Is The United States of America a Pure Democracy?

The Gettysburg Address, the most famous speech of President Lincoln contains words often loosely employed to define democracy. Lincoln declared that, "Government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth". Nevertheless, the Constitution (law) of the United States couldn't be established on a foundation so simplistic.

The Federalist Papers is an excellent historical record that gives insight into the thoughts of the influential framers of the Constitution.

The Issues of Their Day

One of the principal concerns of the supporters of a strong Union (central government) was the need to prevent domestic faction from fueling insurrection. Although advocates of the Constitution believed in the inalienable rights named in the Declaration of Independence which included liberty, a pure democracy was never proposed as a plausible guard against insurrection. James Madison, the author of the tenth paper, wrote, "A pure democracy, by which I mean a society consisting of a small number of citizens, who assemble and administer the government in person, can admit of no cure for the mischiefs of faction."

Why would a pure democracy fail to maintain national order? Madison explains in the tenth essay that the opinions and will of a majority in a pure democracy threaten the rights of an opposing minority. Pure democracy by definition doesn't include a system of checks and balances without which democracy is reduced to government of, by, and for the majority only. The Constitution's framers were well versed in history and the science of politics. They studied pure democracies that had already failed. They were plagued with tumult and revolution as the people who formed various interest groups were also their own legislators. When one group established laws that served their own interest, contention arose with another group committed to a conflicting agenda.

The framers of the Constitution feared creating a government from which the citizens would flee in a quest for tranquility and liberty just as their ancestors had fled England.

The Causes of Faction

Madison, in the tenth paper, treats the underlying causes of faction that still persist today. He wrote that, "So strong is this propensity of mankind to fall into mutual animosities that where no substantial occasion presents itself the most frivolous and fanciful distinctions have been sufficient to kindle their unfriendly passions.... But the most common and durable source of faction has been the various and unequal distribution of property." This is a cumbersome way of reminding that man seeks argument where there's no reason for one. He'll resort to the most frivolous of issues to destroy peace.

Madison's declaration regarding the unequal distribution of property rings true for any society. The ownership of property signified wealth which has always equaled power and advantage. Again, in the tenth paper, Madison spoke of public decisions being made, not according to justice, but rather in the self-interest of an inconsiderate majority.

The Solution

Alexander Hamilton, in the ninth paper, insisted that a strong union was essential to greatly reduce the threat of insurrection. By resisting insurrection, a nation helps to protect citizens from the threat of anarchy when domestic faction is left unchecked. It also helps to guard against tyranny when a wealthy majority attempts to legislate without restraints that protect opposing interest groups.

Hamilton's ninth paper brilliantly reminded of the observations of the French aristocrat, Baron Montesquieu who advocated separate branches of government with limited power to ensure balance.

Fortunately, the framers of this nation's law didn't allow their intimate knowledge of the oppression that exists under a monarchy to dissuade them against a strong union. Likewise, they didn't forget the tribulation endured under a monarchy which caused them to embrace republicanism. The result was not a pure democracy, void of justice for all, checks and balances to limit the power of legislators, domestic order, fair representation, and strong military protection against invasion. These things could only be achieved by the mixture of personal freedoms under democracy and the iron rule of a monarchy. Pure democracy creates division in the midst of freedom and a monarchy invites oppression. However, the prudent mixture of certain qualities from both led to the creation of a free, but strong and United States of America.