Beginning of Essay
"We do not copy our Ancestors, but are an example to them. It is true we are called a Democracy, for the administration is in the hands of the many and not in the few. " This is the foundation for which democracy is ruled. Without this democracy does not exist. ....

Middle of Essay
.... the Council of 500; they were chosen annually. To be elected they had to be at least 25 years of age and a citizen. They directly had a voice. This is why Athens 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 ....