Why does everyone think America is a Democracy?
This is a huge misconception. America is a republic, the founding fathers actually fear democracy as much as they did monarchy. It's even stated in our pledge of allegiance. You will not find the word Democracy anywhere in the constitution.
Do any of you feel that it is important for this point to be clarified?
Update:The goal of a Constitutional Republic was to avoid the dangerous extreme of either tyranny or mobocracy but what exists in America today is a far cry from the Constitutional Republic our forefathers brought forth.
A Constitutional Republic has some similarities to democracy in that it uses democratic processes to elect representatives and pass new laws, etc. The critical difference lies in the fact that a Constitutional Republic has a Constitution that limits the powers of the government. It also spells out how the government is structured, creating checks on its power and balancing power between the different branches.
Update 3:Kid 12 they are not the same thing do your homework.
Update 5:@ Mr.Cool Ice I agree with you completely.
Comments
When, after the signing of the Constitution a woman asked Ben Franklin "what kind of government have you given us?" he is said to have replied "A Republic, Madam, if you can keep it." Based on the responses here, and the sheer lack of understanding, Franklin's concern would seem well-founded.
Perhaps everyone thinks America is a Democracy because they went to public school?
The United States is a Constitutionally limited Republic. The founders were well aware of the teachings of Plato and Socrates who drank hemlock because he was voted to be put to death. Majority rule, is mob rule. A Republic with Representatives has a draw back. The Representatives can still pass any law they wish. They need to be restrained. A written law of the land was the restraint. The Constitution provides the framework and the restraint. Representatives have to live within the laws, just like the ordinary citizen. In this way, the power is given to the people by law, and not the law given by leaders to the people..
Why? Because the term is thrown around to give people the impression that they can actually have an impact on the government machine lol
democracy is the process that involves people on an individual basis
we each go to vote because of our democratic process
we vote for state reps and governor etc, but that is still the democratic PROCESS
we don't individually actually DO anything that involves us in the "republic" part of the country, other than say what state we live in
it is an easy way to get people involved in the process basically, because we can vote
no j/k, really it's because elementary school teachers are brainwashing children to be indoctrinated into the Dem party at an early age, right?
Teeheehee..
Everyone is ignoring this conception because in 1933 we allowed the Federal Reserve to make and price our monies. It was a breech of constitutional law. Congress is supposed to make and price monies, according to the constitution. Since then, we have no longer been a republic. Call it what you want , but america is a fraudulent country until we take it back. They all want a New World Order and that is where we have been heading since the turn of the century. That is the turn of the 20th century not the 21st. century. In 1993 James Traficant gave a speech to the effect that we are no longer a republic and no longer have a constitution. Why do you think all of congress does nothing about Obama, the illegal president?????
The United States of America is a Constitutional Republic, and our form of government is Representative Democracy. Which means, we elect representatives who act, on our behalf, in accordance with our Constitution. True Democracy is mob rule.
Both of the terms relate to the US. Cymone95 explained it well. Democracy is the SYSTEM we use for choosing our leaders (voting). The word republic describes the TYPE of government we have.
P.S. If the Founding Fathers "feared democracy" so much, why did they let people ELECT the president? That's democracy.
We are a democratic republic. Our laws are passed by representatives, but those representatives are elected by the people.
If America isn't a democracy, why are Republicans so obsessed with spreading democracy to other countries?
It is very important. 60-70 thousand people march in Washington D.C., claiming that Obama and other Democrats are out of touch with the American People, yet we are the ones who voted this guy into office. The Democrats have every right to represent those who voted them into office. Obama and other democrats are doing exactly what they said they were going to do during the election. Thats why I voted for them.
No, I do not think it is important to clarify that point. I know what is the difference between a democracy and a republic and I do not think that the difference is IMPORTANT. The difference between a democracy and a republic is whether or not the making of laws is done directly by the people or indirectly by their elected representatives. Big friggin' whoop!
So a Republic is basically Plato's idea of a better Democracy.
Only difference is you have representatives.
Another thing to remember is Rome was once a Republic.