Kevin Beadle
Mr. Haskell
American Gov.
20 September 2007
This cite contains much information about the history of democracy. The history of democracy page shows how the word “democracy,” traced back to the area surrounding the Mediterranean Sea. On the left side of the website, there are links that have the theories of government, models of democracy, challenges to democracy, and the sociologists on government. The theories of government link gives a discussion of the understanding of what government is and what the purposes of it are. The models of democracy link gives the reader an understanding of the principles of democracy. Under that link are sub links with different models of democracy. The first model is the participatory model. The page shows how the citizens play an active role in the government by doing neighborhood assemblies and worker's councils. The next model is the protective model. In the page, it shows that this is the most basic model because the primary function of the government is to protect the liberty of the citizens. There are two other models and their links gives there basic info just like the one's I described. Another link is the challenges of democracy. Here there are observations given about how democracy has been a challenge in stability because the diverse population. Overall this site is very good in terms of information but the page layout is basic.
Lefebvre, Eliot. “A More Perfect Union.” http://library.thinkquest.org/26466/main.shtml September 19 2007
This website shows the evolution of democracy with three main categories. These are links on the page that give information about the history of democracy in Greece, the Medieval times, and modern democracy. For Greece, there are sub-links that include rival systems, Athenian democracy, the people's army, the mechanics of democracy, generals and treasurers, the Athenian administration, and the end of the experiment. The Medieval times have links with the elements of democracy, the Scandinavians, Italy's communes, parliament, estates and the sejm. Modern democracy contains the U.S. Constitution, reform bill in Britain, the representation of the people, and votes for women. For the Greece link, rival systems show how people held power in a society and how they used it. The Athenian democracy link showed how it was an experiment in direct democracy and how it represented it for modern societies. In Medieval democracy, the elements of democracy link showed that people acquired these elements and used them to achieve ultimate control. It described parliament has having a “council of the king” to make legal judgments. The Modern democracy shows when the U.S. Constitution was adopted which was 1788 and that it was the “blueprint” for a modern democracy. The website was very informative and I would recommend it to anyone searching for the topic of democracy's origins.
Gascoigne, Bamber “History of Democracy.” http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?historyid=ac42 September 19 2007
This is an excellent website for anyone who wants to know the Constitution backward and forward. Its purpose is to let everyone know what is and is not considered unconstitutional as well as explain the separate areas and objectives of the American Constitution. Underneath the purpose of the Constitution Society are a dozen links that lead to explanations of each main concept in the United States Constitution. These links include the basic principles of the Constitution, rights, powers, and duties of America and its leaders, and information on specific rights bestowed by the Constitution, such as jurisdiction and due process. In each of these twelve links is a list of essays, articles, or websites that date back all the way to the beginning of the United States. On the main page, there are four links on events, organizations, and more based on the rights given to citizens by the Constitution. In addition, four more links are provided as resources to locate more information on the Constitution, including an images section that provides pictures of American Founding Fathers, people who inspired American Democracy, such as John Locke, and photos of the actual Constitution and Declaration of Independence.
Roland, Jon “Constitution Society.” www.constitution.org. September 20 2007