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507
Ancient Greeks had the first Democracy
- 507 BCE Athenian leader Cleisthens introduced a system of political reforms he called “demokratia” or rule by the people
- System had three Branches: Ekklesia, Boule and Dikasteria
- Decisions therefore were made by representatives from each of the Greek Tribes
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509
Rome declared a republic after the people (mostly noble) rebelled against the king and he was sent away
- Rome was never a democracy as we know it today or even the ancient Greeks knew it
- All power laid in the hands of richer Romans in the early days
- Upper class Romans ruled over the common folk
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Jun 15, 1215
King John forced to sign the Magna Carta
- Magna Carta outlined a number of provisions where the power of the monarchy would be restricted and the rights of the citizens safeguarded
- This meant the King could no longer do whatever he wanted
- Beginning of moderen Democracy
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American revolution creating first true Democracy
- Americans could vote and the powers of the government were restricted so that no one branch could have too much power
- Governement had 3 branches to keep each other in line
- If one branch tried to abuse its power the other 2 could keep the peace and fix the problem
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French revolution begins
- French society rallied in spirt of Democracy
- The middle class of France rose to overthrow their monarch King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette
- Power fell to the military dictator Napoleon who tried to use his new power to take over all of Europe
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Communism
- 1917 Vladamir Lenin was able to overthrow the Russian Tzar
- Through purges and starvation, the KGB and the Gulag, Stalin kills between 20-30 million Russians
- Stalin plummets the world into the Cold War which lasted until the early 90s
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Militarism
- After a short period of democracy, Japan moved into a nationalistic direction in the 1930s
- Frustrated by what they felt was unfair treatment by the West, Japan became a military state and very aggressive
- Emperor Hirohito of Japan led his country (and army) to war and tried to dominate the Pacific during WWII
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Fascism
- 1920s a young ex army corporal and former homeless Austrian found his voice, and a following of people in the war torn and economically crippled Germany
- With total power Hitler waged WWII
- After WWI, Benito Mussolini formed a fascist government in Italy