Were the Federalists Democratic?

1002 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The importance of federalism in united states

Were the Federalists Democratic?

The idea of democracy is both vague and is often over-simplified to mean "majority rules". In theory, such a notion sounds both just and efficient. However, in practice, the concept of "majority rules" is much more complex and often difficult to implement. Modern-day versions of democracy, such as the one utilized in the United States, simply guarantees a person's right to voice his or her opinion in all matters involving the public. American democracy merely provides a forum for the expression of such viewpoints; it does not guarantee the ability of any individual to bring about change. The Federalists, who were greatly responsible for the ratification of the beloved Constitution of the United States, recognized the impracticality of Jefferson's town-hall democracy and simple "majority rules" and settled on a type of government which could merely guarantee an individual's right to representation. In some regards, the Federalists were pragmatic democrats-supporters of democracy who recognized the shortcomings of the voting public while at the same time suggested certain instruments to protect John Q. Public. The Federalists were opposite of idealists; they were realists. And it is this realism that is directly responsible for the success of democracy within the United States.

Democracy, the ideal, is held dear by most Americans. "What Americans would not do…for the vindication of a fundamental first principle: the right of the people to determine their own future," comments Albert R. Papa in his article "The Allure of Civics Book Democracy". While nearly all Americans recognize the benefits of a democratic nation, the Federalists maintain that often times, minority and ma...

... middle of paper ...

...stem is to prevent the concentration of power in the hands of a few, the presidential veto hardly accomplishes this goal. Although the president cannot create new law, his ability to prevent new law resembles the power held by a dictator. How democratic can one man's vote be?

The Federalists believed in a form of government that is not consistent with the textbook definition of "majority rules". They believed in a modified version of democracy- a pragmatic type of democracy. They believed in a democracy which sometimes neglects the majority vote in order to ensure the stability of American government. They believed in a democracy which does not blindly put all trust within its elected officials. They believed in a democracy which nurtures the free soul of the American public. Such a democracy is alive and well in the United States. Is America democratic?

Show More
Related

  • Federalist vs. Democratic-Republicans

    796 Words  | 2 Pages

    There are many differences between the Democratic-Republic party and the Federalist Party. Especially in the last decade of the 18th century which is late 1700’s, early 1800’s. They have different views on foreign relations and their beliefs on the war between France and Britain, their Federal government and vision for America. Their leaders are completely different people.

    Read More

  • American Civil Liberties: Do Americans Have Enough Protections for Civil Liberties, or Not?

    1449 Words  | 3 Pages

    Schiller, W. J., Geer, J. G., & Segal, J. A. (2013). Gateways to democracy: introduction to American government, the essentials. (2nd ed.). Belmont, Calif.: Wadsworth ;.

    Read More

  • Alexis de Tocqueville: Democracy in America

    1212 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • James Madison and the Federalist Papers

    739 Words  | 2 Pages

    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 ...

    Read More

  • Federalists

    1009 Words  | 3 Pages

    The early years of the Constitution of the United States were full of political strife. The two prominent political ideals were complete opposites. The Jeffersonian Republicans were focused on giving power to the people and maintaining a pastoral economy, while the Federalists supported the control of the government by the elite class, and maintaining “positive” democracy. Both parties feared the influence and effect the other party would have on the public. In Linda K. Kerber's article, “The Fears of the Federalists”, the major concerns Federalists held in the early 19th century are described. Ever since the war with and separation from England, the citizens of America were seen to be continually drive to “patriotic rebellion” as a way to voice their wants. Violence was not an uncommon practice of the era (the use of mob tactics was prevalent), but Federalists feared that if Democratic values were abused and unrestrained, the country would fall into anarchy.

    Read More

  • Federalists

    944 Words  | 2 Pages

    James Madison was a very intelligent man and was one of the forefathers for our country. In Madison’s Federalist Paper Number 10 he describes the need to control factions in the United States and how the government is to do so. The Federalist papers are a key point in describing how to control “factions” that are so dangerous to the young government, or so Madison feels. In Madison’s paper he clearly lays out his idea on the sources of factions, his feelings on democracy versus a republic, and how to control factions.

    Read More

  • Democracy In The 19th Century

    1358 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • U.s. Democracy Thriving : A Look Inside American Democracy

    2525 Words  | 6 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • The Jacksonian Democratic Party

    1410 Words  | 3 Pages

    When George Henry Evans cited the unalienable rights of the Declaration of Independence and that, “’to secure these rights’ against the undue influence of other classes of society, prudence… dictates the necessity of the organization of a party, who shall…prevent dangerous combinations to subvert these indefeasible and fundamental privileges”, he called for a party to become the sentinel of the original American democracy. And for many, the Jacksonian Democratic Party filled that role. The Democrats, who pursued a democracy that entailed economic and social independence for the common citizen, faced harsh opposition from the Whig Party in the Second American Party System. But apart from the political tensions of the era, the mid-1800’s were host to numerous movements and events that embodied, and didn’t embody, the Democratic ideals. Thus, it would be foolish to claim that the Democratic period merely represented a raising of the American democratic banner and even more foolish to ascribe any other black-and-white evaluation to this period. Rather, during a time of national and individual transformation, of economic missions, and of social revision, the Jacksonian Democrats succeeded in expanding their reality of individual liberty, in creating the circumstances for further change, and in falling short of some of their grandiose ideals for the “common citizen”.

    Read More

  • America's Democracy

    1078 Words  | 3 Pages

    The United States of America is a republic, or representative democracy. Democracy, a word that comes to us from Greek, literally means the people rule (Romance, July 8). This broad definition leaves unanswered a few important details such as who are the people, how shall they rule, and what should they rule on (July 8). Defining the answers to those questions means defining a model for a democratic system. William E. Hudson defines four such models in his book American Democracy in Peril: the Protective, Developmental, Pluralist, and Participatory models of democracy (Hudson, 8-19). Of these models, perhaps Participatory comes closest to an ideal, pure democracy of rule by the people (16-19). In practice, however, establishing a stable ideal democracy is not entirely feasible. In a country the size of the United States, it quickly becomes unwieldy if not impossible to have direct rule by the people. To overcome this, the compromise of the representative system allows the people to choose who will rule on a regular basis. The political culture that defines American politics shows that despite this compromise, America is still very much a democratic society.

    Read More

  • Robert Dahl's How Democratic Is The American Constitution?

    820 Words  | 2 Pages

    According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary Democracy is a form of government by the people; especially: rule of the majority(Webster). This is what the United States is represented as, and this is based on the United States Constitution from which the United states draws all legal powers. In Robert Dahls book How democratic Is the American Constitution? He challenges this idea by trying to appeal to his readers in a way that they may view the United States Constitution in a different light. Dahl does this by pointing out flaws that the Constitution has and, draws on facts based on the other democracies around the world that the United States is compared too. He points out how many democratic ideas and innovations have a occurred since the conception of the American Constitution yet it has only adopted some of those idea.

    Read More

  • w

    1503 Words  | 4 Pages

    America has long been a source of strong patriotic movements in support of, and opposed to, various practices and stances it held. When these movements are examined under a lens of scrutiny certain problems become evident. The American public has little in the way of a concrete understanding about what we are trying to say about our country. On the one hand Americans promote the ideal of American democracy and cry for other nations to adopt it, but on the other hand consistently demonstrate a hatred for the government our democracy created. Other conflicts, like the American ideal of being a nation that treats its citizens equally, opposes the right of citizens to demonstrate their free will. The true American ideology is not so easily defined. There is only one universally true principle that defines how America operates and that is its foundation in natural rights. It is an ideology than cannot be defined by what traits it holds most important, but by its ability to find a place within everyone.

    Read More

  • Conflict Between the Executive and Legislative Branches of Government

    1742 Words  | 4 Pages

    Several aspects of the executive branch give the presidency political power. The president’s biggest constitutional power is the power of the veto (Romance, July 27). This is a power over Congress, allowing the president to stop an act of Congress in its tracks. Two things limit the impact of this power, however. First, the veto is simply a big “NO” aimed at Congress, making it largely a negative power as opposed to a constructive power (July 27). This means that the presidential veto, while still quite potent even by its mere threat, is fundamentally a reactive force rather than an active force. Second, the presidential veto can be overturned by two-thirds of the House of Representatives and Senate (Landy and Milkis, 289). This means that the veto doesn’t even necessarily hav...

    Read More

  • The Athenian Democracy Compared to Today's Democracy

    1895 Words  | 4 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Characteristics Of Democracy Essay

    1081 Words  | 3 Pages

    A memorable expression said by President Abraham Lincoln reads, “Democracy is government of the people, by the people, and for the people”. Democracy, is a derived from the Greek term "demos" which means people. It is a successful, system of government that vests power to the public or majority. Adopted by the United States in 1776, a democratic government has six basic characteristics: (i) established/elected sovereignty (where power and civic responsibility are exercised either directly by the public or their freely agreed elected representative(s)), (ii) majority rule(vs minority), (iii) (protects one’s own and reside with) human rights, (iv) regular free and fair elections to citizens (upon a certain age), (v) responsibility of

    Read More

More about Were the Federalists Democratic?

Open Document