Essay Example on Framing of a Republic in America In everyday Life

Framing of a Republic in America In everyday life there are decisions that each person makes such as what outfit to wear for the day what to eat and what to do with their day now imagine having to make decisions on a grander scale which would impact how the United States government would run for numerous generations These important choices are what the framers set up in the United States Constitution the framers set up the guidelines for how the government should be structured and run One of the most important decisions which the framers made was the decision between making the United States a republic or a democracy While there are elements of both a republic and a democracy in the United States government the framers of the Constitution built the United States with the intention of the government being a republic The difference between a republic and a democracy is essential since the framers of the constitution were trying to escape the monarchy of England and as such did not desire to copy the political structure of England If a person outside of the United States government looked at its defining characteristics they would most likely notice some of the more democratic attributes a group of people who united under the influence of a single person However when the outsider becomes an insider they would realize that much of the attributes the United States government possess are republican such as the American citizens voting for their leaders president and senators 

The reason that the founders decided to make the United States government more based on Republican values is for the American people desired to escape the rule of England's monarchy as will be discussed in greater detail later of which multiple democratic values can be noticed which lead to the idea of checks and balances The concept of checks and balances is a Republican idea and is one of the critical features of the United States government As James Madison breaks it down in the United States the idea of checks and balances works by the power surrendered by the people is first divided between two distinct governments and then the portion allotted to each subdivided among distinct and separate departments Madison 3 This idea is key to the United States government seeing as it prevents a single person from having too much power and using that power to the extent of abusing it This idea of limiting power was essential to the Constitution since it was a limit that pure democracy does not have and would also prohibit the abuse of power which tyrannical leaders often employ in monarchies As a result of checks and balances and the limits placed on power the framers meant for the United States to be a republic The reason that the difference between a republic and a democracy is essential for the United States government is a result of the framers trying to create a government with a distinguishable difference from the monarchies of England One reason that the framers decided that the United States government would not function as a pure democracy is a result of fears that if power was handed to a person and was allowed to spiral out of control that the democracy would essentially become a monarchy 

One reason that the American people cut ties with Europe is since the monarchy began to exploit the farmers on the new land by taxing them heavily An example of this is The Stamp Act and other taxes on commerce such as the Sugar Act of 1764 which taxed sugar molasses and other commodities most heavily affected the two groups in colonial society whose commercial interests were most extensive the New England merchants and the southern planters Ginsberg et al 41 The Stamp Act and the Sugar Act of 1764 caused some animosity between the colonists and the British monarchy and eventually these issues grew towards the signing of the Declaration of Independence It is logical that if a group of people just escaped the control of an overpowering monarchy they would not desire an overpowering government structure This is why the United States is not a pure democracy and is instead a republic with democratic elements mixed in If the United States were a pure democracy we would be under the rule of a single leader and we the people would not have any say in what goes on in our own country For the framers this idea of all power resting in a single leader appears to have been too close to a monarchy for comfort Instead they choose to have the United States government be mainly a republic so that the average citizen could have a voice in the government by voting on who can represent our country In the United States government there are elements of both a democracy and a republic but the framers were more interested in the republic areas the difference between a democracy and a republic is a result of the history of the colonists split from British rule The Constitution is a mix of democratic and republican interests which allows the United States to have a unique governmental structure If the United States had not separated from a monarchy the political structure would have been remarkably different