In the late 1800’s, Henry Adams wrote Democracy An American Novel, in which he portrayed Washington society through the eyes of a wealthy young widow, Mrs. Madeline Lee, who is looking for the basis of American governmental power. In her search for the basis of power, Mrs. Lee encounters many facets of Washington society, such as the types of people who control the government. The novel moves beyond a simple plot and story and includes portrayals of the basic Washington types of people, Washington society, and Adams’ assumptions about American democracy. Adams’ main assumption was that a respectable government is practically impossible. Next, he believed the US political system naturally tended towards corruption and finally, he thought that politics and power inevitably tend to sap a person’s morals.
Adams’ assumption that a respectable government is not possible in a democracy underlies the entire book and culminates with Mrs. Lee and Senator Ratcliffe’s conversation about government corruption. Mrs. Lee asks, “Is a respectable government impossible in a democracy?” Senator Ratcliffe replies, “That no representative government can long be much better or much worse than the society it represents. Purify society and you purify government. But try to purify the government artificially and you only aggravate failure” (Adams 42). Speaking through Senator Rafcliffe, Adams is saying that representative governments not only represent the political views of the people, but also reflect society’s morals. Adams adds to this point with the views of the corrupt and cynical Bulgarian minister, Baron Jacobi. In reply to Senator Rafcliffe’s statement, Baron Jacobi declares that among the nations, the United States has elements of ...
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...oy a person’s morals and make politics a risky venture for anyone. Mrs. Lee discovered this when she realized that by believing that Ratcliffe was truly honest and working for the public good, she began to lose sight of right and wrong as well. Perhaps, Adams presents the best solution with the ending of his book; Mrs. Lee leaves Washington, its intrigues, corruption, and people. She ventures to Egypt to recover and regain her sense of right and wrong. In conclusion, if politicians could step away from politics for a while, perhaps they too might regain their sense of ethics and morality.
Works Cited
Adams, Henry. Democracy An American Novel. New York: Random House Inc., 2003. N. pag. Print.
Martin, Gary. The meaning and origin of the expression: Power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely. Ed. Gary Martin. The Phrase Finder, 1996. Web. 18 Nov. 2013.
Deusen, G. G. (1970). The rise and decline of Jacksonian Democracy (1st ed.). New York: Van Nostand Reinhold Company.
the tragic state of American democracy. Spivey explains that the goal is to make the
America’s form of representative democracy came as a result of the transgressions Britain committed against their colonies. Several hundred years of salutary neglect served well for those living an ocean away from their motherland. Realizing the prosperity that colonies had obtained through a semi-free market society, the King of England and the parliament began enacting many taxes and acts. Taking away the colonies freedom was unsettling amongst the colonists and eventually led to a revolution. This revolution secured freedom from Britain as well as founded a new nation with the first ever constitution. Although the process to achieve democracy in America was a long, laborious road the freedom, prosperity and equality of opportunity shared by those amongst the states could not be denied.
“The stereotype of democracy controlled the visible government; the corrections, the exceptions and adaptations of the American people
Janda, Kenneth. "2 The Constitution." The Challenge of Democracy Government in America. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin, 2008. Print.
Constitutional format was a series of ironical statements, as it stands in ?direct antithesis to American democratic f...
Democracy in the United States became prominent in the early to mid 19th century. Andrew Jackson, the 7th president of the United States, was inaugurated in 1829 and was best known as the person who mainstreamed democracy in America. Because he came from a humble background, he was the “genuine common man.” (Foner, pg. 303) He claimed he recognized the needs of the people and spoke on behalf of the majority [farmers, laborers]. However, critics of Jackson and democracy called him “King Andrew I” because of his apparent abuse of presidential power [vetoing]. These critics believed he favored the majority so much that it violated the U.S. constitution, and they stated he was straying too far away from the plan originally set for the United States. Because of the extreme shift of power to the majority, the limiting of rights of the few [merchants, industrialists] and the abuse of power under Jackson’s democracy, the foundational documents set in the constitution was violated, and the work of the preceding presidents were all but lost.
The United States is run by a democracy. There are many pieces to democracy that must be in good health in order for democracy to be effective and work. In this essay I will critique some of the most important parts of democracy in America and go deeper. I will first focus on the strengths of United States democracy and then I will dive into categories of democracy that I believe to not be thriving. I believe that the current conditions of United States democracy are becoming a hindrance to this nation, because the opinions and freedoms the public possess are being stripped away through poor media, education, and economy.
Wadsworth Cengage Learning. (2010). Gateways To Democracy The Essentials. In J. G. Geer, W. J. Schiller, J. A. Segal, & D. K. Glencross, An Introduction To American Government (pp. 43-49). Boston: Suzanne Jeans.
Hudson, William E. American Democracy in Peril: Eight Challenges to America’s Future – Fourth Edition. Washington, D.C.: CQ Press, 2004.
The American fight for freedom is a critical part of the American history. Following the foundation of a nation, the individuals who enabled the fight for freedom and were central in the fight called the founding fathers. In the book ‘Revolutionary Characters: What Made the Founders Different’, the author provides a vivid investigation of the founding fathers. The book offers a unique point of view that looks on to the founding fathers’ live in detail. The book offers knowledge that extends beyond what is availed into the history books into an analysis of character to present their individual values as a system in which they founded guiding principles for the country. The paper offer an analysis of ‘Revolutionary Characters: What Made the Founders Different’. Gordon Wood brings to light the ethical principles of the founding fathers to bring to light the basis of moral statures propagated and applied in the democratic system today despite the difference in time.
1. Janda, Kenneth. The Challenge of Democracy. Houghton Mifflin Co. Boston, MA. 1999. (Chapter 3 & 4).
In today’s society, American citizens tend to believe that America has been, “American” since the day that Christopher Columbus set foot in the Bahamas. This is a myth that has been in our society for a multitude of years now. In A New England Town by Kenneth A. Lockridge, he proves that America was not always democratic. Additionally, he proves that America has not always been “American”, by presenting the town of Dedham in 1635. Lockridge presents this town through the course of over one hundred years, in that time many changes happened as it made its way to a type of democracy.
Janda, Kenneth. Berry, Jeffrey. Goldman, Jerry (2008). The Challenge of Democracy (9th ed.). Boston; New York: Houghton Mifflin Company.
The statement, “Power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely”, simply means that the more power one has – the more control one has over people – then the more corrupt it is possible for that person to become. This statement is certainly correct if the person with the power has certain proclivities towards corruption. There are many examples in the book, “Animal Farm”, by George Orwell, of power corrupting those in charge because they had these tendencies. In the story, the most powerful animals are the two pigs, Napoleon and, to a lesser degree, Snowball. During the course of the story these pigs used their power to get more power, and in the process their inclinations towards corruption triumphed. When Old Major, the boar who came up with the idea of all animals uniting against humans, died, Napoleon and Snowball saw an opportunity where they could take control and took it. Napoleon used force to get rid of Snowball and take all the power for himself, and he used fear to keep the other animals from revolting. He used scapegoats so that he could not be blamed for anything that went wrong, and propaganda to brainwash the animals into loyal slaves. Napoleon changed and broke the commandments of Animal Farm to benefit himself, and he lacked empathy for all those who worked hard for him, executing those that might cause him trouble.