The Definition Of Democracy In The United States

From the early 1840s to the present day, a democracy can be described as a flawed establishment which has been shaped by the power of wealth and control, complex social relations, and most importantly the people’s desire to live a fulfilling life. Throughout this time period the principles of democracy, such as equality, protection of the people’s interest, and promotion of human rights were shifting in order to increase the democracy efficiency. Therefore the continued importance of the Bill of Rights, the Declaration of Independence, and Constitution remain significant since, in American today, democracy is a system that is continuously being shaped by the people within it.

The word democracy comes from two Greek words: demos, meaning "the people," and kratein, meaning "to rule." These two words are joined together to form a democracy, literally meaning "rule by the people". Nowadays democracy could be referred as a rule of the majority. It is a system of government in which the citizens exercise power directly or choose delegates from among themselves to form a governing body, such as a parliament. The Greek system of government was maybe more like a true democracy or administered by the general population than any other ever. On the other hand, most American politicians with mindfulness and knowledge have realized that the U.S. is not a Democracy as a country, regardless of the way that most people declare it to be a Democracy. Greek and American democracy have some similarities such as the amount of nationalism and patriotism saw in the people when a lack of representation for a city-state or nation as a whole is seen, and they both vote for their political leaders.

The United States is no longer the democracy it stands for. Democracy stands for a government controlled by the majority of the population. The United States is no longer controlled by the majority. America is controlled by the powerful corporations and rich elite. The combination of an uninformed, disinterested public, a flawed election process, and an economy controlled by 1% of the population have all led to the formation of the American Oligarchy.

What is democracy, do we really understand the concept and the implications of the freedoms that our society enjoys. Democracy by definition is 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”.(1) The United States democracy in current times can be a difficult situation to grasp, due to the fact that we are operating off of the Constitution written over 200 years ago, and individuals modern

The word democracy elicits different perceptions from different people. Some may see democracy as only a government ruled directly by the people, in which the people write and choose laws directly. Others may include representative democracy in which representatives are chosen by the people to write, pass, and enforce laws. It is the latter view that would best describe America. In this sense, America is not a pure democracy, and few would ever say it was founded as one. However, the question remains: Is America a democracy. Though America as a whole has few direct ways for people to participate in the writing and enforcement of most laws, I would venture to say that American government should be considered a democracy. Indeed, democratic elements pervade the American political structure. The American republic would not be what it is without the necessary democratic elements that are used in the execution of governing.

It’s hard to define something big as democracy in few short words, but president Abraham Lincoln does it best by defining democracy as a “Government of the people, by the people, for the people” (Bleicherstrasse). The Merriam Webster Dictionary barely scratches the surface of what democracy really means. It tries to define democracy as “a form of government in which people choose leaders by voting, a country ruled by democracy, an organization or situation in which everyone is treated equally and has equal rights”, but democracy is so much more than that. For a government to be considered true democracy it must support these four key elements “A political system for choosing and replacing the government through free and fair elections, the active participation of the people, as citizens, in politics and civic life, protection of the human rights of all citizens, a rule of law, in which the laws and procedures apply equally to all citizens” (Diamond, 2004). If we go by this definition of democracy than America is not consider to be true democracy.

Modern day America can be described as a democracy. This was not always like this. The United States was originally a colony of Great Britain but gained its independence. It slowly became a democracy but that's not the question. Unlike a standard democracy, an “organic democracy” is democracy that is formed from groups of people who may have something in common and are synergistic and evolving. Compared to a normal democracy which is held together by a social contract, an organic democracy grows and evolves over time naturally. The early political developments that happened in colonial America were indeed a start to organic democracy and allowed the structure of society you have the progression of liberty and a representative government.

By definition, democracy is a type of political system in which all members share the same level of power, but it is also the framework for the government of multiple countries including the United States of America. Athenian democracy, created near 400 B.C. in Athens, Greece, was a direct system where participating citizens had the opportunity to vote directly on legislative and executive bills. The founding fathers of the United States took the Athenian’s idea and created the idea of “representative democracy”, where the citizens of a nation were able to elect representatives who would make decisions for them. In fact, the United States could be considered to be more of a constitutional republic than democracy, since the Athenian democracy that influenced them is not a “true democracy”. Even though differences between the two governments exist, ancient Athenians heavily influenced the Founding Fathers of the United States of America to form a democratic government, allow representatives to vote on legislation, and to provide equality and fair trials to their people.

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.

A democracy is a system of government by the majority of the population or all the eligible members of a state, which is mainly through elected representatives. Citizens or elect representatives have the power to take it upon themselves to from a governing body, such as a parliament. Democracy is not working as originally intended. In the past, women, African Americans, and Native Americans could not vote, only white males could. The president was actually supposed to be chosen by men of the Electoral College, which is the people representing the states of the US, who formally cast votes for the election of the president and vice president. Not by the Electoral College approving the will of the people. Senators were supposed to be appointed

Merriam-Webster online dictionary defines democracy "as a form of government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised by the people" (www.merriam-webster.com). But the one big problem is that "We the people" are not exercising their "supreme power" to determine the U.S. government. Less than half of the eligible electorate showed up at the polls for the 1996 U.S. presidential election. While lower turnout has marred previous presidential elections, 1996's voter turnout dipped below 50 percent for the first time in more than 30 years. It appears that the people's increasing cynicism about politicians that they lie to get elected and the perception that people have no respect or confidence in the

Democracy a universally recognized phenomenon refers to a government deriving its power from the people and being answerable to them (Fox 2008). President Abraham Lincoln (Gettysburg Address, 1863) said about democracy "...is a government of the people, by the people, and for the people, shall not vanish from this earth ‘ (Fox 2008). The foundations of democracy in America are found within, “The Declaration of Independence of 1776” and “The Constitution of 1789”, both products of the American Revolution where equality and the rights of man were the focus of their creation (Rodgers 2001). The first half of this paper discusses the notion that despite having the best institutional powers that uphold democratic functions within the American government, this doesn’t always translate into the perfect democratic election.

Democracy is what runs the United States of America government, meaning that, as a whole, the country is very democratic. Accord to Oxford Online Dictionary, democracy can be defined as, “A system of government by the whole population or all the eligible members of a state, typically through elected representatives.” By taking a look at the political system of the United States, it is plain to see the correlation between our government and democracy. The American people are the “whole population” or “all eligible members”

We live in this country for the land, and the for the free as Americans we rely on many attributes in this world in order for us to live our lives. Our government has supplied us with many great things for us to be proud of. Our government is “the institutions and processes though which public policies are made for society.” (Edwards, Wattenberg, and Lineberry, p. 7). With all these institutions which includes the President, Congress, the courts and all the federal administrative agencies. These are the institutions that make up public policies for us, and to shape the way we live as Americans. The way this system has been operating through all the years has been

Democracy in America has changed through the years. We started out a republic and in some ways we still are, but in other ways we have turned into a democracy and in some ways we have turned into a socialist country. We still have the vote and the Electoral College. That is an example of how we are still a republic. An example of how we have turned to democracy is the unions. When a union gets together and votes on something such as a strike, that is mob rule and, with the exception of making a deal, there is nothing that anyone can do. An example of how we have become more socialist is the fact that the progressives want to make everything equal and with the current President and Senate, they