Origins of Republic - Essay Example

Practically speaking, a republic is a political arrangement that does not have a monarch and which has governmental institutions which represent and are accountable to the people.  A republic calls upon its citizens to perform duties to it like defense, electoral participation, obedience to the law, and loyalty to its constitution.  A republic envisions a society of property-owning men for whom freedom and the pursuit of happiness are defining principles, provided those freedoms and pursuits do not infringe upon those of another.  In a republic, every citizen enjoys political equality before the law.  There are no recognized aristocracies, no ruling classes, and no rights of birth.  The government only has the right to exercise those powers which have been specifically delegated to it.  By treating each of its citizens equally and by giving to their a voice in government, a republic seeks to rise above the tyranny, despotism, corruption, and unaccountability which were so much a feature of medieval Europe.  Government, in Lockean terms, is a necessary evil that must be limited and accountable in order to be just.  It is that justice that the American republic has ever sought uphold.

America of the 1780s was one of economic and political turmoil.  Because the government of the Articles of Confederation held no national powers of taxation, it could not fund its affairs without the consent of all the states, a result that was hard to come by.  Currency and inflation were also serious issues for the newly founded American Confederation.  A national government, on the other hand, would provide one, stable currency.  In the 1780s many states faced bankruptcy.  As well, the westward settlement of whites into territories beyond the 13 States presented problems with Indians and property division.  Though the Confederation managed Westward expansion, it became clear that a strong national government would do the job better.  Widespread farmer defaults on loans they could not repay led to civil unrest in places like Massachusetts.  In 1786 Shays Rebellion, as it became known, involved several thousand farmers revolting against the government in the same way the colonists had against the British years earlier.  Stability seemed out of reach and political dissolution seemed imminent.

 Representative democracy is markedly different from pure democracy.  Pure democracy involves a system whereby every citizen of the voting age votes on every piece of legislation.  It was the system characteristic of ancient Athens (though that was just for males).  All take part in government, but the consensus is hard-won and the emotions of the moment can lead to rash decisions which lead to tyranny and/or injustice.  In a representative democracy, the citizenry elects individuals who gather in a legislative body and propose and vote upon laws.  In modern times this has come to involve two houses of the legislature.  As such, any law requires the consent of both houses so as to ensure that there is widespread support and consensus for any given legal change.  There is a degree of removal between the citizen and the law.  The government according to the newly ratified Constitution was directly accountable to the people in three main ways.  First, the members of the House of Representatives were elected to office through a direct and popular vote every two years.  Senators were appointed to office by State legislatures for 6-year terms (this changed with the 17th amendment).  Thus they were beholden to State governments, themselves elected by the people.  Thirdly the President was to be elected to a 4-year term by a popular vote, albeit counted and tallied using the Electoral College system.