How exactly did ancient Athens Influence the framers of the United States Constitution? And what was the difference between the types of government?
Firstly it is most likely that some form of democracy has been around for almost as long as humans have existed. It would be a little silly to suggest that pre-historic people never voted before the establishment of democracy in Athens. However it is the first documented democracy that has traits that we are going to talk about.
The year is 508 BC, and for the first time, the people of Athens have a voice over their city politics under the system of Demokratia or democracy. The class struggle Demos mean people, and kratoes mean to rule. Together, deomkratia means the rule of the people.
Little did the Athenians know that they had just laid the foundation for one of the most powerful superpowers mankind had ever seen.
Two thousand two hundred ninety-six years later, on September 17, 1788, The United States Constitution was formally adopted. To this day, ideas that sprung from the Athenians still stand strong amongst some of the most successful nations in the world.
The United States Constitution And Ancient Athens
1. Demorcatic Pricaples
Ancient Athens was the oldest recorded city to allow a form of democracy called direct democracy, where the people’s voice had a direct influence on the decision-making.
Direct democracy is when the people decide on policy without voting for a representative.
A representative democracy (America) is when the people vote for officials who represent the people’s ideas. A modification to direct democracy but still the general idea is the same.
“Its administration favours the many instead of the few; this is why it is called a democracy.” -Pericles’ Funeral Oration
2. Separation of Powers
Separating power within the government goes back to the Athenian government. The Athenian government separated its government with The Assembly (Ekklesia), which was open to all Athenian male citizens, and the Council of 500, which represented the full-time citizens of the government of Athens,
Council of 500: The Council of 500 or Boule was a council of 500 randomly picked citizens whose job was to run the city’s daily affairs. However, only free Athenian males aged 30 or above were selected.
The Assembly: The assembly allowed all male citizens to gather, speak their minds and vote. It’s primary purpose though was to make laws, decide whether to wage wars, granting citizenship to foreigners, elected officials, and tried political crimes.
This is similar to how the United States spreads its power among its three branches of government: executive, legislative, and judicial.
3. Public Discourse and Debate
Athens had many places for debate, public discussion, and exchange of ideas. The ancient Greeks gave many of their philosophers our equivalent of celebrity status. The Greeks thought of wisdom above all else; public talking and debate were promoted, especially in Athens.
Socrates:
“Wisdom should be cherished as a means of travelling from youth to old age. For it is more lasting than any other possession.”
However, like early America, only male citizens of Athens could voice their opinions. This meant no, women, slaves, and non-Athenian citizens could voice thier opinions within the Athenian government.
The Founding Fathers also put great importance on open debate and free speech. Many Americans would say that the lack of open debate with the British Crown was one reason that led to the Civil War.
“Freedom of speech is a principal pillar of a free government; when this support is taken away, the constitution of a free society is dissolved, and tyranny is erected on its ruins.” – Benjamin Franklin
4. Rule of Law
Athens upheld the rule of law, which meant that government officials were also under the rules and regulations they made.
This is similar to the USA, whose government is governed by laws, not individuals.
5. Constitutional Government
Aristotle, or one of his students, wrote their laws in the “Constitution of the Athenians.” Ancient accounts credit Aristotle with 158 constitutions of various states. Although this is up for debate among modern scholars.
While not a constitution in the modern sense, it still gave the idea to write down the constitution as the law of the land and engrave it into the people’s minds.
While ancient Athens influenced the framers of the United States Constitution, many Roman and modern “enlightenment” philosophies also served as inspirations. And by no means are the ancient Athenian and United States constitutions a perfect replica of one another.
What Was Different Between Athens And the United States
However, some key differences exist between the ancient Athenian and United States constitutions.
Scale
The United States of America is significantly bigger as a country. Its population is also significantly larger than that of Ancient Athens. In response, new mechanisms and alterations to democracy were in use for a new type of governance that would lead America in the furture.
Type of Democracy
Direct democracy, where people would gather and vote directly, would be too difficult. Instead, America uses a representative democracy where American citizens vote for representatives.
Participation
While women were not allowed to vote in Athens, in modern America, women can vote under the 19th Amendment which was ratified on August 18, 1920. Women in modern America can even climb to top positions in government which is in huge contrast to ancient Athens. Slaves no longer exist in America and it should be said that non-American citizens still cannot vote, as is the case in most democratic countries.
I do want to stress that many of the Founding Fathers of the United States were not directly influenced by Athens but often used Roman ideas. However those Roman ideas were often taken from the Greeks.
Also the Founding Fathers were inspired by enlightenment movements at the time like certain aspects of the French revolution. But once again all these movements and ideas had their seeds planted in ancient Athens.
The best video I have seen is by the youtube channel Rayan Chapman.
He talks about ancient Athens and its influence on the framers of the United States Constitution but goes into incredible detail.
Leave a comment on what else Athens influenced about America.
Also check out our post on the warriors of the Mycenaeans the warlike ancestors of the Greeks.
