roots of american government

1. roots of american government • Ancient Greece,Rome,France and England

2. ROOTS

3. What do you see here?

4. Ancient Greece and Direct Democracy • This is a form of government in which citizens rule and make laws directly rather than through representatives. In Athens, more citizens were actively involved in government than in any other city- state. • In a speech, Pericles expressed his great pride in Athenian democracy when he said, “Our constitution is called a democracy because power is in the hands not of a minority but of the whole people.”

5. Rome and the Republic • In 509 B.C., a group of Roman aristocrats overthrew a harsh king. They set up a new government, calling it a republic. A republic is a form of government in which power rests with citizens who have the right to elect the leaders who make governmental decisions. It is an indirect democracy, in contrast to the direct democ-racy in which all citizens participate directly in the government. In Rome, as in Greece, citizenship with voting rights was granted only to free-born males.

6. The Magna Carta • The first time in history that a Monarch’s(king) power was limited by the aristocracy • http://www.teachertube.com/viewVideo.php?video_id=114193

7. English Bill of Rights • 1689-the Parliament (its LEGISLATIVE BRANCH) became more powerful than the Monarch • The Parliament created the English Bill of Rights • What might be some of those rights?

8. What is reason?Ask John Locke... • Reason= the power and the ability to think clearly • Law of Nature? • John Locke- Natural Rights • The right to life • The right to liberty • The right to pursuit of happiness

9. What is Separation of Powers?Ask Montesquieu... • A system of CHECKS and BALANCES • Montestesquieu (French)

10. List three influences on the United States of America’s government