The Creation of the American Democracy

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The Creation of the American Democracy

When the Framers of the Constitution met in Philadelphia, they came together with one common purpose in mind. They needed to form a fair and solid system of government that would stand the test of time; one that was both fair for the people and would not involve a monarchy. Each of these men had their own ideas on what would constitute this system, however, so many compromises had to be made. Together, the men gathered in Philadelphia created a federal system of government and drafted a constitution outlining this government. They took care in developing three branches of federal government with a system of checks and balances so that no one branch would gain too much power, thus avoiding any chance of regressing back into the government from which they had just escaped. The Framers even made sure that the most powerful branch had a check system within itself by creating a bicameral legislature, consisting of a Senate and a House of Representatives which could not function one without the other. The federal government that resulted from all of this deliberation was an overall system of democracy, although some undemocratic issues were involved.

The American system of government is ultimately a democracy, because it is ultimately a true system of the people. However, not everything done at the Constitutional Convention was democratic. When representatives from the states met in Philadelphia, the majority were rich, educated, upper-class landowners. They claimed to have the best interests of the people in mind, and in most cases they did. That was, after all, the reason they were brought together. However, they still took some measures to ensure that the interests of the comm...

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...te, and/or country. For this reason, the Electoral College system of electing our President should be redone and possibly eliminated. A leader must have the support of his country, and this can be assured only through a democratic election.

The Bill of Rights is perhaps the best example of the democratic aspects of our government. It gives everyone equal freedoms and liberties, and it is truly in the best interests of everyone. When the Framers of the Constitution met in Philadelphia, they gathered to create a democratic government: a government that worked for everyone and had the common interests of the people as its central purpose. Although some things done at the convention were indeed undemocratic, democracy ultimately prevailed and we were given a strong government with the ability to be amended to fit the common interests of the people throughout time.

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