What Is Democracy In America

“I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America...and to the republic for which it stands...one nation under God, indivisible, with Liberty and Justice for all.” (“Is the United States a Democracy?”) The United States’ pledge is taught to children of all ages, plays an active role in the patriotism of the people, and it symbolizes the citizen’s promise to never violate the Republic of the United States of America. The founding fathers built the foundation of America on their ideological belief that the country should be a republic and that all mankind are created equally. However, over the years, America has gained the title as a democratic nation and the status quo of America being considered “the majority rule.” The present state of affairs of the American government proves to be incorrect because the United States is not a democracy. The United States has limited citizens to participate equally on various occasions, due to the emphasis the government has placed on non-democratic practices, inconsistencies, and discrimination regarding race, gender, and ethnicity.

Not all systems are perfect, nor is the Electoral College. As we seen in the 2016 presidential election, the popular vote may not necessarily get the majority in the Electoral College resulting in what is criticized not to be as democratic when the popular vote winner, Hillary Clinton in this case, was the loser of the election. The outcome of the election can be dictated by the electors and in some cases not reflect the will of the people. Also, the winner-take-all clause creates a possibility that the popular vote gets nothing even in a situation when is it very close to half the votes. All states except for

Democracy in America, by Alexis de Tocqueville includes Tocqueville’s observations on what American society and culture was like during the 1830’s. Throughout his analysis of America, he draws many outlandish and interesting conclusions regarding what life was like during this time period. For example, in Chapter 18, Tocqueville remarks that citizens in democratic societies are independent, which makes them weak and subsequently uninfluential in society. He goes on to say that in order to combat this, associations must be established to combat individualism and to circulate new thoughts and ideas. All in all, Tocqueville’s claim is certainly valid, but only up to a certain point because there were a select few of individuals that were able to make an influence on society without the help from any associations.

In the United States, the Electoral College determines the victor of a national election. Each state has its own number of electoral votes, which is determined by state population. This system is a “winner takes all” system. Which means the candidate with 50 percent or more of the votes in an individual state gets all of that states electoral votes. The 2016 presidential election will have 538 electoral votes, this means that the election will be decided who is the first candidate to 270 votes. Some people have seen this system as outdated and unjust. Many are looking at a way to change the system and others would like to do away with the system

It’s hard to define something big as democracy in few short words, but president Abraham Lincoln does it best by defining democracy as a “Government of the people, by the people, for the people” (Bleicherstrasse). The Merriam Webster Dictionary barely scratches the surface of what democracy really means. It tries to define democracy as “a form of government in which people choose leaders by voting, a country ruled by democracy, an organization or situation in which everyone is treated equally and has equal rights”, but democracy is so much more than that. For a government to be considered true democracy it must support these four key elements “A political system for choosing and replacing the government through free and fair elections, the active participation of the people, as citizens, in politics and civic life, protection of the human rights of all citizens, a rule of law, in which the laws and procedures apply equally to all citizens” (Diamond, 2004). If we go by this definition of democracy than America is not consider to be true democracy.

First, the candidate who wins the Electoral College will always win by a greater percentage of electoral votes than popular votes; therefore, making the candidate the clear winner. For instance, in the 2012 Presidential

In a presidential election, the popular vote means a total of all votes taken from all the states in the United States of America. It is possible for a candidate to win the popular vote by getting the most votes overall but still lose the presidential election. That is because while Americans vote directly for their presidential choice, the president is elected through a system called the Electoral College. While many people view the extra steps unnecessary, the process of going through the Electoral College system of voting is better for the country.

The weaknesses of the electoral college are addressed in the article "It's Time to Abolish the Electoral College" by Taylor Brodarik. One weakness Brodarik brings

While campaigning, one candidate may win the popular vote but end up loosing the electoral vote and therefore the entire election. This is because of the electoral college. During a campaign, one candidate may win the popular vote by a mile. However, it all comes down to the states that they win. Some states, like Texas, California, Florida, and New York, have many votes in the electoral college. Others, like Wyoming, North Dakota, and Alaska, have the absolute minimum. The states that each candidate wins will determine the number of votes they get from the electoral college. One candidate could win a majority of the US but the other could still win if they just get the states with more electoral votes to be on their side. When it comes down

In conclusion, I would like to say that the United States of America is not that democratic at all. The United States of America is ran by the big business's that help support the candidates that run. The people who help out with there generous contributions (usually the ones with more money donated) always end up getting what they want. This is only

We live in this country for the land, and the for the free as Americans we rely on many attributes in this world in order for us to live our lives. Our government has supplied us with many great things for us to be proud of. Our government is “the institutions and processes though which public policies are made for society.” (Edwards, Wattenberg, and Lineberry, p. 7). With all these institutions which includes the President, Congress, the courts and all the federal administrative agencies. These are the institutions that make up public policies for us, and to shape the way we live as Americans. The way this system has been operating through all the years has been

189). Each state has the same amount of electoral votes as they have Senators and Representatives and the only exception to this I the District of Columbia they have three electors even though they are not a state. Each state except for Maine and Nebraska have a “winner-take-all-system”, meaning the candidate who receives the most votes in the state is credited with that states electoral votes. After the general election in December, the electors meet in the Capital to cast their votes from President and Vice-President. Afterward the ballots are sent to the U.S. Senate which counts and certifies them and the candidate with the majority of votes

During election day, millions of Americans are going to cast their vote for who they want to be the next president of the United States. Except is a lot more complicated than it seems. The electoral college is the collection of 538 delegates that have the power to determine who the next president will be; the number of total representatives in the House and Senate. These 538 votes aren’t given to the citizen directly, but they are instead divided among the 50 states in America. Currently, people are suggesting who their state should pick for president. Simply put, if a state has a majority of votes for one candidate, (however small the majority is) that candidate gets all the electoral votes from said state; winner takes all. So, a candidate must win over half of the voting population in enough states to get the majority of electoral votes to win the election. But that’s not all, these said electors aren’t nailed down to vote for who their state constituents want at all; millions of votes can be thrown in the trash and forgotten forever.

Re-reading the bulk of my work in the course of a spring and summer, one theme came to predominate-it was apparent that most of my writing was about America. How much I loved our country-that was evident-and how much I didn't love it at all!

The actual process of the Electoral College can be complicated but is important to understand (Leins). Instead of the public’s voting directly for the presidential candidates, Americans vote for Electors who will almost always vote the same way as the people. Determined by the state population, each state is awarded a certain number of Electoral votes (Ibid.). Each state, by default, earns two votes for their representation in the U.S. Senate. States can earn more Electoral votes determined by the number of