How democratic was Britain by 1928? Democracy is a System of government “of the people, by the people, for the people” (Abraham Lincoln). In 1851, Britain was not a very democratic country since the vast majority of its adult population were disenfranchised. However, a number of reforms were passed which gradually helped Britain meet the 7 “hallmarks” of democracy. These include the franchise, a fair voting system, accountability, a choice of party, access to information, a national party system and participation – the right to stand for election to parliament.
POLITICAL Successes: Creating a democracy out of the ashes of defeat and the threat of Revolution in 1918/19 Creating a modern democratic constitution with explicit freedoms, PR, female suffrage and an elected Presidency. Eyck called it “an experiment in liberal, parliamentary democracy” Surviving the revolutionary period of 1918-19 and the hyperinflation crisis of 1923. Creating the stability and foreign policy successes of the ‘Golden Years’ (1924-1929) Henig - remember how fractured German society was – social class, region, age Failures: The ‘Ersatz Kaiser’ - Article 48 gave the President emergency powers. This was used extensively by Hindenburg after 1930. PR allowed small parties like the NSDAP in the 1920s, to thrive.
The Fundamental Orders of Connecticut became the first constitution. The formation of colonial governments was completed without the aid of England. They were formed "for the people and by the people" and gave the colonists experience in self-government. Religions grew in the colonies. Most were based
Common Era (also Current Era[1] or Christian Era[2]), abbreviated as CE, is an alternative naming of the traditional calendar era, Anno Domini (abbreviated AD). [3] BCE is the abbreviation for Before the Common/Current/Christian Era (an alternative to Before Christ, abbreviated BC). The CE/BCE designation uses the year-numbering system introduced by the 6th-century Christian monk Dionysius Exiguus, who started the Anno Domini designation, intending the beginning of the life of Jesus to be the reference date. [4][5] Neither notation includes a year zero,[6] and the two notations (CE/BCE and AD/BC) are numerically equivalent; thus "2012 CE" corresponds to "AD 2012" and "399 BCE" corresponds to "399 BC". The expression "Common Era" can be found as early as 1708 in English,[7] and traced back to Latin usage among European Christians to 1615, as vulgaris aerae,[8] and to 1635 in English as Vulgar Era.
Strong representative government (and liberalism) was imported to these colonies from the mother country, giving rise to colonial legislatures. When the United States became an independent nation (via the American Revolution, 1775-83), a national representative government was established. A representative government is not democratic, however, unless its representatives are elected by the people. The American achievement of white male suffrage in the early nineteenth century has earned the United States the title of "world's first true democracy". This was the breakthrough in the expansion of suffrage, and marks the first time in history when a large proportion of a national population could elect its representatives.
New ideas and beliefs spread through Europe and worldwide and marked a change from only having religious texts to also providing intellectual texts. John Locke, an English Enlightenment thinker, shared his views on society in his text Two Treatises on Government. He claimed that nobody should have more power than another and the people should live in state of equality (Doc 2). Up until this point, the church had all the authority but Locke provided insight that everyone should be equal. Baron de Montesquieu, a French Enlightenment thinker, said in his book The Spirit of Laws that he thought “there should sorts of power; the legislative; the executive… and the judicial” (Doc 3).
Napoleon Bonaparte improved culture in France setting the foundation for change in Europe, creating Frances first structured set of laws, allowing freedom of religion in his empire, and finally breaking the boundary that divided the social classes. Le Code Napoleon brought revolutionary ideas to France and all of Europe. It brought rules and discipline to France: “The Code Napoleon is the French civil code… established under Napoleon 1 in 1804…” The Code gave post-revolutionary France its first coherent set of laws concerning property, colonial affairs, the family, and individual rights. It was the first modern legal code to be adopted with a pan-European scope. Strongly influencing the laws of many countries formed during and after the Napoleonic Wars.
Plato decided that both, men and women, should have the same education and the pursuit of happiness. This concludes that in ancient times, Plato was trying to make the greatest society and resulted in having equal rights of the same gender. In addition, Aristotle was a philosopher that generated these theories on reason (Document 2). Government in Western Civilization is based on reason because many rulers use intelligence and wisdom. In big decision, this is curtail because one must look past all the little details and decide from what is right and what the population needs.
He believed in “Life, Liberty, and Property.” One of the main framers that John Locke influenced majorly was a classical liberal and that was Thomas Jefferson. (Stephenson 119) Jefferson once states, “Our liberty depends upon the freedom of the press.” He played a big role in the creation of the Bill of Rights, which are all about equality and being liberal. He was the one who contacted Madison and told him to ratify the constitution because it lacked a bill of rights and the failure to provide for rotation in office. James Madison was the father of the Constitution and drafted the Bill Of Rights, which is all about equality. To make the people feel equally powered with the government and Madison was a liberal.
The American War- a Revolution or not? It is well argued by many historians that the great nation of the USA came into being by a civil war and not a revolution. A civil war is when two parties from opposite groups resort to force to decide who will govern a country. It might have partly been a civil war because it’s true that the Americans were fighting against the British. However it was the first time settlers of a colony had challenged their parent country and fought hard to win their independence, and by doing so set up a government with its own laws and constitutions- which is the perfect example of a revolution.