Democracy and the United States (Part One)

“We, the people of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.” – The Preamble to the Constitution of the United States

The text of our Constitution that followed this introduction established the Republican form of government that would become the envy of the world. However, many misinformed citizens will dispute the fact that we are undeniably a republic and not a democracy.

At the conclusion of the Constitutional Convention in 1787, Benjamin Franklin emerged from Independence Hall in Philadelphia and a woman named Mrs. Powel asked him, “Well, Doctor, what have we got, a republic or a monarchy?”

Franklin responded, “A republic – if you can keep it.”

The United States was born a republic, is a republic, and shall always be a republic. Our Constitution even guarantees this form of government to all of the individual 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 on Application of the Legislature, or of the Executive (when the Legislature cannot be convened), against domestic Violence.” – Article IV, Section 4 of the Constitution of the United States

Somehow, between the time of declaring our independence from Britain and adopting our Constitution, to the present day, the meaning of the word republic and democracy have become synonymous. Many of today’s politicians - including presidents - refer to the United States as a democracy, scores of professors in academia call our country a democracy, and if a poll was to be taken on the streets, a large majority of citizens would most likely describe our government as being a democracy. All of these people are hideously inaccurate.

The word democrat, democratic, or democracy is not found in the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution of the United States and all twenty-seven of its amendments, George Washington’s Inaugural Addresses, eight Messages to Congress (what we today call the “State of the Union” Address), and Farewell Address, John Adam’s Inaugural Address and four Messages to Congress, Thomas Jefferson’s Inaugural Addresses and eight Messages to Congress, or James Madison’s Inaugural Addresses.

However, republic and republican are mentioned numerous times in many of these texts when referring to our nation and government, respectively. The public speeches by these presidents are significant because these men are part of the distinguished alliance known as the Founding Fathers of our Republic. The Founders deliberately chose to not create a democracy and opted for a republic instead.

“Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There was never a democracy yet that did not commit suicide.” – John Adams

“Hence it is, that such democracies have ever been spectacles of turbulence and contention; have ever been found incompatible with personal security, or the rights of property; and have, in general, been as short in their lives, as they have been violent in their deaths.” – James Madison, Federalist #10

“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

“We are a Republican government. Real liberty is never found in despotism or in the extremes of Democracy.” – Alexander Hamilton

Some people may try to dismiss this discussion as being one of nothing more than semantics. One response would be, “Precisely! And that is part of the problem.” The meanings of the words republic and democracy have been gradually altered over the years and are now used interchangeably when speaking about our nation and its government. We are in a time where a democracy is considered to be a magnificent form of government and the definition of a republic is generally accepted as being any type of government.

People often describe the United States as a representative democracy, a democratic republic, or even an asinine description like a republican democracy. Using the two words in this sense is an oxymoron. It would be akin to describing an obese man as a thin, fat guy. It is an entirely contradictory phrase, but somehow it has gained popularity even among so-called scholars. The authors who wrote The Federalist Papers argued adamantly against democracy and for a republic. Why would anyone tenaciously debate this subject if the meanings are similar? The answer is: Because they are nowhere close to being alike.

In a republic, the rights of individuals are protected by the rule of law; in our case, the Constitution. The Constitution grants specific, limited powers to the government from the people, and the government’s actions are accountable to those people. The government’s responsibility is to protect the rights of all citizens as outlined in the Constitution. In our Republic there are co-equal branches of government with a system of checks and balances in place to prevent any branch from achieving absolute power. There are also protections in place to prevent a simple majority from imposing its will on the minority.

In other words, with the Constitution as the guiding principles of our Republic, no person, group, or any majority of people can deny the rights of any individual.

In a democracy there are no protections for the rights of the individual or of the minority. If a majority of the people decides to vote for a certain law, then that law is so, no matter whether the law denies personal liberties from others. A democracy has no charter to abide by and is thus subject to the whims of the majority at any time. This is why a democracy has always been defined as “majority rule” or “mobocracy”. Whether it is a direct vote from the citizens themselves or through elected representation, it only takes a one-vote majority to pass and implement laws and there is no safeguard in place to prevent unlimited expansion of power by one particular group.

Some people in our country believe that they can take from you what is yours simply by a majority of citizens wanting or voting for it. This belief demonstrates their vast ignorance or stupidity. It would be possible to do that in a democracy, but unfortunately for them, we are a constitutional republic. It’s a common misconception that has become popular thought due to a lack of proper education and understanding. We have rights guaranteed to us for simply being born. We adopted the rule of law, our Constitution, to protect these rights. We gave our government the power to protect us, and if they fail at their job, we have the ability to take that power away.

Sadly though, most Americans are either not taught this concept or they mostly don’t care. There is no appreciation for what our ancestors fought and died for in the past centuries. They willingly give up power and responsibility to our government for no other reason than to not be bothered with “political” matters or personal accountability. Our government is infested with politicians who do not know or understand the difference between a republic and a democracy and who largely depend on voters, who are as ignorant as they are, to keep their jobs. These politicians abuse their authority and pass pro-democratic laws that undermine both the power of the people and the fundamentals of our Constitution.

Most of the challenges our Republic faces can be attributed to a handful of laws. Many of the politicians and/or voters responsible for their passage either purposely supported these blunders, or became useful idiots for their implementation. However, these errors can be corrected by properly exercising our rights through educated voting and persistent pressure on our elected officials. Without action, our Republic may eventually complete its transformation into a democracy – something that many brilliant men once feared would be the death of our great nation.

The second installment of this series is available at the following link:
Democracy and the United States (Part Two)

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