This task is based on the accompanying documents (1-6). Some of these documents have been edited for the purposes of this task. This task is designed to test your ability to work with historical documents. As you analyze the documents, take into account both the source of each document and the author's point of view.

Directions: Read the documents in Part A and answer the questions after each document. Then read the directions for Part B and write your essay.

Historical Context:

Throughout history, societies have held different viewpoints on governmental decision making and the role of citizens in this decision-making process. The decision-making process can range from absolute control to democracy.

Task:

Using information from the documents and your knowledge of global history and geography, write an essay in which you
• Compare and contrast the different viewpoints societies have held about the process of governmental decision making and about the role of citizens in the political decision-making process.
• Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of a political system that is under the absolute control of a single individual or a few individuals, or a political system that is a democracy.

Document 1

1 What role does the citizen play in this political system?

The Wise Man's policy, accordingly,
Will be to empty people's hearts and minds,
To fill their bellies, weaken their ambition,
Give them sturdy frames and always so,
To keep them uninformed, without desire,
And knowing ones not venturing to act.
Be still while you work
And keep full control
Over all.


—Lao Tzu (6th century BC)

Document 2

2. According to Pericles, what is a responsibility of a citizen in a democracy?

"We are a democracy because the power to make the laws is given to the many rather than the few. But while the law gives equal justice to everyone, it has not failed to reward excellence. While every citizen has an equal opportunity to serve the public, we reward our most distinguished [best] citizens by asking them to make our political decisions. Nor do we discriminate against the poor. A man may serve his country no matter how low his position on the social scale.
An Athenian citizen does not put his private affairs before the affairs of the state; even our merchants and businessmen know something about politics. We alone believe that a man who takes no interest in public affairs is more than harmless—he is useless.”

—"Pericles’ Funeral Oration"
Athens, 5th century BC

Document 3

3. How did the English Bill of Rights change governmental decision making?

"...Whereas ... King James II, ... did attempt to undermine ... the laws and liberties of this kingdom...
Therefore, the Parliament declares:
1. That the King's supposed power of suspending laws without the consent of Parliament is illegal.
4. That the levying of taxes for the use of the king without the consent of Parliament is illegal.
8. That the king should not interfere with the election of members of
Parliament.
13. And that to redress grievances and amend, strengthen, and preserve the laws, Parliament ought to be held [meet] frequently.”

—The English Bill of Rights, 1689

Document 4

4. Based on this cartoon, who controlled the government of France from the mid-1600s to the early 1700s?

Document 5

5. What was the basis of Mussolini's argument against democracy?

After Socialism, Fascism combats the whole complex system of democratic ideology [theory], and repudiates [denies] it, whether in its theoretical premises [basis] or in its practical application. Fascism denies that the majority, by the simple fact that it is a majority, can direct human society; it denies that numbers alone can govern by means of a periodical consultation [elections], and it affirms the . . . beneficial, and fruitful [useful] inequality of mankind, which can never be permanently leveled through . . .universal suffrage.

—Benito Mussolini, 1932

Document 6

6. Which universal principle is the basis for the Japanese Constitution?

“We the Japanese people, acting through our duly elected representatives in the National Diet [legislature], resolve that never again shall we be visited with the horrors of war through the action of government, do proclaim that sovereign power resides with the people and do firmly establish this Constitution. Government is a sacred trust of the people, the authority for which is derived from the people, the powers of which are exercised by the representatives of the people, and the benefits of which are enjoyed by the people. This is a universal principle of mankind upon which this Constitution is founded. We reject and revoke all constitutions, laws, ordinances, and rescripts in conflict herewith."

—The Japanese Constitution of 1947