Start Date
19-3-2025 3:15 PM
End Date
19-3-2025 4:05 PM
Level of Education
Graduate
Keywords
Institutions, practices, representation, population, governments, laws, threshold, limitations, intention, structure
Abstract
In this politically charged and polarized climate, we see many individuals in America advocating for an increased focus on “democracy”, claiming that the nation is on the road to fascism in the rise of recent political movements. An examination of the writings of America’s own Founding Fathers, however, indicates a deep skepticism for a “pure” or direct democracy. Framers such as John Adams argued that a “direct democracy” was a self-destructive form of government, and Alexander Hamilton believed that such a democracy represented an extreme form of government directly across the ideological spectrum from an authoritarian monarchy, believing that America’s laws should be informed by “moderate governments”, reflected by the structure of the current constitutional republic that we see today. The design of the Framers is very evident in such institutions and practices intended to limit of the ability of a pure popular democracy, such as electing the president through the electoral college, giving states purely equal representation regardless of population in the U.S. Senate, as well as an incredibly high threshold to amend the Constitution on a federal basis. With both the writings of America’s Framers as well as the institutions they so clearly established, did they also see too much of a similarity between an unrestricted democracy and authoritarian tyranny by a monarch?
Is Direct Democracy a Friend or a Threat to America’s Pursuit of Individual Liberty?
In this politically charged and polarized climate, we see many individuals in America advocating for an increased focus on “democracy”, claiming that the nation is on the road to fascism in the rise of recent political movements. An examination of the writings of America’s own Founding Fathers, however, indicates a deep skepticism for a “pure” or direct democracy. Framers such as John Adams argued that a “direct democracy” was a self-destructive form of government, and Alexander Hamilton believed that such a democracy represented an extreme form of government directly across the ideological spectrum from an authoritarian monarchy, believing that America’s laws should be informed by “moderate governments”, reflected by the structure of the current constitutional republic that we see today. The design of the Framers is very evident in such institutions and practices intended to limit of the ability of a pure popular democracy, such as electing the president through the electoral college, giving states purely equal representation regardless of population in the U.S. Senate, as well as an incredibly high threshold to amend the Constitution on a federal basis. With both the writings of America’s Framers as well as the institutions they so clearly established, did they also see too much of a similarity between an unrestricted democracy and authoritarian tyranny by a monarch?
