Problems in American Democracy | Page 8

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 an undemocratic government failed, and when half a century later a similar attempt was made in Georgia, the settlers objected so ardently that the founders of the colony were obliged to grant the privilege of self-government.
A fourth explanation of the rise of democracy in America is that, left to themselves, the settlers came to feel that self-government was morally right. Largely removed from the traditions of monarchy, they soon realized the elemental significance of government. Seeing government as a device to help people get along together, they concluded that that government is best which most helps the masses of the people. The existence of a British monarch was a small factor in the everyday life of the early settlers, and from this it was a short step to asserting that his control over them was unjust. Living under primitive economic conditions, the minds of the people turned naturally to freely formed agreements as a basis of group action. Under such conditions democracy appeared to the colonists as moral, just, and natural.
17. APPLYING THE DEMOCRATIC IDEA.--Partly because of the isolation of early American life, and partly because England was busy with European politics, the settlers were left relatively free to work out their ideas of democracy. The Pilgrims had not yet set foot upon the new land when they drew up the Mayflower Compact, by the terms of which they agreed to establish a pure democracy in their new