Specific issues discussed in the assembly included deciding military and financial magistracies, organising and maintaining food supplies, initiating legislation and political trials, deciding to send envoys, deciding whether or not to sign treaties, voting to raise or spend funds, and debating military matters. The assembly could also vote to ostracise from Athens any citizen who had become too powerful and dangerous for the . In this case there was a secret ballot where voters wrote a name on a piece of broken pottery . An important element in the debates was freedom of speech which became, perhaps, the citizen's most valued privilege. After suitable discussion, temporary or specific decrees were adopted and laws defined. The assembly also ensured decisions were enforced and officials were carrying out their duties correctly.
One Southern reaction to Congressional Reconstruction was the use of racist secret societies to obstruct Reconstruction policies by intimidation. One such society was the Knights of the White Camelia.
The Knights of the White Camelia operated in the 19th century and were commonly associated with the Ku Klux Klan as they engaged in racists practices and were white supremacists.
The social order of pre-Revolutionary France was composed of three states: the 1st state was made up of clergymen, the 2nd state included all the nobility, and the 3rd state was formed by the rest of the population of France, including the peasantry, the bourgeoisie, and the city workers.
The experiences of the nobility and the bourgeoisie were very different during this period. The nobiity included around 1-2% of the population of the country. They were mostly exempt from taxes and for the most part, did not have a job. On the other hand, the bourgeoisie was a large percentage of the population, and carried a significant tax burden. This class was the most educated and wealthiest part of the 3rd State, and they resented the privileges of the nobles, in particular the tax exemptions. The conflict between these classes was a reason for the French Revolution.
