ipl-logo

Civil Rights Movement: Madisonian Democracy

492 Words2 Pages

The continuing struggle to achieve civil rights despite the Civil Rights Movement highlights the ways in which the Madisonian Democratic system is failing in the United States. Madisonian Democracy and a majoritarian understanding of democracy are based on similar ideas but have a distinct and important difference: protection of minorities and individual rights. A majoritarian democracy is one in which the majorities win without consideration for minority rights and is, perhaps, democracy in it’s simplest form – the people or the elected officials vote, and the majority vote wins. A Madisonian Democracy is a composite form of government. Like a majoritarian democracy, the majority opinion holds most the power, however, checks and balances are put in place to ensure a protection of minority and individual rights, as well as minimize the risk of abusive uses of power. In a Madisonian Democracy, cooperation and …show more content…

A key concept in Madisonian Democracy is preventing the domination of a factions, or “groups motivated by selfish interests against the common good” (Bianco). Also important to the concept of a Madisonian government is pluralism – the idea that having a variety of contesting parties will ensure that no one group can completely control the majority vote and take power. One can see the basis of a Madisonian Democracy in the modern United States government and the understanding of those who work in it. Illinois State Senator from the 9th District Daniel Bliss said, “when I find something immensely frustrating, I ask myself am I frustrated because something is broken and corrupt or because I didn’t get to be the emperor? And every time it is option B, I remind myself that is actually a positive thing, because this way we never have

Show More
Related

  • Similarities Between Madison And The Federalists

    1723 Words  | 7 Pages

    Legislative and judicial decisions are the results of faction, as the decisions made affect “the rights of large bodies of citizens”. Justice would balance the views of each side, “and the most numerous party… or… the most powerful faction must be expected to prevail”. Madison stated that a single, uniform party in power will adopt legislation that benefited the class that party represented, but allowing more parties and therefore more people to participate makes the legislative process more democratic and less like a monarchical form of government. The thesis is extended: “The inference to which we are brought is, that the CAUSES of faction cannot be removed, and that relief is only to be sought in the means of controlling its EFFECTS”. It is the goal of government to then limit the extent to which factions influence politics through partisanship, so as “to preserve the spirit and the form of popular government”.

    Read More

  • The Federalist No. 10 Argument

    978 Words  | 4 Pages

    Madison is analyzing the way to deal with the growing faction problem. He begins his essay by defining factions for the reader. “By a faction, I understand a number of citizens, whether amounting to a majority or minority of the whole, who are united and actuated by some common impulse of passion, or of interest, adversed to the rights of

    Read More

  • Sherman's Argumentative Analysis

    883 Words  | 4 Pages

    He argued that the influence state legislatures had over the national policy-makers should increase. Sherman disagreed with almost every aspect of the national government proposed by Madison’s plan. He did not see the need for the voters to elect members of the house, the House to select the members of Senate and the power that the president had to veto. On the issue of representation by population size, Roger Sherman believed that at least one branch of Congress will have “three or four of the large States …rule the others as they please” without equal state representation (235). He also believed that the authority to regulate internal commerce should go to the states and if there was a dispute Congress or the courts could resolve it (238).

    Read More

  • Shelby County V. Holder's Argumentative Analysis

    226 Words  | 1 Pages

    We see multiple successes of voting equality attempted through amendments, however, the Supreme Court’s decision on Shelby County v. Holder has pushed back years and years of effort for voting rights. Supreme Court’s 5-4 ruling was in Shelby County’s favor, stating that the Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act was unconstitutional along with Section 5. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr, who wrote the majority’s opinion, said that the power to regulate election was reserved to the states, not the federal government. As a result to the court’s decision, the federal government can no longer determine which voting law discriminates and can be passed. After the case, many states had freely passed new voting laws; the most common voting law states passed

    Read More

  • Constitutional Convention: Mistrustful Of Democracy

    493 Words  | 2 Pages

    Madison’s views on ambition were integrated into the political structure of the country by limiting democratic citizen participation in government and

    Read More

  • Advantages And Disadvantages Of Pluralistic Democracy

    1052 Words  | 5 Pages

    Democracy might seem like an utopic political system, a breath of fresh air for former totalitarian states of Eastern Europe and the most balanced way of governing a state in the Western part. However, like any political system, there are some flaws amongst all the promising benefits. In this essay I intend to analyze both the advantages and disadvantages of it and hope to render an objective perspective of what a pluralistic democracy lacks and offers. I will start my debate with the example of the United Kingdom, a powerful and prosperous country of the continent. An interesting part of their system is the election voting.

    Read More

  • Factions And Federalist Essay No. 10

    562 Words  | 3 Pages

    Madison believed the solution, or cure, to resolving the problems caused by factions was to allow a larger number of citizens to vote for their representative. Madison theorized that by doing this the representative would reflect the views of their constituents and would win based on merit, thus, controlling the effects of

    Read More

  • Robert Ostwald Greek Citizenship

    1507 Words  | 7 Pages

    Many modern civilizations in the west pride themselves on being democratic societies where every person possesses liberty and equality. Every citizen possesses certain rights that cannot be taken away and every citizen is equal under the law; it is upon this foundation that the institutions of modern democracy are built. However, the idea of democracy is not unique to modern societies in the west. In the fifth and fourth centuries BC, the ancient Athenians developed and implemented a democratic government with principles of liberty, equality, and citizenship. Two authors who explore the democracy, liberty, and equality of both Athenian and modern governments are Martin Ostwald and Mogens Hansen.

    Read More

  • Ackerman And Fishkin Summary

    1740 Words  | 7 Pages

    Ackerman and Fishkin discuss this stating; “Registered voters would be called together in neighborhood meeting places, in small groups of 15 and larger groups of 500, to discuss the central issues raised by the campaign” (1). The multiplicity of publics throughout the nation in an attempt to ensure that all views are heard in an open forum runs parallel to Fraser’s idea that a multiplicity of publics is necessary to ensure equality in participation. These equal and strong publics are necessary, by the estimation of the authors, to

    Read More

  • Mandatory Definition

    655 Words  | 3 Pages

    Complicated essays concerning the new emergence of a democratic- republic style of government emerged in the form of the “Federalist Papers.” These important government document documents were originally published in a New York newspaper that was read widely in both the North and the South. Feasibly nowhere more significant is the influence of the typography culture exhibited in politics than in the famous Lincoln-Douglas debates. For the audiences attending these events the remarkable ability to understand long, convoluted, complex sentences when hearing them. Don’t misunderstand

    Read More

  • Pros And Cons Of Democracy In America

    1337 Words  | 6 Pages

    Furthermore, taking the work as a whole, one finds that main problems of a democracy are the following: a disproportionately high portion of power in the legislative branch, an abuse of or lack of love for freedom, an excessive drive for equality, individualism, and materialism. The elements that Tocqueville believes can most successfully combat these dangerous democratic tendencies are: an independent and influential judiciary, a strong executive branch, local self-government, administrative de-centralization, religion, well-educated women, freedom of association, and freedom of the press. Tocqueville directly applies this newfound thesis to American democracy and explains how this situation can affect the United States. He references this thesis in talking about the pros and cons to American democracy, specifically the dangers and benefits of the

    Read More

  • Civil Rights Movement Thesis

    874 Words  | 4 Pages

    Introduction The story of the Civil Rights Movements of African Americans in America is an important story that many people knew, especially because of the leadership Martin Luther King Jr. Black people in America, between 1945 and 1970 had to fight for rights because they had been segregated by white people, they didn’t have equal laws compared to white people. So they initiated the Civil Rights Movements to fight for getting equal civil rights.

    Read More

  • James Madison's Essay On Federalist 10

    542 Words  | 3 Pages

    The political theory of that states that all interest groups should compete for influence in the government is formally referred to as pluralism. James Madison understood that there will always be a conflict of interests in a society, resulting from factions, and instead of trying to remove the factions, he sought to control their effects. He illustrates how this can be done in his essay, Federalist 10, while he argues in favor of a representative form of government, that includes separated powers. He believed that if there were multiple factions competing for influence, the governments interests would shift from term to term due to the changing factions in office. This type of majority rule is referred to as a Madisonian Majority, which is

    Read More

  • The Importance Of Direct Democracy

    1004 Words  | 5 Pages

    As the enhancement of humans’ needs and wants, people are tempted to promote the quality of their lives by using their knowledge and wisdom. Founding government is one of the most significant inventions of human beings. Government can be interpreted as an organization that creates and carries out laws. The issue of whether Direct Democracy is practical in the United States has been debated in this modern time. It is critical because it concerns fundamental political problems about society.

    Read More

  • Rights Of Man By Thomas Paine Analysis

    864 Words  | 4 Pages

    America, the land of the free, was founded upon the standards life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. In America’s early years, Thomas Paine, in his book Rights of Man characterized this country’s government as functioning in unison with no difficulties. When you break it down and look at the big picture, some people will argue that increased diversity has brought the nation to an all time peak, in terms of unity. Meanwhile, others maintain the idea that Thomas Paine’s assessment is mistaken for what is to one day be achieved. Yet while we would like to believe in his visionary, it unfortunately does not hold true today regarding both our modern politics and social principles.

    Read More

More about Civil Rights Movement: Madisonian Democracy

Open Document