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Difference between a republic and a democracy
Difference between a republic and a democracy
Democracy vs republic
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America the Republic Our Founding Fathers wanted a republic not a democracy. A republic can be defined as rules or laws that govern the people. Democracy can be defined as majority rule, which is why it’s known as mob rule. Democracy could be described as two wolves and a sheep voting on what to eat. This is the reason states have two senators per state - to protect small populated states from being trampled by large populated states. Our founding fathers did not agree on a lot of things, but the one thing they did agree on is that a republic would surmount the forces of tyranny. The powers of the legislative branch contains checks and balances that are controlled by the executive branch. Just like the other the legislative branch, the executive
James Madison, who glorified the benefits of the system of government outlined in the Constitution, wrote the tenth essay in the Federalist Papers. In his essay, Madison advocated a republic system of government instead of a democracy because it “promises the cure for which [they are] seeking.” According to Madison, in a republic, unlike in a democracy, a “small number of citizens [are] elected by the rest.” In other words, one difference between a republic and a democracy is the fact that a republic is based on representation, while a democracy is based on the rule of the majority (mob rule). Madison favors the republic form of government because representation (republic) recognized the inalienable rights of all individuals, while democracy is only concerned with the views or needs of the majority. Therefore, in Madison’s mind, a democracy is an unsuitable government, especially for the United States; Madison thought democracy is just handing power over to the ...
The Legislative Branch is Congress, which has just two branches - the House of Representatives and the Senate. To understand the power held by the Legislative Branch, we should refer to the Constitution itself. Per Section 8 of Article I, Congress may only act within the powers granted to them explicitly in the Constitution, these are called enumerated powers. But this doesn’t mean the powers granted to them were diminutive. The entire legislative power was constitutionally delegated to Congress. The House and Senate serve, for the most part, to work together (though not necessarily in harmony) on passing laws, and both House and Senate must approve all bills. The framers began with the forming Article I: The Legislative Article for a simple reason; law making is an extremely important function for our government. I believe they dug their heels in here first because they intended for it to be the longest, most thorough article in the Constitution, and every word truthfully serves a divine purpose of laying out the structure of how our Legislative Branch should run. With a mere 2,...
Aristotle's democracy was a democracy that endorsed equality to its fullest. Instead of forcing the thoughts of everyone through one biased individual, it allowed every person to have a voice. America is not a democracy. It tries very hard to make the people of the world think it is, but it is not. It goes against much of what Aristotle spoke of with fervor. Not everyone has an equal opportunity, nor does everyone have a voice. In fact, equality continues to diminish despite steps taken to push it further. Most of America is a simple façade that can be stripped away with minor effort. It is a mere pretense of democracy that would die out if it were to attempt to become anything
The Constitution gave our country a frame work in which we have built into a great nation. Their idea is that the purpose of our system, meaning our democracy, is to protect an individual’s liberty. William Hudson tries to convince us that there should be a connection between the government we have today and the government in other countries, Parliamentary System. In chapter 1 of the textbook, Democracy in Peril, starts off by giving the reader background knowledge of the found fathers, signers of the Declaration of Independence and the drafters of the Constitution, which reflect as “democracy models” or “protective democrats.” What the founding fathers did not want to happen is for there to be a corrupt government which ignored the rights
In fact, it was the founding fathers themselves who warned us that a country under democratic rule would never be able to function properly. They feared a democracy as much as they feared a monarchy from developing. The founding fathers knew that a country based on a democracy would either become too weak or too powerful. If it became too powerful it would lead to tyranny of the majority. This would cause oppression to the small minority groups, leading to a lack of individual freedom, liberty, and rights. Instead, the founding fathers intended for this country to be based on a constitutional republic, in which protection and rights would be equally given under a written law that would also limit the power of the government. This is probably a really good reason why our pledge of allegiance refers “to the Republic” and not “to the democracy”, and why the word democracy is nowhere o be found in the
The Founding Fathers did not seek democratic form partially due to a fear of democracy. It was their belief that "democracy, unchecked rule by the masses, is sure to bring arbitrary redistribution of property, destroying the very essence of liberty."3 Jefferson especially feared the label of "democrat," and it can be seen in American books of the time that "democrat" was a "swear-word, by which persons were designated against their will, usually falsely, like persons falsely called communists today."4 Ideas of democracy are most like to occur among the "oppressed and discontented, disinherited aristocracy, and the rising middle class."5 Democracy does not appeal to a privileged class whose privileges are ever increasing.6
Liberty is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote!" (Ben Franklin). The intentions of the founding fathers was to create a Constitution based Republic regardless of the beliefs of the majority of people today, who believe their intention was to create a democracy. “A democracy is nothing more than mob rule, where fifty-one percent of the people may take away the rights of the other forty-nine.” (Thomas Jefferson) said Thomas Jefferson founding father and 3rd U.S. President. The founding fathers of the United States new the difference between a Democracy and a Republic, and the clear intent was to create a Republic in America. There’s proof of this in documents and various quotes. In Article IV Section 4 of the U.S. Constitution it states, “The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of government, and shall protect each of them against Invasion”, and there it is clearly stated. Democracy is not declared anywhere in the Constitution. Founding father James Madison, the 4th President of the United States warned of the hazards of democracies, "Hence it is that democracies have ever been spectacles of turbulence and contention; have ever been found incompatible with personal security or the rights of property; and in general have been as short in their lives as they have been violent in their deaths... A republic, by which I mean a government in which a scheme of representation takes place, opens a different prospect and promises the cure for which we are seeking." (James
Throughout the course of history, mankind has been recorded to corrupt itself. Men have grown tired of simply surviving; they have had to take and conquer others. Absolute monarchies control wealth, land, and even lives of men. The conditions of the people were solely dependent on the conditions of the one who was in power in that particular place and time. History has proven that most men rule unwisely in their kingdoms. To avoid tyrannical rule, some make an attempt to set up a government in which the people ruled themselves. This form of government is called a democracy, or “rule of the people.” History has also revealed through the Greeks and the French Revolution, that a democracy that gives complete power to the people, “absolute democracy”, is nothing more than a short prelude to tyranny.
The Fall of the Republic was more than a solitary man or occasion. It was a perfection of a few individual activities or accomplishments, combined with social conditions that weighed vigorously on Roman culture. Furthermore, gigantic and quick development from Rome 's establishment as a juvenile city 700 years prior until the mid first century BC, made fantastic openings in the political and administering capacity of the Senate. Times of security were blended in with those of close fall while effective commanders or inciters of the Roman horde maneuver for position. Starting with the Punic Wars and Roman success outside of Italy, trailed by huge importation of slaves, the substance of Roman life was changing much more quickly than the administering
"United States can be seen as the first liberal democracy. The United States Constitution, adopted in 1788, provided for an elected government and protected civil rights and liberties. On the American frontier, democracy became a way of life, with widespread social, economic and political equality. The system gradually evolved, from Jeffersonian Democracy or the First Party System to Jacksonian Democracy or the Second Party System and later to the Third Party System. In Reconstruction after the Civil War (late 1860s) the newly freed slaves became citizens, and they were given the vote as well." (Web, 1)
In theory, the United States became a democracy when we signed the Declaration of Independence in 1776. This theory is not true. The textbook defines a democracy as a system of government in which ultimate political authority is vested in the people, of course you know that this is just not so. Our system of representation, often times, fails us. Quite often, the people who represent us in our state, local, and federal governments make decisions without much regard for the desires of the American citizenry.
In conclusion, The Legislative Branch is the most powerful branch of the United States government not only because of the powers given to them by the Constitution, but also the implied powers that Congress has. There is also Congress’s ability to triumph over the Checks and balances that limits their power. The only thing truly holding The Legislative Branch back from gaining all the power, is the large amount of people involved in the process and their difference and ideologies, and that Congress is split into multiple houses, with public opinion and elections affecting half of the branch of government. Therefore, The Legislative Branch is the most powerful branch of the United States Government.
The function of the executive branch is to enforce given laws. The executive branch divides into the roles/positions of the president of the United States, the vice president, and the Cabinet. Regarding the process of check and balances, the executive branch checks the legislative branch by utilizing their veto power in order to eliminate a given bill created by the legislative branch. The legislative branch is a branch of the government responsible for the creation of laws. Within this branch of the government exists Congress, made up of the House of Representatives and the Senate. Their powers consist of the ability to declare war, the power to reject or approve presidential appointments, and the capability of investigative powers. Congress
The term democracy comes from the Greek language and means "rule by the people."(Democracy Building 2012) The democracy in Athens represents the events leading up to modern day democracies. Like our modern democracy, the Athenian democracy was created as a reaction to a concentration and abuse of power by the rulers. Philosophers defined the essential elements of democracy as a separation of powers, basic civil rights, human rights, religious liberty and separation of church and state. The most current definition of a democracy is defined as a “government by the people; a form of government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised directly by them or by their elected agents under a free electoral system.”(Dictionary.com). The American democracy was greatly influenced by the Athenian democracy. The Founding Fathers of the American democracy borrowed ideas from the Athenian way of governing. Presently, Americans live in a democracy that is much different than that the Athenian democracy, and what the Founding Fathers of the American Democracy envisioned. Although there are some commonalities between Athens and what our Founding Fathers intended, there are major differences as well. Differences between the modern American democracy the Athenian democracy and what the Founding Fathers envisioned are size of the democracies, the eligibility of a citizen to participate in the democracy and how a citizen participated.
They seemed to understand that the Constitution was a living document, one to be revered and followed, but also adapted and amended to better serve the needs of the citizens of the United States. This representative form of government was felt to be more tolerant and apt to protect the rights of all citizens. The Founding Fathers felt that these rights would be trampled in a direct democracy, and essentially viewed a direct democracy little better than mob rule. They embedded several anti-democratic safeguards into the framework of the government, including the Electoral College. Believing that a democracy would lead to chaos, and a republic would lead to order, they created a government who elected representatives to legislate policies on the behalf of all