Describe the basic changes in the government of Athens

After the Dark Age, the city-state of Athens abandoned its monarchy. In the place of its kings, it established a council of archons. (An archon was a leader elected from the aristocracy.) The council consisted of three archons: archon eponymous, polemarch and archon basileus. The archon eponymous acted as the chief judge or magistrate. The polemarch was head of the armed forces, and the archon basileus acted as a head priest, managing the religious activities of Athens.

As an oligarchy, Athens experienced many social problems. The lower classes rebelled against the unfair treatment that they received from the aristocracy. In order to deal with the rising crime, a strict set of laws were issued by the archon eponymous Draco in 621 BC. (The term draconian, meaning harsh or oppressive, comes from Draco's name.) The laws demanded strict punishment for offenses. Minor violent offenses were punished with death. Men that could not pay off their debts were forced into slavery. However, Draco's "Bloody Laws" only made the social problems of Athens worse.

In 594 BC, an aristocrat named Solon was elected archon eponymous. He did much to help ease the tension between the upper and lower classes. One of the most important changes that Solon made to the government of Athens was that he allowed all male citizens over 18 years of age to participate in the Assembly. This granted political power to all classes of people for the first time in Greek history!

So to sum it all up, overtime the Athenians developed a democratic government! :)

Explanation:

the articles of confederation only set up the continental congress at the federal level. there were no executive or judicial branches except within the states. the states were allowed to keep every right that was not specifically given to congress. the bonding of the states was through a 'firm league of friendship' that best served as a defense agreement against invasion. states were not allowed to use taxes as a way to discourage treaties, and states were extremely limited in their dealings with foreign nations.

not many historians today talk about the strengths of the articles of confederation, likely because of how unpopular the document quickly became. the articles did set the legislative body, congress, as the highest power in the nation because of the fear of monarchy. congress had the sole power to declare war, assign treaties, entertain foreign relations, and operate post offices. disputes between states and territorial issues were to be brought to congress. the document also stipulated that canada was allowed to enter the union if they desired.

there were more weaknesses than strengths under the articles of confederation. the lack of power given to the continental congress strangled the federal government. the articles gave congress the power to pass laws but no power to enforce those laws. if a state did not support a federal law, that state could simply ignore it. congress had no power to levy taxes or regulate trade. without a federal court system or executive leader, there would be no way to enforce these laws, either. amending the articles of confederation would also require a unanimous decision, which would be extremely difficult.

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