The Personal Website of Mark W. Dawson

A Republic or a Democracy

Most people claim that America is a democracy, but we are not! We are a democratic republic. A democracy is a doctrine that the numerical majority of an organized group that makes decisions binding on the whole group. A republic is a political system in which decisions are made by a select body of persons whose majority decisions are binding on the whole group. A democratic republic is one in which the people elect their leaders to make majority decisions that are binding on the whole group. We expect that a democratic republic will make its decisions based on rational and reasonable discourse that protects the rights of all persons in the group while reflecting the sentiments of its electorate. We also expect these democratic republic leaders to use their intelligence, knowledge, experience, and wisdom to make good decisions and not vote in lockstep with the passions of their electorate.

Much of the misunderstanding of the type of government in America originates as a result of a misconstruing of the meaning of a republic versus a democracy versus a democratic republic. It is also because of a disparate belief in the core principles of our Constitution and the role of government in our society, as I have written in my Article, "A Republican Constitution or a Democratic Constitution". Progressives/Leftists and Democrat Party Leaders are committed to a democratic Constitution and majoritarian rule, while Conservatives and Republican Party Leaders are committed to a democratically elected republic that safeguards the rights of the minority. As such, conflicts naturally arise from each other’s interpretation of the Constitution. However, our Founding Fathers were committed to a democratic republic form of government, as they knew that Democracies and Republics often trampled upon the Natural Rights of the individual, resorted to a mob or aristocratic rule, split their citizens into partisan groups, and often ended up in civil unrest or a civil war that led to the collapse of their society. These are all a result of "The Problems of Democracy and Majoritarian Rule".

The idea behind a democratic republic is that people get to elect their leaders democratically, and the republican leader’s set laws and policies for all the people by a majority vote of the republican leaders. This is done to assure that the mob passions of the people are tempered by the dispassionate reasoning of the republican leaders. This, hopefully, would assure that wise and just policies and laws are created. Our Founding Fathers also wanted to ensure that the rights of the minority are protected against the majority rule, and they did this by limiting the powers of government and enshrining these rights into our Constitution.

Our Founding Fathers also established “Three branches of government” (Legislative, Executive, and Judicial), with a “Balance of Power” between the branches to ensure that each branch did not infringe on the duties and responsibilities of the other branches. They also established the “Electoral College” for the election of a national leader who would represent all the people throughout the entire nation. Finally, they established “Justice and The Rule of Law in America” to ensure equal rights for all persons. But each of these items does not stand alone, as they are interdependent upon each other, and you must have all these items intact for a stable government. Take away or significantly modify any one of them, and the others will fail. The reasons for this are many and varied, as I have been touched upon in many of my Articles and Chirps. 

In our Constitutional democratic republic, we have established two legislative branches – the House of Representatives and the Senate, to enact laws and policies. The House of Representatives was to be more responsive to the will of the people, while the Senate was to be a more deliberative and calming influence of the passions of the House. This is reflective of the terms of office, two years for House Members and six years for Senators. In addition, the Senators were originally appointed by State Legislators, but with the ratification of the XVII Amendment to the Constitution on April 8, 1913, Senators became popularly elected by the people rather than appointed by the legislatures.

There were many good reasons for the popular elections of Senators, but also some unforeseen negative consequences. Prior to the passage of this amendment, many Senators were appointed based on their political influence or wealth, and they often acted in their own interests rather than the interests of the State. With the popular election of Senators, this weakened the States relationship with the Federal government, which led to the rise of Federal powers and the diminishment of State powers. The Founding Fathers were well aware of this balance between Federal and State powers, which is why they had Senators appointed by State legislators so that States could check the powers of the Federal government. Consequently, with the passage of the XVII Amendment, there was less of a check on Federal powers by State governments. Also, the Senate became less deliberative as it became more attuned to the passions of the public to enhance their reelection. Today, the Senate is often as quick to rection to public passions as The House of Representatives.

While this arrangement has not always worked well in America, it has worked sufficiently well to create a stable government. History has taught us that governments that are only Democratic have dissolved rather quickly, while a Republic tends to become aristocratic, which often morphs into a monarchy or tyranny. Our Founding Fathers were well aware of this history and tried to prevent this situation in America by establishing a democratic republic.

The reason for this article is to not only inform but also as a warning. A warning that when a politician or activist advocates for the significant change or elimination of one of these items, they are impacting the stability of our government. When a politician denigrates one branch of government or pits one group of people against another, they are sowing the seeds of destruction of our society. Whenever a politician advocates for a Democracy without a Republic, or a Republic without being democratically elected, they are advocating for the eventual collapse of our society. Let us all remember this so that we may preserve our "Freedoms, Liberties, and Justice for All".

We should also keep in mind that when the Founding Fathers were departing the Pennsylvania State House at the close of the Constitutional Convention, one of the bystanders shouted a question to Benjamin Franklin:

Bystander - 'Well, Doctor, what have we got - a Republic or a Monarchy?'
Franklin - 'A Republic, if you can keep it.'

Let us hope that we can keep our democratic republic despite all the advocates for fundamentally transforming our government.