America: The Modern Day Athens

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is an example of a direct democracy. A point should be made here that
Athens, for all its noble ideas about men being able to govern themselves,
excluded most of the people that lived within its cities walls. Women, for
example had no say in government. They were subjected to running the homes,
raising children, and tending to the needs of their husbands. Slavery, which
existed in Athens, also caused a blot on the noble experiment of democracy.
Slaves had no vote, no participation in government, and no recourse from a cruel
master.
Athenian government relied upon direct democracy to raise taxes, make laws,
and gather armed forces when necessary.
The American experiment in democracy differs significantly from the
Athenian form of government. America utilizes a representative form of
democracy. Because of the huge population, when compared to Athens, a direct
democracy is impractical. Americans vote for representatives to the Legislative
and Executive branches of ...

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