American Republic vs. Democracy: What the Founders Built

A nation in which the masses elect representatives to the government—thus ensuring the law is shaped by public opinion, so long as that opinion is constitutional—is considered a republic. This was the aim of America's Founding Fathers. Democracy closely resembles a republic; however, a key point of distinction between the two lies in the role of representatives. The Founders were worried about citizens' criticism that they were assuming too much control themselves, and hence felt a need to prove that it was the law, not the President, that governed the nation.

Following the very ineffective attempt at enforcing the Articles of Confederation, the Founders ultimately found success with the Constitution—American history's most celebrated text—which ensured that federal power was limited to only those matters included within it. Without the Constitution, the United States would be an absolute democracy, with all citizens doing whatever they felt was the law. This danger has been described brilliantly in Plato's Republic, where the Greek philosopher argues that democracy gives rise to anarchy, which ultimately results in tyranny. History confirms this pattern: after the French Revolution's historic Bastille Day, anarchy surfaced, and shortly afterward the world saw Napoleon Bonaparte rise to power.

It is therefore reasonable that the Founders sought to avoid anarchy and establish a government that would not ultimately reduce to it.

America's Founders greatly feared establishing a government with too many characteristics of pure democracy. They were afraid of the destructiveness inherent in a majority's attempts at achieving social equality through the appropriation of property, property rights, and God-given fundamental freedoms. They expected a Robin Hood attitude to develop—one in which the rich are "soaked" and the poor profit—representing a democratic drift toward socialism.

The Founders' fears were well-grounded. They were all well-informed individuals who had discussed at length how disastrously earlier democracies, including Athens, had failed. As Paul Gagnon observed, U.S. history traces back to Christian and Jewish texts, the rise and fall of Athenian democracy, the feudal era, and more; in order to explain American values, one must begin there.

A historical argument that had circulated for many years—one the Founders were highly familiar with—captures their concern precisely:

Democracies are unable to survive permanently as governmental forms. They only thrive as long as citizens do not realize their ability to vote themselves bounty from the nation's coffers. But the moment this realization sinks in, the majority will always elect candidates who assure them maximum benefits from the public exchequer, resulting in governmental collapse over a weak fiscal policy; the end result will be dictatorship. The greatest civilizations in the world have, on average, lasted two centuries and advanced along the following sequence: Subjugation — Spiritual Faith — Valor — Freedom — Prosperity — Self-centeredness — Indifference — Dependence — Subjugation (Adams, 2008).

The Founders universally rejected democracy, hoping America would never witness it. They used the term "Republic" rather than "Democracy"; the latter term does not appear in the Articles of Confederation, the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights, or the Constitution. The patriotic pledge also entails swearing allegiance "to the Republic for which it stands."