Problems in American Democracy | Page 8

these struggles have been precipitated or intensified by the
monarch's abuse of power. A striking example is offered by English
history. As the result of his arbitrary rule, King John was in 1215
obliged to sign the Magna Charta, by which act he gave up many
important powers. The limits thus set upon the kingly power were
affirmed and extended by the Petition of Right of 1628 and by the Bill
of Rights of 1689. A similar limiting process has gone on in other
countries, either by the framing of constitutions, or by the enlargement
of the powers of legislatures, or by both methods. To-day the absolute
monarchy is practically unknown among civilized nations.
14. THE REPUBLIC.--The republic is a form of government in which
ultimate power or sovereignty resides with the people as a whole rather
than with a single individual. Instead of a monarch there is generally an
elective president, with varying powers. The republic is a very old form
of government, but in the republics of Greece, Rome and Venice the
powers of government were exercised by a class composed of a small
minority of the people. In modern republics a larger proportion of the
adult population participates in government.

A republic may arise in any one of several ways, but most of the
republics of modern times have grown out of monarchical conditions,
either directly or indirectly. Our republic arose as a reaction against
English monarchy, while the French republic came into being as the
result of the destruction of a monarchical government. Most of the
republics of Latin America date from the throwing off of the Spanish
yoke in the first half of the nineteenth century. More recently, the
World War has given rise to a number of European republics,
composed of peoples formerly under the control of monarchical
governments.
15. DEMOCRACY AS A POLITICAL IDEA.--The term democracy is
derived from two Greek words which taken together mean "control by
the people." Strictly speaking, democracy is a form of government only
where a small group governs itself directly, _i.e.,_ without making use
of the representative device. This "pure" democracy, such as existed in
the early New England town, becomes a representative democracy, or a
republic, when a greater population and an increasing political
complexity require the people to act through their representatives,
rather than as a body. In the sense that democracy is popular control,
the term democracy may conceivably be applied to any form of
government. The present government of Great Britain, for example, is
technically a limited monarchy, yet the gradual extension of popular
control has made it one of the most democratic governments in the
world. Nevertheless, the modern republic is so generally associated
with the democratic movement that many authorities speak of a
democracy as identical with a republic. For the time being we may use
the term democracy to describe a form of government in which
considerable control is exercised by the people. More briefly,
democracy may be thought of as self-government.
16. WHY DEMOCRACY DEVELOPED IN AMERICA.--There are
four reasons why democracy developed early in America.
The first is to be found in the conditions of pioneer life in the colonies.
The wilderness forced self-government upon the settlers. Clearing the
forests, subduing the Indians, and conquering animal foes was stern

work, which weeded out the indolent and inefficient, and rewarded the
capable and self-reliant. Pioneer conditions did not encourage a
cringing or submissive spirit, but fostered independence and
individualism. The spirit of equality tended to become a dominant
feature of American life, for despite the existence of social classes, the
great majority of the population had to rely for their living upon their
own efforts. Under such conditions self-reliance and self- government
were natural developments.
The selected character of the colonists is a second reason for the rise of
democracy in America. Restless spirits who had chafed under the
restraints of monarchy in Europe, thronged to the new land. Once here
they often found the older American communities intolerant, and so
struck out into the wilderness to found new and, to them, more
democratic colonies. The founding of Rhode Island by Roger Williams,
and the settlement of the Connecticut valley by Thomas Hooker,
illustrate this tendency.
It should be remembered, thirdly, that the English colonists brought
with them very definite ideas as to the rights of man. The concessions
granted by the Magna Charta were made an essential part of their
political philosophy. The belief that all men were born free and equal,
and that government derives its just powers from the consent of the
governed, became prominent in early American politics. Where the
democratic tendencies of the settlers were reinforced by such traditions,
an oppressive government could not last. In Carolina in 1670, for
example, an attempt to set up