Are We A Republic Or A Democracy? As either Madison or Hamilton wrote in the Federalist Papers #57–
The third charge against the House of Representatives is, that it will be taken from that class of citizens which will have least sympathy with the mass of the people, and be most likely to aim at an ambitious sacrifice of the many to the aggrandizement of the few. Of all the objections which have been framed against the federal Constitution, this is perhaps the most extraordinary. Whilst the objection itself is levelled against a pretended oligarchy, the principle of it strikes at the very root of republican government. The aim of every political constitution is, or ought to be, first to obtain for rulers men who possess most wisdom to discern, and most virtue to pursue, the common good of the society; and in the next place, to take the most effectual precautions for keeping them virtuous whilst they continue to hold their public trust. The elective mode of obtaining rulers is the characteristic policy of republican government. The means relied on in this form of government for preventing their degeneracy are numerous and various. The most effectual one, is such a limitation of the term of appointments as will maintain a proper responsibility to the people.
There is much to unpack. The opposition to the Constitution was worry about an oligarchy rising against the will of the people. These Framers were worried that the Clinton family, the Obama’s, the McConnell’s and so many others that have fallen to the knees of the communist Chinese would gain control of the government! Imagine that! The Framers realized that could happen.
The defense against this cabal being created is the principle of republican government. They did not say a democracy for the weapon to prevent the degeneracy of the Nation was the elective mode of obtaining the leaders. In other words, it is the votes of the people in frequent elections that is the “characteristic policy of republican government.”
The Framers truly believed in the power of the people, for the people granted the power of governance. The Framers believed that the people would seek out leaders with wisdom, leaders with virtue, leaders supporting the common good of society, and they believed that the voters would hold them accountable.
In the book Liberty in Peril, Randall Holcombe provides a great summary regarding the founding of this great Nation. He argues that this Nation was created on the principle of liberty, of freedom, and of rights. The government can only protect those rights with a republican form of governance. A government created on the principle of democracy makes collective decisions as driven by the will of the majority, without concern for the will of the minority. Thus, the more democracy in the government, the greater the loss of liberty for the individual citizens.
Sadly, today, we have slipped passed the republic concept, which uses the democratic process in voting for laws, because of the 17th Amendment. The direct election of the Senate by the people, a true democratic form of governance, removed a barrier established to allow the operation of the republic and the protection of individual freedoms and liberties, for in the original Constitution, the Senate was not tied to the passions of the people, the Senate was tied to the power of the States.
Remember, the republic was created to form a limited government which protects the citizens liberty, for the Framers understood that a democracy leads to a loss of liberty. As a democracy gains strength, citizens lose liberty and freedom.
Alexander Hamilton in a speech to ratify the Constitution in the State of New York on June 21st, 1788, remarked:
It has been observed by an honorable gentleman, that a pure democracy, if it were practicable, would be the most perfect government. Experience has proved, that no position in politics is more false than this. The ancient democracies, in which the people themselves deliberated, never possessed one feature of good government. Their very character was tyranny; their figure deformity: When they assembled, the field of debate presented an ungovernable mob, not only incapable of deliberation, but prepared for every enormity. In these assemblies, the enemies of the people brought forward their plans of ambition systematically. They were opposed by their enemies of another party; and it became a matter of contingency, whether the people subjected themselves to be led blindly by one tyrant or by another.
George Washington issued his first Inaugural Address on April 30th, 1789. In the fourth paragraph, he remarked
“The preservation of the sacred fire of liberty and the destiny of the republican model of government are justly considered, perhaps, as deeply, as finally staked on the experiment entrusted to the hands of the American people.”
Thomas Jefferson wrote a letter the William Hunter, the mayor of Alexandria, in 1790. Note how he wanted other nations to follow the course to a republican form of government.
“Convinced that the republican is the only form of government which is not eternally at open or secret war with the rights of mankind, my prayers & efforts shall be cordially distributed to the support of that we have so happily established. It is indeed an animating thought that, while we are securing the rights of ourselves & our posterity, we are pointing out the way to struggling nations who wish, like us, to emerge from their tyrannies also. Heaven help their struggles, and lead them, as it has done us, triumphantly thro’ them.”
Such were the Framers views on a republic. If we jump across the pond to Great Britain, Lord John Dalberg Acton, a very interesting and complicated man, once remarked
“The one prevailing evil of democracy is the tyranny of the majority, or rather that party, not always the majority, that succeeds, by force or fraud, in carrying elections.”
Does this sound familiar in today’s landscape?
A Scottish professor of Roman and Greek history, Alexander Fraser Tytler, wrote this piece:
“A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover they can vote themselves largesse from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy, always followed by a dictatorship.”
I wonder if Tytler was talking about government programs.
When asked what type of government, Benjamin Franklin answered, “A republic, if you can keep it.”
Perhaps it is time to restore the Republic!
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Outstanding collection of founding ( and seemingly ignored) principles.
Tucker, while he does often “ bring the goods” on Fox, drives me nuts with his misuse of the term Democracy.
I saw this quote today on my calendar, and would like to add this:
Deuteronomy 1:13 Take you wise men, and understanding, and known among your tribes, and I will make them rulers over you.
Unfortunately, he who controls the use of words, controls! Democrats have been using Democracy for so long that most Republicans use Democracy, as well, full well knowing that our system of government has nothing to do with being a democracy. One might say that Joseph Goebbels’ way of introducing new words, or definitions, by repetition, has worked so well that not many get it right.
It drives me crazy when I hear it, and I will never replace Democracy for my republic. I know the difference.
“Perhaps it is time to restore the Republic!”
Gentlemen start up your F-15s and arm your nukes! Simple as dirt.