12/30/2022 0 Comments Democracy vs republic![]() ![]() This argument demonstrates one of the most important details of the Constitution: that all states are equally represented. One of the major arguments they mention is the disparity in senatorial representation compared to each state’s population. This article, however, seems to move away from their original argument and side-step into a discussion about hypocrisy of the modern Republican Party. This seems to argue that although the United States is, by definition, a Constitutional Republic, it could be considered a democracy that serves the people. He did so in the Gettysburg Address where he stated that the United States is a “government of the people, by the people, and for the people”. An article in The Atlantic mentions how President Abraham Lincoln attempted to unite both terms into one form of government. I would be remiss not to adequately describe both sides of the argument whether the United States is better classified as a democracy or as a Constitutional Republic. The Electoral College allows for votes throughout the country to matter, rather than being reliant upon a small number of urban centers. In Presidential elections, this inequality is addressed in the Electoral College where states gain a specified number of votes based on their census. ![]() This difference makes it so that, although by definition the United States is a democracy, every vote is not always equal. This differentiation in power helps to protect the Republic from being subject to “mob rule”, as originally described by Plato. The “Constitutional” aspect of the Republic means that the Constitution is the supreme law of the United States while the term “Republic” means that the power of the government is held by the people but is exercised by elected representatives. The term Constitutional Republic can be clearly understood when analysing each word separately. In a Constitutional Republic, rather than the legal power of the government stemming from the people, it is instead derived from the Constitution itself. Madison realised the problems that plagued direct democracies and instead sought to establish a Constitutional Republic. ![]()
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