Democracy
- Submitted by: korstommy
- Views: 865
- Category: History: American
- Date Submitted: 11/18/2010 04:39 PM
- Pages: 7
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Max Faile
AP Gov 3rd block
Mr. Kelly
10/18/10
The article written by Professor Skeptic has some truth to it, however his argument is largely misled. He mentions that, “The Founders feared the power of the people unleashed at the state level after the Revolution,” and they were right to do so. The founding fathers understood that a true democracy which gives all the power to the people is not a realistic way to run a country. They knew this back in 1787 when there were only thirteen states, and it would be even more unrealistic today. The major problems within the Professor's article are that the Founding Fathers intended the government to be a republic, not a democracy, the Constitution is not written “against the people,” and many events in the world today illustrate how the current form of government is sufficient enough in accounting for the will of the people.
In the Pledge of Allegiance that is recited each day at school it states, “...and to the Republic for which it stands...” It is interesting that the writers of the pledge chose to use the word republic rather than democracy, and it still remains that way to this day. One of the Professor's main points is that the government was designed to give the people a “false sense of influence over the national government,” but this may not be the case. The Professor argues that the government created under the Constitution is not really a democracy, but perhaps it was never intended to be one. A true democracy gives absolute power to the majority. In Federalist 55, James Madison writes, “As there is a degree of depravity in mankind which requires a certain degree of circumspection and distrust: So there are other qualities in human nature, which justify a certain portion of esteem and confidence.” The founding fathers were not only very good leaders, they were very intelligent as well. They fully understood that human nature as a whole is not entirely good, and that for the most part people care about...
AP Gov 3rd block
Mr. Kelly
10/18/10
The article written by Professor Skeptic has some truth to it, however his argument is largely misled. He mentions that, “The Founders feared the power of the people unleashed at the state level after the Revolution,” and they were right to do so. The founding fathers understood that a true democracy which gives all the power to the people is not a realistic way to run a country. They knew this back in 1787 when there were only thirteen states, and it would be even more unrealistic today. The major problems within the Professor's article are that the Founding Fathers intended the government to be a republic, not a democracy, the Constitution is not written “against the people,” and many events in the world today illustrate how the current form of government is sufficient enough in accounting for the will of the people.
In the Pledge of Allegiance that is recited each day at school it states, “...and to the Republic for which it stands...” It is interesting that the writers of the pledge chose to use the word republic rather than democracy, and it still remains that way to this day. One of the Professor's main points is that the government was designed to give the people a “false sense of influence over the national government,” but this may not be the case. The Professor argues that the government created under the Constitution is not really a democracy, but perhaps it was never intended to be one. A true democracy gives absolute power to the majority. In Federalist 55, James Madison writes, “As there is a degree of depravity in mankind which requires a certain degree of circumspection and distrust: So there are other qualities in human nature, which justify a certain portion of esteem and confidence.” The founding fathers were not only very good leaders, they were very intelligent as well. They fully understood that human nature as a whole is not entirely good, and that for the most part people care about...