Henry Louis Mencken: Athenian Democracy

“Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want and deserve to get it good and hard,” this favorable quote was said by Henry Louis Mencken. H.L Mencken was a German-American journalist who lived from 1800-1956. A strong believer in democracy, H.L Mencken thought if the people are set to achieve a goal, democracy is the best option. Democracy in Athens was one of the first known democracies. “Demo” or “Dem” are greek roots meaning for people. The democratic structure from the Ancient Athenians have helped build the foundation for a government found by the people. In 507 B.C.E Greece, democracy in Athens is starting to arise. When other forms of government such as monarchy and oligarchy become flawed, the citizens are being …show more content…
First to came, was monarchy. Monarchy was established by the basis of one principle, all people were ruled by an individual. For a while (9th-8th century B.C.E), monarchy was successful. Decisions were made thoughtfully, experiences heirs ruled, the citizens worshipped their leader. Soon, the citizens of Athens were tired of following every, single, rule told by the monarchs; especially when they did not agree with his choices. The Athenian Aristocrats believed they could rule better than the king, and the king was overthrown by his own people. These aristocrats formed a new government in Athens, oligarchy. Oligarchy was a solution for most of 8th century B.C.E and consisted of a few leaders over all of Athens. Decisions that took too long before were made quicker, and guided the polis during the Peloponnesian War. These Oligarchs’ reasoning was not always cordial. Being the victim of harsh accusations, the remaining citizens rebelled, as other lost faith in the supporters. Small problems began to be unsolvable, like food shortages. The people of Athens wanted a solution, and this solution would be the Athenian Assembly which was the start of