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Democracy And Democracy

Decent Essays

In America today, there is a common misconception concerning the form of government this nation possesses. Some believe it to be a democracy while others understand it to be a republic. Regardless of what people believe the American form of government to be, it does not change the fact that it was founded as a representative republic, and therefore, must be maintained and upheld as such. The following paragraphs will show the difference between a democracy and a republic, describe what form the Founders intended for the American government and explain in what ways this nation has strayed from the original form of government created by its Founders. First, the meaning of and difference between a democracy and a republic must be understood. …show more content…

This desire continued and fueled the fire for the Declaration of Independence which eventually became the foundation for our governing document: the U.S. Constitution. In the Preamble to our Constitution, it states, “We, the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect Union...secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity...” (Constitution of the United States – Preamble). It is evident in the very first lines of the Constitution that the Founders considered the preservation of freedom to be one of the most important features of a government. In addition, the core principles that the Founders based our government on were drawn from the Bible. Noah Webster, whose ideas were influential in the writing of the constitution stated, “...the genuine source of correct republican principles is the Bible, particularly the New Testament or the Christian religion” (History of the United States). Because the Founders drew their principles from the Bible which reflected the ideals of a republican form of government, it is evident that they desired such a government based on these principles. Consequently, the Founders not only set up this government such that its people would elect various levels of officials to represent them but also that those elected officials would be accountable to the higher law of the Bible. Third, the question must be asked, “In what ways has the

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