The Rise of Democratic Ideas
                     THE RISE OF 
DEMOCRATIC IDEAS
K E Y  T E R M S
INFLUENCE FROM ANCIENT GREECE
• Leaders of Ancient Greece decided to take action for 
economic and political problems and decided how 
governments should be formed and how it would be 
controlled.
historyextra.com
FATHER OF DEMOCRACY
• Cleisthenes is considered to be the ‘father of 
Athenian democracy’ for his reforms of reorganizing 
government assembly, giving citizens more power to 
decide and weakening power of rich, dominant 
families.
ancientorigins.com
GREEK PHILOSOPHERS
• Greek philosophers used logic and reasoning, their 
thoughts resonated throughout the world. They 
believed in ethics and that the Universe is orderly.
nationalgeographic.org
ROMAN INFLUENCE
• Rome was one of the first nations which brought 
about the fall of brutal monarchies and set up a 
republican government, where people had right to 
vote.
spiked.com
MONARCHS AND ARISTOCRATS
• Kings, queens and the nobility held power for a 
long time in Europe, where people suffered 
oppression and economic hardships.
localmedia.sg
DEMOCRACY
• Derived from Greek, it literally means ‘rule by 
people’. Democracy is the type of government where 
people are sovereign, they choose their 
representatives.
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THE RULE OF LAW AND WRITTEN LAWS
• Most democracies are based on ‘Rule of Law’, 
which states that “nobody is greater than the law”.
• Laws were written down, which is the guide to the 
establishment of the nation.
osce.org
DEMOCRATIC REVOLUTIONS
• The late 16th century saw democratic revolutions 
arise in different parts of the world which resulted 
in several riots, massacres and wars.
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