In The Original Compromise by David Robertson, a republican form of government is defined as a government “whose authority is based on the consent of the people themselves” (6). Under a republican government, the people are said to have authority with the government in place to help protect their individual rights such as life, liberty and property. This authority can be either exercised directly, or through elected representatives chosen by the citizens. A republican government differs from other forms such as a monarchy and pure democracy based on where sovereignty lies and how it is exercised. In a monarchy for example, power is held by a specific family ruling from generation to generation, with a sole ruler of that state or nation. In a pure democracy, the power lies in the people as well, but is exercised directly by the citizens rather than by their elected representatives. After breaking free from British rule, America’s founders sought to stray away from government that did not value the voices of the people it governed. When working towards creating a new government, the founder’s beliefs were rooted in “republicanism, …show more content…
A republican government would work in America because its foundations are built on the inclusion of citizens in government decisions, as well as the protection of individual rights and freedoms., A republican government includes many “ideas and inherited experiences that the framers drew upon in writing the Constitution” (13). The American people value the separation of powers to ensure one body does not gain too much authority, being able to contribute to government decisions, as well as putting great minds together to work towards what is best for the whole nation. By stressing unalienable rights and individual liberties, a republican form of government encompasses numerous American
James Madison’s Federalist 10 was written amid criticisms that a republican form of government had never been successful on a large scale. Madison’s argument was that a well-constructed union could control factions. He argued that in order to control factions from their causes, we would need to either give up liberty or free thought. Since we cannot infringe upon these two natural rights, we must move on to controlling the effects. A republic, Madison argues, would be able to do this because the people choose the representatives, and they choose representatives who they feel best represent their opinions.
In the early years, after winning independence from Great Britain, the American colonies set up their government in accordance with their first constitution, the Articles of Confederation. This means that the majority of the power laid in the hands of the states and Congress, “the only institution of national authority” (Brinkley 151) at that time, had very little power. This distribution of authority was the manifestation of the American’s fear of a strong, central government. However, as time passed, more and more people came to agree that the national government was too weak and needed to be strengthened.
After a fiercely fought revolution, the newly independent American nation struggled to establish a concrete government amidst an influx of opposing ideologies. Loosely tied together by the Articles of Confederation, the thirteen sovereign states were far from united. As growing schisms in American society became apparent, an array of esteemed, prominent American men united in 1787 to form the basis of the United States government: the Constitution. Among the most eminent members of this convention were Alexander Hamilton, Aaron Burr, James Madison, and Thomas Jefferson. These men, held to an almost godly stature, defined the future of the nation; but were their intentions as honest as they seemed?
Great Britain provided many basic constitutional principles to the colonies. These ideas founded our government and shaped our country. Some principles we adopted from England helped develop our representative government, one being republicanism. In all colonies except for Georgia, republicanism was a common practice.
The Great Compromise which was founded at the Constitutional Convention wasn't formed without trouble. Many of the delegates that participated in the convention were wealthy landowners and lawyers, who owned many slaves. They failed to notice the diversity that excited within the nation. As they talked how to repair the Articles of Confederation, issues would arise that would create continuous debates amongst each other. One of the issues that would arise would be the nature of the new government.
Today’s America has evolved differently from the intention of a certain group of the founder’s. This essay takes the stance that America in 2017 is moving closer to the viewpoint of the Federalists, compared to the Republicans. First, one must analyze the two parties, then draw the conclusion with supportive facts. Lastly, the comparisons will be summarized and the differences will be minimized.
Articles of Confederation vs. the Constitution The intent the framers had of the executive was reflected in the Articles of Confederation. There were several problems with the Articles of Confederation, that Han and Heith mentioned in chapter two of “Presidents and the American Presidency, due to a lack of insight and political effectiveness. Since, the document did not allocate a head of state it caused the articles of confederation to be extremely weak. The confederation could not enforce laws, coordinate national defense, or handle foreign affairs.
The Republican’s philosophy was as if they were staring through a looking-glass perceiving the Federalists polices as their attempt to lay the foundation of a monarchical government. From my point of view, when taking into consideration on how our government is structured, provided by a system of checks and balances as well as two political parties all assist in having an alliance alternatively to division. Additionally this suppresses the loyalty on extreme stances which help to accommodate in the compromise on any conflicting points of view. During George Washington’s presidency, some of the national leaders began to have conflicting philosophical principles about how the government needed to conduct its business. It caused some members
He advocates for the Constitution and declares the faction will not be able to spread far because of the checks and balances. The next selection is about whether the government is republican. Madison first states no other form of government will suit the American people. Madison then continues to outline what makes a republican government and identifies how the Constitution fits the definition. To the people mentioning the Constitution takes power from the states, he asserts the government would be divided among national and state power.
The “search for a national government” in the United States came at a time when the country was at it’s lowest. We had finally declared our independence from Europe, but the country was lost. After our forefathers had written the Declaration of Independence, the country began creating governments, however the governments they began creating were on the state level. No one thought about creating the national government. When they did begin creating the national government, the people that formed the state’s governments thought to make the national government Republic.
Gordon Wood achieved great success among his peers with the publication of his book, The Creation of the American Republic, 1776-1787, for which he was awarded the Bancroft Prize, as well as the John H. Dunning Prize, both in 1970. In it, Dr. Wood breaks down the process of how American political thought developed from early protests against British measures in the construction of the world's first federal republic. He does so by giving us in detail using a number of different sources, historical information on the reasoning behind the revolution. Dr. Wood walks us through how our government started with a monarchical society which was hierarchical, and later transformed, and emerged as a more recognizable modern society, in where a more commercially oriented and capitalistic government came to light. Wood writes, “[Americans] learned how to define the rights of nature, how to search into, to distinguish, and to comprehend, the principles of physical, moral, religious, and civil liberty, how, in short, to discover and resist the forces of tyranny before they could be applied.
Throughout our country’s history, there have been many debates about how our government should be run and set up. One of the biggest debates was whether or not a large republic was better or worse than a small republic and vice-versa. This argument occurred when the new constitution came into play and the debate circulated around the federalists and the antifederalists. The antifederalists wanted a republic where the citizens or the people being ruled were able to check and view closely the small republic with its small amount of enumerated powers. They saw this as the best way to keep liberty.
Individuals lay the foundation of America. The Founding Fathers of this unique nation broke their allegiance with Great Britain to create an improved governing body. They desired an individual-centered authority as opposed to Britain’s monarchy, which ruled with tyranny. These Founding Fathers experienced a neglectful democratic monarchy that cared little about the ethical treatment of its people. The domineering actions of Britain challenged these historic individuals to form a new cultural identity.
Foundations of The Political System There are five foundations of America’s political system. These foundations are Popular Sovereignty, Separation of Powers, Checks and Balances, Federation, and Individual Rights. The first of the foundations is Popular Sovereignty, where,“the people possess the superior power over their political community, and can alter their government or amend the constitution.” (Ahmed Ehab,”Foundations of the American Political System”).
The United States government is best defined as a federal constitutional republic. As a constitutional republic, the U.S. government is organized by the Constitution, setting forth the political threshold of the people, which are known as the federal and state governments. As a federal republic, the control stands by the people throughout the voting process of electing the federal and state officials. The federal government is limited by the distribution of authority within the states as outlined in the Constitution. Although many people like to call the United States a democracy, this is not the case, because the public does not directly control legislation.