I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United
States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
Our Constitution created a limited representative republic. A republic is different from a democracy. In a democracy, the majority can directly make laws, while in a republic, elected representatives make laws. Basically, in a pure democracy, the majority has unlimited power, whereas in a republic, a constitution limits the majority and provides safeguards for the individual and minorities.
In the
United States, we have both systems. There is no way for Americans to
directly enact legislation at the national level, but half of the states allow
ballot initiatives which, if passed by a majority of the voters, have the force
of law.
The Framers’
intent at the national level was a representative republic. The word democracy is not mentioned in the
Constitution. Most of the Framers distrusted pure democracy. Some had
been frightened by Shays' Revolt and equated democracy with mob rule. Others
were convinced by Madison that different factions would come together until
they formed a majority, and then take advantage of those who were not members
of their coalition. In fact, Madison showed that throughout history, this
phenomenon had destroyed every experiment in democracy.
John Adams wrote that “There never was a democracy yet that did not commit suicide,” and James Madison wrote in Federalist 10 that “Democracies have, in general, been as short in their lives as they have been violent in their deaths.” The reason pure democracies fail is that majorities learn that they can legally take property and/or liberties away from others. Those subjected to abuse can be anyone outside the majority coalition, and their minority status can be based on race, sex, religion, wealth, political affiliation, or even which city or state they reside in. Demagogic leaders become adept at appealing to the emotions of jealousy, avarice, and entitlement. They also denigrate opponents in order to justify prejudicial actions taken by the majority. Soon, oppression of minority classes causes enough conflicts to collapse the democratic process.
A major
difference between a republic and a democracy is immediacy. The Framers wanted
laws made by representatives in order to put a buffer between popular passions
and legislation. In a democracy, decisions are made in the heat of the moment,
while periodic elections in a republic provide a cooling off period. To a great
extent, democracies are ruled by feelings, while in a republic, the rule of law
governs. In a republic, politicians can take principled actions that go against
the will of many of their constituents with the knowledge that they will be
judged by all the actions they take during their entire term in office. Political
leaders are also given time to explain the reasons for their actions.
Of course,
if an elected official does something grievously offensive, then the voters can
follow the advice of Alexander Hamilton, who in Federalist 21 wrote, “The
natural cure for an ill-administration, in a popular or representative
constitution, is a change of men.” When the people’s will is thwarted, regular
elections give them the opportunity to dismiss their representatives and
appoint new ones.
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