page_title: History of democracy
section_title: Eighteenth and nineteenth century milestones
hierarchical_section_title: History of democracy / Rise of democracy in modern national governments / Eighteenth and nineteenth century milestones
caption_attribution_description: Français&#160;: Représentation de la «&#160;Déclaration des Droits de l'Homme et du Citoyen de 1789&#160;». العربية: تصوير لـإعلان حقوق الانسان والمواطنة 1789 Deutsch: Repräsentation der Erklärung der Menschen- und Bürgerrechte von 1789 Ελληνικά: Απεικόνιση της Διακήρυξης των Δικαιωμάτων του Ανθρώπου και του Πολίτη το 1789 English: Representation of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen in 1789Includes "Eye of providence" symbol (eye in triangle). Español: Representación de la Declaración de los Derechos del Hombre y del Ciudadano de 1789 Euskara: 1789ko Gizonaren eta Herritarraren eskubideen Adierazpenaren irudikapena 日本語: 1789年の「人間と市民の権利の宣言（フランス人権宣言）」の図 Nederlands: Voorstelling van de Verklaring van de Rechten van de Mens en de Burger uit 1789 Português: Representação da Declaração dos Direitos do Homem e do Cidadão de 1789 Русский: Изображение Декларации прав человека и гражданина 1789 года Tiếng Việt: Thể hiện Tuyên ngôn Nhân quyền và Dân quyền năm 1789 中文: 一七八九年法國《人權和公民權宣言》
context_page_description: A democracy is a political system, or a system of decision-making within an institution or organization or a country, in which all members have an equal share of power. Modern democracies are characterized by two capabilities that differentiate them fundamentally from earlier forms of government: the capacity to intervene in their own societies and the recognition of their sovereignty by an international legalistic framework of similarly sovereign states. Democratic government is commonly juxtaposed with oligarchic and monarchic systems, which are ruled by a minority and a sole monarch respectively.
  Democracy is generally associated with the efforts of the ancient Greeks and Romans, who were themselves considered the founders of Western civilization by the 18th century intellectuals who attempted to leverage these early democratic experiments into a new template for post-monarchical political organization.
context_section_description: 1707: The first Parliament of Great Britain is established after the merger of the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland under the Acts of Union 1707. From around 1721–42, Robert Walpole, regarded as the first prime minister of Great Britain, chaired cabinet meetings, appointed all other ministers, and developed the doctrine of cabinet solidarity.
  1755: The Corsican Republic led by Pasquale Paoli with the Corsican Constitution
  From the late 1770s: new Constitutions and Bills explicitly describing and limiting the authority of powerholders, many based on the English Bill of Rights (1689). Historian Norman Davies calls the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth Constitution of May 3, 1791 "the first constitution of its kind in Europe".
  The United States: the Founding Fathers rejected limited 'democracy' run by traditionally defined aristocrats, the creation of a legally defined "Title of Nobility" is forbidden by the Constitution. The Americans, as with the British, took their cue from the Roman republic model: only the patrician classes were involved in government.
  1776: Virginia Declaration of Rights
  United States Constitution ratified in 1788, created bicameral legislature with members of the House of Representatives elected "by the People of the several states," and members of the Senate elected by the state legislatures. The Constitution did not originally define who was eligible to vote, leaving that to the constituent states, which mostly enfranchised only adult white males who owned land.
  1791: the United States Bill of Rights ratified.
  1790s: First Party System in U.S. involves invention of locally rooted political parties in the United States; networks of party newspapers; new canvassing techniques; use of caucus to select candidates; fixed party names; party loyalty; party platform (Jefferson 1799);
  1800: peaceful transition between parties
  1780s: development of social movements identifying themselves with the term 'democracy': Political clashes between 'aristocrats' and 'democrats' in Benelux countries changed the semi-negative meaning of the word 'democracy' in Europe, which was until then regarded as synonymous with anarchy, into a much more positive opposite of 'aristocracy'.
  1789–1799: the French Revolution
  Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen adopted on 26 August 1789 which declared that "Men are born and remain free and equal in rights" and proclaimed the universal character of human rights.
  Universal male suffrage established for the election of the National Convention in September 1792, but revoked by the Directory in 1795.
  Slavery abolished in the French colonies by the National Convention on 4 February 1794, with Black people made equal to White people ("All men, without distinction of color, residing in the colonies are French citizens and will enjoy all the rights assured by the Constitution"). Slavery was re-established by Napoleon in 1802.
  1791: The Haitian Revolution a successful slave revolution, established a free republic.
  1792: Local elections instituted in Freetown colony in December 1792, in which Nova Scotian immigrants could elect tythingmen and hundredors.
  The United Kingdom
  1807: The Slave Trade Act banned the trade across the British Empire after which the U.K. established the Blockade of Africa and enacted international treaties to combat foreign slave traders.
  1832: The passing of the Reform Act, which gave representation to previously under represented urban areas in the U.K. and extended the voting franchise to a wider population.
  1833: The Slavery Abolition Act was passed, which took effect across the British Empire from 1 August 1834.
  1810: 24 of September: Opening session of the Cortes of Cádiz, with representatives of all Spanish provinces, including those in America.
  1820: First Cortes Gerais in Portugal under a Constitutional Charter.
  1835: Serbia's first modern constitution
  1837: February 3: Local election in South Africa (British colony) in the city of Beaufort West, the first city organizing the election of a municipal council after the Cape Town Ordinance 
caption: Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen approved by the National Assembly of France, 26 August 1789.
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