In what ways did the framers of the constitution both uphold and contradict republicanism?

Question

At the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia (1787), the 55 delegates who eventually agreed on the current Constitution of the United States were abiding by the ideals of republicanism, but in many ways contradicted those ideals in thier words in actions. Do you know any of those contradictions which took place?

Answer 1

what are you hinting at

Answer 2

I disagree strongly with The Armchair Explorer. The measure of whether the principle of democracy is upheld is not in the number of people who have the vote. He's thinking of democracy, which is not what the Founders set out to create. A few simple definitions will help--

Republican government. One in which the powers of sovereignty are vested in the people and are exercised by the people, either directly, or through representatives chosen by the people, to whom those powers are specially delegated. In re Duncan, 139 U.S. 449, 11 S.Ct. 573, 35 L.Ed. 219; Minor v. Happersett, 88 U.S. (21 Wall.) 162, 22 L.Ed. 627. [Black's Law Dictionary, Fifth Edition, p. 626]

Democracy. That form of government in which the sovereign power resides in and is exercised by the whole body of free citizens directly or indirectly through a system of representation, as distinguished from a monarchy, aristocracy, or oligarchy. Black's Law Dictionary, Fifth Edition, pp. 388-389.

Despite the similarities, it is evident (self-evident, even) that the U.S. is a republic, not a democracy. By purposely limiting the electorate, the Founders were not limiting citizenship, because the latter term really had no meaning until the 14th Amendment was enacted in 1868. If the Founders had established a democracy in the modern day sense, the result would have been that the new nation would have dissolved into chaos, so what were seen then as necessary limits on participation were established.

There was, of course, an element of democracy recognized, though, because the method of electing members of the House of Representatives was (and is) direct; Senators were chosen in the state legislatures, which still involved the electorate indirectly.
Presidential election through the electoral college was thought of as necessary because the Founders considered a largely politically ignorant population unqualified to make the sole decision by direct election; they were right then, and they are right today, as the 2000 election proves.

There are no contradictions to republicanism in the Constitution.

Answer 3

They upheld it by letting the people vote. They contradicted it by restricting who could vote and by establishing the Electoral College to choose the president--according to the original plan, we were only supposed to choose our rep's on the college, not the person that college would choose, so in a sense we were "electing our betters" to make a difficult decision for us.