Today, Sept. 15, newsrooms around the country and across the world are marking International Day of Democracy, a day set aside in 2007 by the United Nations to promote government’s role in maintaining open democracy among all member nations of the UN Charter and to celebrate the system of values democracy promotes, giving citizens the ability to participate in the decision-making process of their nation and the power to make decisions regarding their own lives.
The idea of a democratic government began in ancient Greece in 507 BCE when Cleisthenes, a leader in Athens, introduced demokratia, which means “rule by the people.”
It took more than 1,500 years for King John to cede power by signing the Magna Carta, a document that formed the basis for a parliamentary government versus the absolute rule of a ruler king.
More than 500 years later, on Sept. 17, 1787 the U.S. Constitution was signed by 39 representatives who had gathered over the summer months in Philadelphia to rewrite the Articles of Confederation, a document written after the Declaration of Independence that served as an agreement between the states about their independence and established a confederate government. The Constitution is the world’s longest surviving written charter of government.
The three principal authors of the Constitution were James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay. The document was ratified on June 21, 1788, and it went into effect on March 9, 1789.
Three months later, Madison introduced a series of proposed amendments. The House of Representatives passed 17 amendments in August and the Senate consolidated the amendments into 12 amendments which were sent to the states in September. Two years later, on December 15, 1791, three-fourths of the state ratified 10 of the amendments which we refer to as the Bill of Rights.
The First Amendment restrains government and protects five essential freedoms: speech, religion, assembly, petitioning, and the media.
A free and independent media is critical to a democracy in which the government is accountable to the people. The media functions as a watchdog that can investigate and report on the business of government.
Both Constitution Day and Citizenship Day are observed on Sept. 17. The Estes Park Citizenship Project will celebrate some of the Estes Valley’s newest U.S. Citizens on Tuesday evening with a dinner at the American Legion.