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Misael Olmedo

Mr. Buescher

U.S. History

21 September 2017

Republic vs. Direct Democratic: Why did our founders choose a Republic government?

Our country is considered many things, including, the most powerful superpower of

today’s time. We are a nation built on freedom and difficulty. Our forefathers endure war,

famine, disease, and prosecution, because they wanted more freedom. They chose to believe in

what they thought was right and stood up for it. They won the war and then a built a nation and

government. They wanted to keep the freedom they believed in so they created a government

system that allowed that; Republic. Our forefathers chose a Republic form of government over

direct democratic because of the fundamental properties of the government, its people, and we

are supposed to try to keep it.

There are obvious differences between a Republic form of government and a Direct

democratic; who has more power, how the government is run, and the results of that government.

A Republic is like a representative democracy except there are laws that keep the minority from

tyranny/ being overridden. (​http://www.diffen.com/difference/Democracy_vs_Republic​ ) The

Republic form of government gives people power to select their own representatives, and get

what they needed/want through them. The majority vote doesn't have complete power, and it

gives a balance between government and the people. Our forefathers wanted to give the people

the right to freedom and not have them get no protection from tyranny like they had from Britain.
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A Democracy is where the majority of people rule. The majority vote wins and the minority have

no protection at all. This form of government allowed people to vote and to make laws

dependent on the vote, but it was given only to the majority vote. The minority could not do

anything else and had no protection from what the vote was deemed to be. Republic and direct

democratic are almost exact opposites, which now gives us the question: “which one is better for

the US?”

Our forefathers chose to make our government into Republic form because it minimized

the possibility of having either a tyrannical government or people. “We are a Republican

Government. Real liberty is never found in despotism or in the extremes of

Democracy”(Alexander Hamilton). One of the Founders himself stated that Real liberty can't be

given by a democratic government. Mostly this is because there would be the tyranny of the

people, giving a sure fire way that there will not be a good government. There will always be

persecution of the minority. “..Democracies have ever been spectacles of turbulence and

contention;...incompatible with personal security, or the rights of property...”(James Madison)

Another founder, also agreed that Democracy was only giving trouble to a country run by it. Our

forefathers chose Republic as the form of government that they wanted, because it gave people

more security, which was a top priority for the U.S. Our forefathers chose the best option they

thought that would fit our country, the country they helped create, so what do we do?

How do we keep our republic government? “ ...our constitution is neither a

self-actuating nor a self-correcting document. ​It requires the constant attention and devotion

of all citizens...​“ ​A republic, if you can keep it.​”(Benjamin Franklin)

”(​https://constitutioncenter.org/learn/educational-resources/historical-documents/perspectives-on
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-the-constitution-a-republic-if-you-can-keep-it​ ) One of the quotes is from Benjamin franklin

toward a question the people asked him, about what government they had created. A republic

government needs the citizens to be active in the government, this being the way that a republic

can continue going. “...democratic republics are not merely founded upon the consent of the

people...absolutely dependent upon...active and informed involvement of the people for their

continued

health.”(​https://constitutioncenter.org/learn/educational-resources/historical-documents/perspecti

ves-on-the-constitution-a-republic-if-you-can-keep-it​) This quote also stated that the people

need to have an active involvement, not just being under it. We the people need to be purposeful

in doing what is needed of us to keep our effective government. The people of the U.S. should

be as involved in the government as the elected members themselves, in order to continue a

republic.

The difference between Republic and direct democratic are many, and the reason why our

forefathers chose one over the other is obvious, so we need to try to honor them to keep a

republic government. Republic means government is elected by people, each state is governed

by another elected person for the state, and has some democratic aspects like voting, while

Democratic means the people vote and the majority of votes make the law, and the government

has less power to make laws other than give the people what they vote for. The main reason our

forefathers chose to make our government into a Republic form was to allow the People to have

no fear of the government and making laws, as well as give them security against tyranny. The
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way we keep our republic is by having continual involvement and activity in the well being of

our government and law making.