Direct democracy was practiced by the Athenians and was implemented on their society because it was believed to be the best form of government for their society. The idea was revolutionary, it allowed male citizens to have a political voice in the Assembly to express their opinions regarding their government. Overtime, humans studied the idea of democracy and changed ideas to make it more applicable to societies. The American forefathers expanded on the idea of Athenian democracy and introduced a more representative democracy. A representative democracy is based on a society appointing people to office who then vote for their constituents. Although direct democracy is the foundation to our modern government, it does not match the strength and the overall coverage of representation of today’s American democracy.
When everyone is given a voice in government, an assembly can become extremely disorganized. What I took away from “Reacting to the Past” was that no one really thought about what was best for the nation, people had secret agendas that prioritized what was best for themselves. Not only that, but the voices of the assembly were limited to male citizens. Athenian democracy did not allow metics, slaves, or women to vote. “It was the free adult male population of Athens that was allowed to take part in government and make decisions on behalf of the women and children living in their household.” Of a population of 385,000, only 30,000 were Athenian citizens. (Haddox) Do the other 355,000 not have a say? Does their political voice not matter? Today’s democracy does not restrict the women’s freedom to vote, nor does it limit people from attaining citizenship. A direct democracy allows the people to vote on elected officials, senators, and congress, who can represent them and their beliefs in the Senate and House of Representation. They are voted into office to share the beliefs of their constituents. In my district, my congresswoman holds monthly town meetings to note what change the residents want to see in office. Emails are sent to inform those signed up on her agenda, and you can call her office if you have any questions regarding her actions. This direct representation allows the people to have a louder voice in government, without being so clustered and disorganized like our version of the Athenian Assembly.
The Athenian direct democracy has good intentions because the people can speak for themselves. However, the modern representative democracy has proven to be the most efficient. I might be biased because of my gender… but at least I know my voice can be heard through our modern democracy.
http://www.ancientfacts.net/was-ancient-greek-democracy-better-than-todays-american-democracy/
The West in the Pre-Modern World 
After participating in the in-class “Reacting to the Past” activity, I would agree that a direct democracy is a chaotic way to govern a large group of people (or in our case, a group of twenty or so students). With a direct democracy, voting citizens only think about their own personal agendas, rather than the welfare of the nation as a whole. It is impossible to gather a legitimate vote on what the nation might truly need to be successful. With a representative democracy, it is easier to gather the opinions and needs of citizens as a whole and consolidate those griefs through a single person. This representative is already committed to helping the nation, and for the majority of the time, does not let their personal agendas influence their political decisions. A representative democracy provides citizens with the opportunity to have their ideas and beliefs presented in a much more organized and civil manner than what is seen in a direct democracy.
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