1780s, some people, most notably the Tories,, wanted power to remain in the hands of the aristocracy; they believed that all men meant, all gentlemen. Many Tories feared that “the Revolution would lead to a democratic, upheaval” and these fears were not “without foundation”. Some Americans certainly, “regarded the principles of the Declaration of Independence as presaging a new social and, political order”. The democratic features of the Revolution included a call for ‘no taxation, without representation’ at home, denouncing certain titles such as ‘His Excellency,’, resentment against profiteers (exploiters), demands for “all institutions to be subjected, to the test of reason” and other aspects., , , , , , Legal Research & Writing, , THE FUNDAMENTAL SKILL, All Lawyers (& Law Students) Need

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One of the democratic features of the new country was the almost equal pay provided to, the soldiers. This egalitarianism was defended by the New Englanders and attacked by, the Southerners. The best example of democracy was the violent upheaval that swept, away the Quaker oligarchy in Pennsylvania. The final draft of the Constitution is a great, example of democracy all in itself. It made America safe for democracy. After the Peace of, Paris, Americans finally put away their arms and vigorously sought to apply the ideals for, which they had fought to conditions at home. These incidents reflect the evolution and, growth of democracy in America which had laid the foundations of its scope and features, for every State of the world., , DEMOCRACY UNDER REVISION, , The need for Democracy had followed a negative slope from historical times to the present, day world due to many loopholes which it contains and manifests. The years succeeding, World War II have shown clearly that democracy is not an open sesame to peace,, prosperity and progress. In the multitude of voices, wisdom is not necessarily found in a, democratic nation. Democracy is being attacked today from various angles, both by, reactionaries and by revolutionaries. It is attacked with much vehemence by the believers, in aristocracy and dictatorship. Many opinions voice that majorities should be, disregarded and coerced for the benefit of all, since such majority contains large chunks, of uneducated class which through their unintelligible approach make wrong decisions, and policies for the nations., , Many critics highlight that democracy is founded on wrong premises. Democracy,, according to them, assumes that the common man understands political issue in all their, complexity and that he has the capacity to govern himself. These assumptions are, challenged by the elite class on the grounds that majority of people are incapable of, understanding political problems and are thoroughly incompetent to govern themselves., Therefore, the government should be vested in the hands of the few who are wise and, capable., , DEMOCRACY IN PRESENT FORM, , It has been argued that present day experience shows that democracy of the pure and, direct type is an absolutely unattainable thing to achieve in the State. The only type which, is possible for us today is the indirect or representative democracy. According to it, the, actual administration of affairs is taken from the hands of the people and is vested to the, delegates. The nearest approach that we find to direct democracy in some modern States, is in the form of the referendum, initiative, and recall. These devices are by no means, capable of universal application. Some of the other things like electorate, responsibility of, the government to the majority party, frequent elections, and local self-government are, more commonly adopted in a democratic society. Democracy and Parliamentary, government are not necessarily identical, although for England and other countries which, have adopted the English political model, democracy is absolutely connected with, Parliament., , The need for classification of different forms of government into aristocracy, monarchy,, tyranny and democracy is not pertinent in recent times wherein these forms of, government are amalgamated with each other. This means that it is now rarely possible

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to find democracy in its exact form. Every form of government contains a mix of every, form necessary to carry out its functions. The English Constitution may appear to be, monarchic on the surface, but it is fundamentally democratic, with a strong tinge of, aristocracy. The House of Lords represent the aristocratic class, whereas the Queen of, England highlights the monarchy rule. But, it is the people with whom all the power vests, which they use through the electoral process by choosing the members of House of, Commons, which show the strength and validity the democratic rule prevails. The Queen, is vested with few powers and ultimately, it is the House of Commons which hold the, authoritative power over the House of Lords. Political thinkers like Bryce proclaim that a, democracy should include aristocracy- not an aristocracy of birth or wealth, but an, aristocracy of ability, intelligence and character., , The different phases in the historical times that have contributed to the growth of the, concept of democracy highlight the changes which it has experienced in interpreting its, nature and scope for universal application., , Uiaeae pret A alecda ar fara, Orehet Totter, , ‘Arends FY sraeU AY Scot HI TAT Wey alte Vex, Usat A AMA ot Wha 8, forested FOI Carey Carrdar, A Heiq fora S| Seslet CHR H fated wT TS, SAA FH, Wael, HRAITIN, Holter 3 cena h, ea Valet feu! GaN H fafHeet Bal HT AGel H sa,, aed a aia a Aka & sanarel Caer h yar F, Woe Wet TET] Set Usa A aa Ga HT Alda wafer, UT ae Mee UT Wesat clea at foraA Tel Tacsy at, WAS TH A ve ay ad J 3 Hee aa, ata Y sik see fervoiea ata A 3X SoS Usied Wed