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Is the United States a Democracy? … or a Republic?

Of the many systems of government practiced by the people of the world, the constitutional republic is arguably the most successful and enduring. Ask the average person on the street however, and most likely they will tell you that the United States is a democracy. This is untrue. For the purposes of this discussion, I will be using ancient Athens as the primary example for a pure democracy, as it was here in the Greek city-state that democracy was first conceived and successfully practiced. The United States will serve as our basis for a constitutional republic.

The United States Capital in Washington D.C. (photo: Kimberly Feliciano)

The word “democracy” can be traced to its etymological roots in ancient Greek as meaning “rule of the people” (demos = people, kratos = power). Athens was a form of “pure” or “direct” democracy because no intermediaries or middle men existed between the people and the law. Issues were discussed in the market or, thanks to Aristotle, in the Lyceum, the famous Athenian school of rhetoric. All issues facing the people of Athens were voted on by the people themselves, from zoning laws to criminal enforcement. Of course, not everyone could vote, only citizens (male Athenians who had completed a term of conscription in the state army) were given that right. 

Today, in our constitutional republic, the people do not vote on specific issues. Rather, we vote for and elect representatives who will act as the voice of the people in the legislature and in the office of president. We do not vote for cabinet members or Supreme Court justices (the latter are nominated by the president and ratified or denied by the Senate). These representatives (senators and congressmen) act on our behalf, theoretically voting on issues the way most of their constituency would want.

The level of involvement necessary to maintain a successful democracy is something that would be near impossible to accomplish in a land of almost 300 million people. Americans would be required to educate themselves on nearly every major and minor bill discussed in Congress. No small feat in a nation whose voting average for American Idol is significantly higher than in any presidential election in our history. To be fair, however, pure democracies have never quite worked in nations larger than the city-state of Athens.

John Adams, our nation’s second president, described the government of 18th century Britain as a republic. Though the office of “King” in England was (and still is, despite its waning influence in the government) hereditary, it still served as an executive branch of government that was required to give deference to legislative or parliamentary rulings. These days, England is still a republic, though it exists in what is known as a “parliamentary” system, in that the English Prime Minister, though head of government, is not officially the head of state. The latter office belongs to the ruling monarchy, who at this time, exist in an almost exclusively ceremonial position.

In the United States, the President serves as the acting head of state and government, and operates separately from the legislature, though like all citizens, he is still beholden to legislative and judicial rulings. It is this point which separates us from other modern republics such as those of France, Germany and many other European nations.

The legislature did not exist in the pure democracy of Athens. Instead, citizens comprised what was known as the assembly, a meeting of citizens organized to propose and debate any laws or bills facing the city. Participation in the assembly was purely voluntary. Not all citizens attended the assembly, and those who did were not required to come to every meeting. In the United States, we have the Legislative branch of government, consisting of elected officials who will act on the people’s behalf during their term of service.

It is in the legislative process that the differences between a democracy and a constitutional republic are most clear. In the United States, we have adopted many facets of Athenian democracy. Our citizens vote to elect our officials and therefore have a great influence on the makeup of government positions. Elected officials are beholden to the people and it is therefore theoretically in their best interest to please their constituents by voting in a fashion that coincides with the general will of the people. Where the Athenians voted on the issues themselves, Americans merely elect the officials to vote for them. Given the size of the United States and the massive amount of legislative proceedings that take place every day, such a system seems to be the closest we will ever get to a pure democracy.

Though it has evolved considerably over the two centuries of our existence as a nation, the constitutional republic of the United States of America still serves as an excellent and enduring example of the constitutional republic system of government.

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