discovery of the writings of the Greeks, Italian city states began to model themselves after the old idea of the polis, and developed a republican tradition that moved toward other European states. For example, an important break in political and social thinking occurred during the English Civil War, and grew even more with the writings of Locke, Montesquiue, and Rousseau. In fact,
The transformation of democratic theory and practice that resulted from its union with representation has had profound consequences. . . The most important consequence, as everyone was aware, was that popular government was no longer confined to small states but could now be extended almost indefinitely to include vast numbers of persons. Thus the idea of democracy, which might have perished with the disappearance of city states, became relevant to the modern world of nation states.5
Along with this idea of democracy, the social beliefs of the citizenry are as important to the establishment of
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