A Republic, If You Can Keep It
Is the U.S. a democracy or a republic?
President Biden likes to say that former president Trump is an “existential threat to democracy.” After dismissing the first part of his hyperbolic dysphemism, the statement would only matter if we have a democracy. Do we?
Founding Father Benjamin Franklin, a delegate to the U.S. Constitutional Convention and signer of the U.S. Constitution, was asked at the close of the convention what form of government was chosen. His famous answer? “A republic, if you can keep it.”
No where did he mention democracy. Neither does the U.S. Constitution or the Declaration of Independence. The familiar words of the Pledge of Allegiance describe a republic but say nothing about democracy:
“I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”
Is the U.S. a democracy or a republic? A comparison of the two forms of government is most revealing.
Republic
A republic is a form of government in which officials are elected by the nation’s citizens. In a constitutional republic, the elected representatives must obey the rules of the nation’s constitution and cannot take away certain individual rights. Characteristics of a constitutional republic include:
The rights of the minority are safeguarded from the tyranny of the majority with a written constitution.
A constitution protects the rights of individuals to make their own decisions.
All citizens are to be treated equally before the law and have an equal say. These rights are constitutionally protected.
Freedom of religion is constitutionally protected and allowed.
Ownership of private property is constitutionally protected and allowed.1
Democracy
In a pure or direct democracy, the citizens vote directly on all decisions. An indirect or representative democracy is a form of government in which the officials are elected by the people. In either form of democracy, however, the decisions need not follow any set of rules or constitution. Characteristics of a direct or indirect democracy include:
The majority has unlimited power while minority groups have no protections.
The majority may limit the rights of individuals to make their own decisions.
While all are claimed equal, the majority often rules tyrannically over the minority.
The majority may limit the religious freedom of the minority, if it desires.
The majority may limit the property rights of the minority, if it desires.2
Similarities and differences
A constitutional republic and an indirect democracy are both forms of government in which people elect their leaders. Which are we? America’s Constitution defines the U.S. as a republic in Article 4, Section 4. More precisely, the U.S. form of government is an ideal example of a constitutional republic. The U.S. has always had a republican form of government, not a democratic one.3
The unfortunate reality of democracies is that a majority of the people often tries to take away the rights of the minority. Most of us don’t want that. What we want are protections against both dictatorships and democracies.
The primary purpose of a constitutional republic is to provide these protections. The U.S. Constitution safeguards against government tyranny and the tendency of a democratic majority to become tyrannical. These protections include the creation of the Senate, the electoral college and the three separate branches of the federal government. In addition, the U.S. Bill of Rights prohibits the government from infringing on free speech, religious choice, the right to bear arms and the right to assemble.4
History shows that pure democracy can work in small, local situations such as ballot initiatives. But on a larger scale, pure democracies predictably fail; the ancient Greek city-state of Athens is a classic example. “The ancient democracies in which the people themselves deliberated never possessed one good feature of government. Their very character was tyranny” said Alexander Hamilton, a signer of the U.S. Constitution.5
When someone advocates for democracy or democratic government, examine their definition. Democracy is a popular euphemism for a wide range of governments, including those that lead to tyranny and failure. In reality, most successful, long-lived, modern western governments like the U.S. are constitutional republics.
True freedom cannot be found in a dictatorship or a democracy, but in a constitutional republic like the U.S.
Constitutional Republic. Legal Dictionary, 11/19/2016. Accessed 7/17/2024 at https://legaldictionary.net/constitutional-republic/
See footnote 1.
Dobski, B. America Is a Republic, Not a Democracy. Heritage Foundation, 6/19/2020. https://www.heritage.org/american-founders/report/america-republic-not-democracy
Understanding Democracy: A Hip Pocket Guide. Democracy, Representative and Constitutional. Annenberg Classroom. https://www.annenbrgclassroom.org
Direct Democracy: Definition, Examples, Pros and Cons. ThoughtCo., 2/2/2022. https://thoughtco.com/what-is-direct-demoracy-3322038
Very good summary of the distinction between democracy and republic. My guess is Joe Biden does not include either of these forms of government when he claims Trump is an existential threat to democracy. Instead, what he means is Trump is an existential threat to the form of government Biden/Harris have inflicted on us. Under that form of government the President and his agency heads by executive order and new regulations overrule Congressionally enacted legislation, ignore plainly stated limits on his power, and inflict on the American public rules that no reasonable person either voted for or wants.
That "democratic accountability" is the last thing they want is shown by the process they are now using to ignore the vote of millions of people who said they wanted Joe Biden to be their nominee and using a bait and switch to put Harris in his place, a person not one American voted for.
Dr. Smoots, I appreciate this article very much. I absolutely despise when politicians label our government as a "democracy". We absolutely were designed as a Constitutional Republic, yet so many politicians(especially democrats) call our government a democracy. In some cases it is unintentional and out of ignorance, but in many cases it is intentional and somehow meant to indoctrinate people(especially the ignorant) that if we are a democracy, that means democrats should be in charge! many of the pernicious consequences of democracies(both direct and indirect) have now come to pass, especially tyrannies of the majority, persecution of Christians, unequal application of the law resulting in unjust imprisonment etc. Most people however don't want to think about it unless it directly affects them, thinking it never will. If we allow this deterioration of our Republic to continue it will of course affect everyone and not just in inflationary and economic terms but in loss of our fundamental freedoms.