Results 1 to 10 of 75
Thread: America is NOT a democracy
-
07-09-08, 03:10 PM #1
America is NOT a democracy
Ok, I've been going back through all of the old forum posts where people constantly refer to America as a democracy. Well, I'm going to set the record straight. America is a Republic, not a Democracy. Hopefully this will help to make our debates in the forums a little more informed. In order to do this, I feel that the most effective way to communicate that thought-earth shattering as it may be to some of you-is to quote someone else. The following is a quote from ex-US House Representative David Barton's book "Original Intent" (note: he is from Texas, thought that would make some of you happy):
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"A second question useful for judging a public policy is, "Is this act consistent with our form of government?"
This is a simple question, yet the answer may often be in error since many citizens today have been misled about our form of government. We have grown accustomed to hearing that we are a democracy; such was never the intent. The form of government entrusted to us by our Founders was a republic, not a democracy.
Our Founders had an opportunity to establish a democracy in America and chose not to. In fact, the Founder made clear that we were not--and never were to become--a democracy:
Originally Posted by James MadisonOriginally Posted by John AdamsOriginally Posted by Fisher James, Author of the House language for the First AmendmentOriginally Posted by Gouverneur Morris, Signer and penman of the ConstitutionOriginally Posted by John Quincy AdamsOriginally Posted by Benjamin Rush, Signer of the Declartion of IndependenceOriginally Posted by Noah WebsterOriginally Posted by John Witherspoon, Signer of the DeclarationOriginally Posted by Zephaniah Swift, Author of America's first legal text
A pure democracy operates by direct majority vote of the people. When an issue is to be decided, the entire population votes on it, the majority wins and rules. A republic differs in that the general population elects representatives who then pass laws to govern the nation. A democracy is rule by majority feeling (what the Founders described as "mobocracy"); a republic is rule by law.
[text ommitted, dealing with source of law for American republic, if wanted, PM me and I will include]
A republic is the highest form of government devised by man, but it also requires the greatest amount of human care and maintenance. If neglected, it can deteriorate into a variety of lesser forms, including a democracy (a government conducted by popular feeling); anarchy (a system in which each person determines his own rules and standards), aligarchy (a government run by a small council or a group of elite individuals); or dictatorship (a government run by a single individual). As John Adams explained:
Originally Posted by John Adams
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hopefully you guys read all that, somewhat understand it, and will be able to research more. In case you couldn't understand what he said, here is the condensed version: America was never meant to be a democracy. The Founding Fathers knew a democracy wouldn't work, so the made America a Republic. A Republic is a government run by elected officials who follow set laws, while a Democracy is a government run by whatever opinion or idea more people support.
-
-
-
-
07-09-08, 03:33 PM #5
Re: America is NOT a democracy
Originally Posted by Cybs
-
07-09-08, 03:35 PM #6
Re: America is NOT a democracy
In those quotes, I think they are referring to a "pure" or direct democracy, similar to the system in ancient Greece (? I'm a bit rusty on my history). By modern terms/definitions at least, America has a form of liberal democracy. The definition of this is similar to the definition of a republic, but they aren't exactly the same, if I remember correctly. Granted, I'm really rusty on all this stuff, and I'd have to dig up old notes to be any more specific.
-
07-09-08, 03:37 PM #7
Re: America is NOT a democracy
If we want to be really specific, then...
America is actually a Constitution-based federal republic with strong democratic traditions. That is the official type of government of the USA.
And as for communism, Communism is mostly a type of economy as Marx believed a communist society would have no need for a government. Thus the government the Soviet Union had was not a true communist regime.
-
-
- Join Date
- 01-28-07
- Location
- Arizona
- Posts
- 13,490
- Post Thanks / Like
- Blog Entries
- 5
-
07-09-08, 04:08 PM #10
Re: America is NOT a democracy
Maybe this will help clarify some of the semantic discussions above.
Constitutional Republics are a deliberate attempt to diminish the threat of mobocracy thereby protecting dissenting individuals and minority groups from the tyranny of the majority by placing theoretical checks on the power of the majority of the population.
The power of the majority of the people is checked by limiting that power to electing representatives who, theoretically, are required to govern within limits of overarching constitutional law rather than the popular vote having legislative power itself (even though such representatives are elected by said majority, creating a definitive conflicted interest).
John Adams defined a constitutional republic as "a government of laws, and not of men." Also, the power of government officials is checked by allowing no single individual to hold executive, legislative and judicial powers. Instead these powers are separated into distinct branches that serve as a check and balance on each other. A constitutional republic is designed so that "no person or group [can] rise to absolute power." Delattre, Edwin. Character and Cops: Ethics in Policing,
A constitutional republic is a form of democracy, but not all democracies are constitutional republics. For example, though the head of state is not elected in a monarchy, it may still be a liberal democracy if there is a parliament with elected representatives that govern according to constitutional law protecting individual rights (called a constitutional democratic monarchy). Also, a representative democracy may or may not be a constitutional republic. For example, "the United States relies on representative democracy, but [its] system of government is much more complex than that. [It is] not a simple representative democracy, but a constitutional republic in which majority rule is tempered by minority rights protected by law." Scheb, John M. An Introduction to the American Legal System
Thread Information
Users Browsing this Thread
There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)
Bookmarks