Is the United States a Republic or a Democracy???
There isn’t a very big difference between the two. Democracy: government by the people; a form of government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised directly by them or by their elected agents under a free electoral system. Republic:a state in which the supreme power rests in the body of citizens entitled to vote and is exercised by representatives chosen directly or indirectly by them. The united states is a constitutional republic, the governments power is supposed to be limited by the constitution. Some also see the USA as a democratic republic, but that’s a pretty broad definition. I Sadly those days are gone, we’re slowly drifting more and more towards a totalitarian state.
Pledge of Allegiance: “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.” If the flag of the United States of America is dedicated to the Republic for which it stands, then we are a Republic and not a democracy.
It is a Republic. Some might call it a “representative” democracy,” but that is not entirely correct. While representation in the House is based on population (one man…one vote), it is not in the Senate. The States each have two Senators. That means that a senator in California represents many more citizens than a senator from Alaska.
The reason each state has 2 senators instead of a number based on population is that under the 10th amendment each state is a sovereign entity, the senators represent the interests of the state itself, with each state being seen as an EQUAL within the federation, so each state gets an equal say. Whereas the state representatives in the house represent the actual constituency they are elected by. It is also important to note that the US is a federation and not a single sovereign entity, so while the federal government is a constitutional republic, each of the 50 member states can form their own governments as either a republic or a democracy.
The 10th amendment has nothing to do with the number of Senators. That is established in the main body of the Constitution. The Senate was established for three main reasons. 1. To give smaller states a greater voice. 2. To create a body where members served longer and were elected at different times, to provide a brake on popular and transient fashion. 3. Because the founding fathers were used to a legislature with two houses [Commons and Lords in England.
