DBQ - Concept of Democracy essays

DBQ - Concept of Democracy essays The concept of democracy has evolved a lot throughout history. One period when there were many new ideas about a democracy is the Enlightenment period. Some important people who expressed these ideas are Thucydides, Aristotle, John Locke, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau. In The Peloponnesian War, Thucydides states that, Our constitution is called a democracy because the power is in the hands not of a minority but of the whole people. He means that instead of having one absolute ruler, the government system is run by the people, having everyone equal before the law. He also describes, that it is no of someones family status or class that they are put in a position, but of that persons ability to hold the job. Another person contributing to the ever changing concept of democracy is Aristotle. In The Politics, he describes the election of officers by the people, which is something we still participate in to this day. He also states that a man should not hold an office twice and for a certain period of time, or at least not often. Also, he describes judges should be selected by the people, also holding that position for a brief period of time. Another man who had plenty of ideas of democracy was the Enlightenment thinker, John Locke. He believes all men were born with and should hold their natural rights, them being life, liberty, and pursuit of property, this is explained in The Second Treatise of Civil Government. These natural rights were slightly changed and put into our Declaration of Independence later. He believed that all men were equal and therefore should be treated equally. This, in many ways, states how a system of democracy is run and kept running. One more man contributing to the evolution of a democratic government is another Enlightenment thinker by the name of Jean-Jacques Rousseau. In Discourse on the Origin and Foundations of Inequality, he e...