Democracy Is A Form Of Government

The government draws the majority of its structure from the U.S Constitution. This document sets up a representative democracy, which was created because the Framers of the Constitution didn’t trust the ability of the people to guide the country respectably and stably in a direct democracy. Elements in the Constitution such as checks and balances, limiting the amount of power the government obtains, and salaries for federal officials successfully supports a strong democratic government. David Mixner says that “the process of democracy is one of change. Our laws are not frozen into immutable form, they are constantly in the process of revision in response to the needs of a changing society.” Furthermore, the Constitution is progressively being democratized with amendments such as the 15th, 19th, and 26th, which expands voting rights for new groups of people. On the other hand, there are certain elements of the Constitution that are considered undemocratic. The electoral college is proportional to its representation in congress instead of population, judges are appointed instead of elected, and gerrymandering is encouraged. These factors decrease the amount of representation voters receive, which is one of the key aspects of democracy. Overall, even though the U.S Constitution supports a democracy, it also has contradicting elements that directly affect the way the government functions.

There is no cure for faction. Madison explains that the only way to deal with causes of faction is by controlling its effects. This is where the constitution comes into play, providing security of the public good and the rights of other citizens. To assure constitution, democracy is enacted to form a more civilized community governed by the people. The way democracy is organized is determined by the ideas of being direct or indirect.

Also, the founders had no intention of creating a pure, majority rule democracy. After a careful study of history, they decided that they did not want a pure democracy. A pure democracy has been colorfully described as two wolves and a lamb voting on what 's for dinner! The founding fathers wanted to avoid this at all cost. In addition, this is why there are three branches of government, Executive, Legislative and Judicial. It is why each state has two Senators, regardless of the population, but has different numbers of

Democracy is defined as, “A government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised by them directly or indirectly through a system of representation usually involving periodically held free elections” (Merriam-Webster). This means that the basis for American government is a firm belief in the common people that they have the knowledge and power to choose leaders to guide the government in the right direction. In the 1790s there was a monumental political debate over whether the constitution should be ratified and if in needed a bill of rights, and at the center of the debate was Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson. While they both believed democracy was the best form of government for the new nation, both men had very different ideas about how to shape the government and its entities. Thomas Jefferson is the better spokesperson a democratic government because of his political beliefs and inherent belief in human reason, a conviction that is not held by Alexander Hamilton.

According to the constitution, the United States is a Representative Democracy. This means we’re a republic and democracy. Because our founding fathers couldn’t choose between them, we Americans have the best of both worlds; but, not everyone does, or did. Athens, Greece was a democracy.

In the beginning, the nation’s Founders were profoundly skeptical of direct democracy. They believed that the “follies” of direct democracy far outweighed any virtues it might possess (Politics in American pg. 76). According to an essay by Rose Wilder Lane (Lane, 1943), “George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, James Madison, and James Monroe feared democracy.” The founders believed that the Constitution left all other governmental powers to the states (Politics in American 2009 pg. 133). Our Founding Fathers never intended for America to become a democracy. Most of them had served in the American Revolution, either as soldiers in the Continental Army or as part of a legislative body. After the Revolutionary

The founders of the United States envisioned a government which was controlled by the consent of the governed. The United States of America was the first modern nation to be established under the notion that the citizens have preeminent jurisdiction. Through elections, the people of the United States have the ability to chose a desired politician to be in power in all governmental positions. This political principle strongly represents a democracy as it “ is the idea that government exists to secure the rights of the people and must be based on the consent of the governed” (Doc F).

The Founding Fathers wanted to distinguish the newly formed United States from a pure democracy. The Framers defined democracy as government decisions made directly by the people. They decided to use a republic form of government because it promised wiser government. This type of government would allow decisions to be made by representatives elected by people.

Our American democratic system is effective by its definition being “to the degree to which something is successful in producing a desired result.” In the Federalist Papers, Hamilton, Jay, and Madison, outlined the reasoning behind the system of government set up by our Constitution. Madison states in Federalist 10 that an “extended republic” is the key to “controlling the effects” of factions. (3). Madison believed, as did many other Founders, that government is created to protect the diverse interests of the people. This means government should not be controlled by the majority as every interest counts, even the minority’s. This is the system of American democracy, created through the implementation of a constitutional republic. Through checks

According to James Madison, the author of Federalist Paper No. 10, pure democracy is defined as, “A society consisting of a small number of citizens, who assemble and administer the government in person.” In other words, Madison was trying to tell his audience, all Americans, that the government revolves around them in which they have both direct and indirect powers through representation. The purpose of this is to protect citizens’ rights, promote the law, provide a common defense as well as public services, and to support a strong economic system. The Founding Fathers wanted to step away from the previous monarchy they suffered under in which the Crown had all the power. The only way to do so was to establish a new form of government that limits the highest offices and instead reinforces it in the people’s hands. Democracy in the United States would be different

The United State of America from the very beginning is a republic and still remains a republic. It has never been a democracy even though some people argue that it is a democracy. The founding fathers gave the country a republic and this was a result of their beliefs that democracy is evil and dangerous. According to Ron Paul, the republic system was instituted to protect individual and property rights from tyranny. He further claims that the individual rights of minorities are endangered by majority rule or democracy.

The road to democracy for America was a long one. This road starts before America was its own country it was under the rule of the British Empire. Under the Monarch the colonist’s individual rights were completely compromised in return for order and stability. Colonists felt as the King was wrongfully infringing upon their rights and declared independence from the British. Down the road during the Revolutionary war America functioned through the Articles of Confederation, a system where the power was given to the states. This worked well for America during the war, however; afterwards the flaws of the Articles became evident. States were not unified as one and therefore maintaining order was impossible. Forced with the conflict of developing a sound government, the Founding Fathers of America do this by finding a balance between the individual rights of the people and the power of the government to maintain order with the concepts of unalienable rights, checks and balances, and popular sovereignty.

The framers of the Constitution wanted to shift to a representative government because they witnessed with the

It is accurate that we do not govern by pure majority rule, because people within the government system simply do not understand the issues. In some form or another, there will be protection for minorities within their rules and laws and even with the substantial powers afforded to majorities in Parliament. In Madison’s paper, Federalist #10, he states that “The two great points of difference between a democracy and a republic are: first, the delegation of the government, in

Since the beginnings of time, men looked forward ways to represent a certain group of people, but it was not until the Greeks that the term of democracy appeared in our dictionaries. This word describe a form of government where all citizens are allow to choose their representatives. This political system is use in almost all of the countries in the world, giving the opportunity to people to feel that, somehow, they are participating in the future of their country. The United States of America is not the exception, each four years the Tuesday between the 2nd and 8th of November millions of Americans make their votes for the candidate that they think, will make a good job in the white house. In the country there are two parties, the