Always a student of the
American political system, I am moved to consider and to clarify the usage of
the word republic which often, and inaccurately, gets set up in
contrast to the word and meaning of democracy. Since the word republic is
found in Article IV section 4 of the Constitution, “The United States
shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of
Government”, many people point to that language to claim that the
Constitution authorizes a republic rather than a democracy.
I
assert that the use of the word republic in the Constitution or on
the lips of the Framers of our system was not intended to be in contrast
to democracy.
Rather, taking into
account the context of the day, reason would lead to an understanding
of republic being set against the word and governmental system
of monarch.
What the Constitution
guarantees is that there will be a representative form of government in each
State rather than a king or queen imposing “King George III” type of tyranny as
described in the twenty-seven grievances inventoried in the Declaration of Independence.
While the
word democracy is not in the Constitution, we do have the concept
embedded in the 15th Amendment…
Section 1. The right
of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the
United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition
of servitude—
And also, we have this in
the Constitution…
26th Amendment
Section 1
The right of citizens of
the United States, who are eighteen years of age or older, to vote shall not be
denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of age.
I provide a list of
Constitutional Articles and Amendments regarding democratic election or voting
at the bottom of this post,
It is Constitutionally
mandated that governmental representation is elected by the
people…democratically.
Our republican form of
government is achieved by a democratic process by which the candidate with 50+%
majority vote, becomes the representative, or senator, or mayor, or any other
office holder, and even the President, though in that singular case through democratic vote
of the Electoral College. The popular vote in each state determines who gets
that state’s Electoral votes.
Aside from those basic
facts, when representatives in Congress, State Assemblies, and such vote on
bills, they do so by a democratic process, again majority vote.
Yet again aside from
those facts, many states allow referendums (correct usage according to Merriam
Webster) whereby the general electorate may cast a vote on a ballot question…a
democratic process.
The twenty-seven
grievances listed in the Declaration of Independence, referring to King George
III’s tyranny, establish a very good basis for understanding what the
revolution was addressing…a monarchical absolutism with blatant disregard for
basic human rights; not a “push and pull” of partisan politics, or public
policy.
The
word republic, as used by Framers of the Constitution, was set
against monarchy not democracy.
It is through the
democratic process of election that the consent of the governed is
achieved (Declaration of Independence, paragraph 2).
Ours is a republic of
law-makers, not appointed by a monarch, but by democratic vote and consent of
the governed.
Ours is not solely a
republic. Nor is it solely a democracy.
Ours is a democratic
republic, a form of government distinct from any resemblance to a monarchy.
And we should maintain
that distinction.
Article 1, Section 3: The Senate
Article 1, Section 7: passage of laws
Article 2, Section : Regarding Electors of the
Electoral College
Amendment 14, section 2 Voting rights
Amendment 15, right to vote without
discrimination.
Amendment 17, Senators Elected by Popular Vote.
Amendment 19, the right of women to vote.
Amendment 26 – Voting Age lowered to 18 Years.
