美国不是完全的民主体制

昨天，我们一家人出去逛商店，中午的时候，我问想去那儿吃饭。大宝说：去In and Out,二宝说：去Costco， 小宝说：去Mcdonald,  太太说：好久没去Wendy’s了。我说：看来民主行不通。老大（11年级）说：美国不完全是民主体制， 因为国父们认为太多的民主对美国不好。

晚上回家后，我向大宝问美国民主体制的问题。她给我看她在历史课上写的文章，我觉得很有启发，和大家一起分享：

Demo Vs Repub        

 

The foundation of the government of the United States of America was impacted by many men; two of the most influential were Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton.  Jefferson and Hamilton had vastly contrasting ideas, and together they successfully molded the American government into what it is today.

            Thomas Jefferson believed in the will of the people, the masses, the common man.  He thought power should rest in the hands of everyday, normal people.  This way there would be no fear of corrupt officials and an oppressive government.  On the other hand, Alexander Hamilton believed that power should rest in the hands of wealthy, educated, aristocratic individuals.  These folks, he reasoned, would know what they were doing and make beneficial, educated choices that would better society as a whole.

            The Revolutionary War was fought so the colonies could break away from the tyrannical rule of the British crown, and Thomas Jefferson created the Declaration of Independence to state these grievances against the British government.  Naturally, after fighting a brutal war to win independence from an oppressive and tyrannical government, the American people were weary of strong central governments and wanted a very weak one in which the common people would make the decisions.  The masses agreed with Jefferson’s views, and the Articles of Confederation was created.  The people did not want the government to tax them, and so the new government could not tax at all.  The people did not want the government to limit and control trade, and so the new government could not regulate trade at all.  The people did not want the government to protect itself, and so the new government could not build an army and protect the new nation at all.  As a result, the new nation could not pay off its enormous war debt, prevent the states from undermining each other’s trade, and stop rebellions that threatened to unstabilize the already wobbly government.  Obviously purely listening to the people was not going to work, and something had to be done.

            The Constitutional Convention met in Philadelphia to change the way the government operated.  This time Hamilton’s views were found to be more agreeable and logical.  However, some still disagreed, arguing that giving power to the land owning elite would corrupt the government and result in another revolution.  As a result, a compromise was made, combining the extreme views of Jefferson and Hamilton into a more moderate plan of action.  The new government was to have representatives that the people elected into office and could remove from office.  These representatives would then make decisions that would benefit the people they represented.  This way, the common man would still have a say, and order and peace could still be maintained.

            Thus, because of the electing system, the American government is not a true democracy but a republican.  The masses still have a say in the actions of the government, but they count on the person they elect to say it for them.  Therefore, the will of the majority is projected through their representatives who translate it into actions.

 

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