Antecedents go back at least to the first democrats of Athens who wished, by using the lot, to avoid factional domination.

Here are a few others to begin with:

“…We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.” — Declaration of Independence

“… that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.” — Abraham Lincoln

“The most important political office is that of the private citizen.” — Louis D. Brandeis