I see people fighting over this all the time. Which one is it and why? (with sources and such please)
2007-10-04 06:34:50 · 26 answers · asked by mishmallow8 2 in Politics & Government ➔ Government
The United States is a Republic. Remember the Pledge of Allegiance, the us is a democratic Republic but not a Democracy.
In a Democracy every Citizen would have to vote on every bill personally. It works in small communities but not in a large town much less a Nation of 300,000,000 inhabitants.
2007-10-04 06:41:51 · answer #1 · answered by Coasty 7 · 6⤊ 0⤋
Our Federal government is a representative democracy, IOW we elect people to represent us in a general meeting (congress/senate) to establish the law of the land.
In this respect, we are a republic as is stated in the pledge of allegiance to the flag.
We are NOT a democracy and I certainly hope that we NEVER BECOME ONE.
A democracy, to operate properly..indeed, at all...must have almost total participation at the polls. This is a thing that has never been accomplished on a national scale.
A democracy then, would quickly turn into a dictatorship as TPTB could easily stuff the ballot box (much like what will happen if the illegal aliens get to vote..which they will if they are not deported).
See the constitution for the source of our system of government.
http://www.usconstitution.net/const.html
2007-10-04 07:25:56 · answer #2 · answered by credo quia est absurdum 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
source would be my collage us government class but I am sure you can find it on the net somewhere. We are a republic. In a true democracy every single person would vote for every law or bill rather than choosing a representative to do it for them. Our fore fathers did not trust an educated mob to make those decisions. Socrates said that you cannot have a true democracy if the population grows beyond 5000. He said this because at the time communication was an issue. I'm still not sure that a true democracy would work, but I think for the time that the decision was made, they made the right decision when they chose to make us a republic.
2007-10-04 06:44:24 · answer #3 · answered by fly 2 · 3⤊ 1⤋
It is a republic. If you need a source read the Constitution, it is the law and organization of the country and specifically says this is a republic while the word democracy in not mentioned even one time, nor is the concept mentioned.
2007-10-04 06:58:39 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 0⤋
Per the CIA World Factbook;
"Constitution-based federal republic; strong democratic tradition"
We are more of a traditional republic than a democracy, because the people elect the officials who govern
2007-10-04 07:15:05 · answer #5 · answered by heavysarcasm 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
This country was formed as a Constitutional Republic. Sometime last century it morphed into what is called a democracy but is really socialist so as to fit better in the new world order.
2007-10-04 07:26:37 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
In the words of Ben Franklin when asked what kind of government the founders had given us "we've given you a republic if you can hold on to it." Do I have to say more?
A democracy is basically mob rule and the founders were afraid of that. That is why they established safeguards like the Senate and Congress. The Senate moves slower than the Congress by design. The Congress may react hastily to public pressure but the six year term Senate is better able to resist impulsive actions. The constitution protects us from the actions of the government.
2007-10-04 06:52:26 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 2⤋
We are neither. A democracy, by definition, means that the populace controls policy. We don't. A republic is defined as a populace electing officials the dictate policy. Partially true, but the cabinet, Supreme Court and other high ranking positions are assigned by those in power. Furthermore, the President is elected by the electoral college and not the popular vote (see 2000 election.)
Money talks, especially in capitalism, and our government issues policy based on what will work best for the economy. This is not to say that it is always successful in doing so. We live under a Cashpublic or a Moneyocracy.
2007-10-04 06:54:08 · answer #8 · answered by The Fifth 2 · 4⤊ 4⤋
The federal government is purely a republic.
The state governments are varying blends of democracies and republics. What I mean is that in some states, voters often vote directly on the making of laws for their state and local governments, while in other states popular referendums are rare.
2007-10-04 06:43:19 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 6⤊ 0⤋
In a democracy, every person votes on every issue. It would far too many resources and far too much time for the US to be a direct democracy. Instead were are a representative republic, where the people elect representives who will vote on issues.
2007-10-04 06:42:36 · answer #10 · answered by Christian Slam 1 · 4⤊ 1⤋