Democracy Democracy is not a new concept. The ancient Athenians had a democratic system. Their democracy was the same as American democracy in many ways. Nevertheless, there are several important difference between their democracy and ours. 【M1】______ The ancient Athenian citizens voted for their representatives, and they also voted for certain issues. 【M2】______ Thus, any qualified citizen could become a public official. The 【M3】______ ancient Athenian democratic government also protected the citizen's right private property, encouraged private business and 【M4】______ supported public education. A similar system of representative government exists in the United States. United States citizens vote for their representatives, and they can impeach representatives, too. American citizens also vote on certain important matters. In the United States, like in ancient Athens, any qualified citizen can 【M5】______ become a public official. The government of this country also protects private property, encourage private business enterprise, 【M6】______ and supports public education. The major difference between these two forms of democracy is the definition of citizen. In ancient Athens a citizen was a free man, not a woman and a slave. Women and 【M7】______ slaves were the largest part of population; thus, the Athenian 【M8】______ democracy was not broadly representative. In the United Stages, however, all American men and women, of all the races and 【M9】______ ... religions, are citizens. Slavery is illegal in this country. Therefore, American democracy is more broadly representative. In brief, democracy is an old and varied conception. In the 【M10】______ past it meant different things to many different people. 【M1】