When the framers of the U.S. Constitution gathered in Philadelphia in the summer of 1787 they looked to create a new national government. Responding to the growing economic, social, and political uncertainty of their time, these 55 men generated one of the most momentous documents ever written.
This document, fashioned in the heat of 109 days, came to spell out and define the governmental structure of the United States. Yet debates over its intentions and meanings still rage today.
Central to these debates is the issue of the document's democratic nature. Did the framers want to create a democracy? Or, did they wish to limit the powers of the majority? Did the framers look to fashion a democratic model to protect and represent the wishes of the public? Or, did they seek to establish a governing structure that would limit and prevent so-called "mobocracy" from taking hold?
These are the questions you must consider as you answer the prompt below:
How democratic is the U.S. Constitution? In your answer provide a clear thesis and argument. Additionally, cite evidence explaining how the document both limits and promotes democratic principles. Use this evidence to defend your own argument.
The governing structure in the constitution affects the role of government by limiting how much power the national and states governments can have. The constitution has a system of checks and balances where each branch checks the other one so no branch can become too powerful. The constitution also has separation of powers stating that the legislative branch makes the laws; the judicial branch decides if laws are constitutional and the executive branch is the commander in chief of the armed forces.
ReplyDeleteThe Constitution started out as being not very democratic at all, but as the years go by, it is developing into a more democratic document. The Constitution does not spell out any rules for voting and limitations on voting. It just created a document that was made to move towards democracy. The voting regulations were left for each state to decide, but it is now in the Constitution. The Constitution was not made to be democratic, because the framers themselves feared democracy because they did not want the people to have that much say in the government.
ReplyDeleteThe Constitution limits democratic principles because it gave the states power to control who votes and in a democracy everyone should have a say in government. The Constitution promotes democratic principles by giving everyone who comes to our nation a chance to become a citizen and allowing people to vote on issues to make sure it’s for the common good.
I feel the country is democratic. The Constitution is a very flexible document and everyone has the right to vote. Everyone’s vote is equal and has the same amount of votes. Our votes might not be direct because of representatives but the representatives are voted by the majority.
ReplyDeleteThe U.S. constitution is very undemocratic democracy. A traditional democracy gives all the power to the people to decide what happens. The U.S. Constitution refers very little to the power that individuals are granted and refers more to how the government runs and what their rights are. For example the constitution speaks nothing of slavery. A democracy would give all people equal rights.
ReplyDeleteThe fact that there is nothing in the constitution about voting rights for women, African Americans or Native Americans, is against the traditional ways of a democracy.
Also, that the senate has only two members from each state and they are elected by the state legislatures go against the ways because the people are supposed to rule in a democracy. The election of the president also goes against the democracy, it takes power away from the people because they are not actually electing the president, the electors are.
In some ways the constitution is democratic. For example in the constitution the people are given the power to vote on representatives either directly or indirectly to represent them in the government. The constitution did create a republic. It also gave voting rights to some, very little, but some citizens. It also granted separation of powers and checks and balances.
At first the constitution was almost too undemocratic to call a democracy. Today though, through the addition of the amendments we are much more democratic. Now, there are equal voting rights to all citizens, the citizens directly elect the senate and all citizens are guaranteed equal protection under the law.
When the writers of the Constitution started writing they did not want the constitution to have anything to do with democracy because they feared it, instead they made the Constitution more of a republic. Over the years however the Constitution has become more democratic, with the different amendment changes and the way Americans do not fear democracy any more. In the beginning the writers put restrictions on voting rights but today anyone over 18 that is a legal citizen of the United States can vote. These different voting rights came later in the Constitution because of the Fifteenth, Nineteenth, Twenty-third, Twenty-fourth, and Twenty-sixth Amendments. With more people able to vote the Constitution has become more democratic because the people have more of a say in their government.
ReplyDeleteThe Constitution started off not being very democratic. As the years go on the Constitution is becoming more and more democratic. It established a government that permitted a lot of movement towards democracy. The Constitution itself does not have any rules for voting or limitations on voting. They left it to the states to decide but today it is in the Constitution. In the beginning the Constitution was not meant to be democratic. The framers did not want the people to have that much say in the government and they feared democracy. Some democratic principles that the Constitution has is giving everyone the chance to become a citizen and allowing them to vote on issues. In a democracy everyone should have a say in government.
ReplyDeleteThe Constitution was not designed to become as democratic as it has grown to be today. Reason being, Framers themselves feared that democracy would lead to the people becoming too powerful.
ReplyDeleteAs we see today, the Constitution has shaped an entire democracy throughout the United States, starting with the Bill of Rights. With these ten amendments, the people’s rights and properties are guaranteed protection. The Bill of Rights was produced out of the arguments from the Anti-Federalists.
However, there were no regulations stating the limitations on voting in the Constitution, it was left upon the states to decide whether one could vote or not. If they were eligible to vote in state government, they were in national government as well.
Till this day, the Constitution shows democracy by the two famous processes known as; checks and balances, and separation of power. This provides limitation on both national and state government. Also, it lets all three branches of governments remain equal of power.
Although the Constitution demonstrates the majority of democracy, it still limits various democratic principles. Democracy would support that everyone should take a roll in voting, the states control this power. The Constitution has its share of both democratic and non-democratic principles.
The Constitution is slowing becoming more and more democratic. With each amendment passed, it is giving more and more power back to the people. Example of this would be the 15th amendment, which granted African Americans the right to vote, and the 19th amendment which granted women the right to vote. These examples were passed after the Constitution was ratified, proving that the Constitution is becoming more democratic than it was in its original state. The Constitution limits democracy because the people do not directly elect the senate, and the President, they elect representatives who then vote in favor of the people in these elections. Also the Constitution limits democracy by having the states determine voting rights, this limits democracy because it allows the state to set any qualifications that it sees fit.
ReplyDeleteI don’t think the constitution is very democratic mainly because the framers didn’t want it to be that way. They felt giving the power to the people would be a big mistake if we wanted the country to survive. I feel as if they were truly trying t limit the majority and make it so they couldn't ruin the government with bad choices. The people don’t even hold that much power in the government directly. That’s what a democracy is government by the people.
ReplyDeleteEven though we are represented and our thoughts are still recognized it still isn’t completely our decision. what concerned them the most was the majority taking over. It does promote democratic principles by allowing all our voices to be heard if we choose to participate. Equal say in government is an important thing, because it makes the people feel like their voice counts. It does, every person's voice should matter in a governmental situation.
The Constitution is a living, breathing document, which means that it can be changed at any time, the words in the document are not set in stone, but do set the guideline of our structure of government. The Constitution is relatively democratic, although it has become more democratic over time, due to amendments. The Constitution does also limit some democratic principles. It gave the states the power to control voting regulations, if you were above the set age limit and a free white man, then you could vote, which limited the opinion of the nation as a whole. Voting regulations are now much more open than they once were. The document gives the government a significant amount of power, but leaves room for U.S. citizens to have a say too. In other words, the Constitution today is much more democratic than it was when it was first written.
ReplyDeleteThe Constitution has some principles that are democratic and some principles that limit the democracy. The Constitution is a democratic document because it grants the citizens with many rights that they did not have under the King. Citizens have the right to bear arms, freedom of speech, and religion, the right to assemble peacefully, the right to petition, the right to vote, and etc. the founders feared a democratic government because they did not think that the people were smart enough to make good political decisions. They made the Constitution to give the citizens their freedoms and rights but also to make a government that will last for many years. Citizens have the power to vote in elections and give their opinions of issues to the government. The Constitution is democratic because it gives some power to the people but it does not give all of the power to the citizens.
ReplyDeleteThe Constitution also puts limits on how democratic the United States is. The Constitution gives most of the power to the states and national government. It puts a limit on the power of the people. In a pure democracy the people have direct control and the Constitution prevents the citizens from having control over the government. The Constitution does not allow citizens to directly elect their governmental officials. Most of the decisions are made by the national government and the people have little say.
The founders made the Constitution to be flexible and able to adapt with the times. They wanted it to protect the rights of the citizens but also limit their power in the government. The founders wanted a document that would tell the powers of the government and also to prevent a majority from having control in the government. They wanted there to be different opinions heard in the government so no one interest would have control and make all of the decisions in the government.
In the beginning the constitution was an undemocratic document. The framers actually feared having a democracy in the United States. Over time however we have learned to accept it. In the beginning the constitution let states decide who was capable to vote. However, now the document gives the rights to certain people and only those people can vote. Also, the constitution was against the majority ruling when it was first designed. Now the majority of people can have a say in who becomes elected as our countries President. The constitution is more democratic now than it was.
ReplyDeleteThe U.S Constitution is as democratic as it can be. The Constitution was to limit powers, and control the majority but they also wanted to set up a democracy. The framers set up the democracy with limitation of powers so that the majority can’t over rule. It’s made so that one branch of government can’t get to powerful by checks and balances and also separation of power. The framers of the Constitution believe that the other tries at having a democracy didn’t work because there were too few people, they believed that with a larger population that a democracy would be able to function correctly. Separation of powers and checks and balances can also control the majority. They control majority by one man one vote, so everyone can get some say so to what goes on in the government there is no way to have a direct democracy with the United States population. And the framers knew this so they set up the Constitution to their best abilities so that no one person could be too powerful.
ReplyDeleteIn the beginning, the Constitution was not very democratic. The framers wanted a strong national government lead by the elite. They did not want the common people to have a lot of power in the new government. As years have progressed, the Constitution has become more democratic. States can choose their own regulations, like speed limit, voting age, and driving age. The Constitution limits democratic principles because states can choose who votes in elections. It promotes democratic principles by giving people the opportunity to come to the United States and become a citizen.
ReplyDeleteIn the original writing of the Constitution it was not a very democratic document. There was nothing said about how people were eligible to vote, it was left up to the states to make those qualifications. The Constitution was not written to be democratic because the framers didn't want to put the power with the people because they felt the people were incapable to make correct and informed decisions. The framers did not like the idea of a democracy, because in a democracy has political equality. They did not want the majority to have all the power in decision making.
ReplyDeleteBut over time the Constitution has become more democratic. With amendments and the Bill of Rights people now have basic rights in government and voting qualifications are now stated.
I do not believe that our government is very democratic. Our government when made was made mostly by Federalists and their views. Our founding fathers created a republic-like system of government because they didn’t believe the common man was able to make good decisions. The government established a system of checks and balances to help keep the powers of each branch limited, including the legislative branch that involves the representatives. Our founding fathers knew that there was no way to stay a democracy, if our country grew, and that most democracies had failed in the past.
ReplyDeleteThe federalists did not want a democratic government. When you look into the constitution you can tell there are not many democratic rights put into the document. The constitution was silent on things such as voting rights, who can run in an election, etc. Now we have added amendments and our country has reached democracy and become very democratic. We still have limitations, but they are nothing compared to what they used to be.
ReplyDeleteThe Constitution started off not being very democratic. As the years go on the Constitution is becoming more and more democratic. It established a government that permitted a lot of movement towards democracy. The Constitution itself does not have any rules for voting or limitations on voting. They left it to the states to decide but today it is in the Constitution. In the beginning the Constitution was not meant to be democratic. The framers did not want the people to have that much say in the government and they feared democracy. Some democratic principles that the Constitution has is giving everyone the chance to become a citizen and allowing them to vote on issues. In a democracy everyone should have a say in government.
ReplyDeleteThe Constitution is not considered to be democratic but rather than a republic. A democracy is a form of governing in which the people are ruled by the majority on all issues that a government would deal with. A republic is a government ruled by representatives of the people which are elected through popular vote to speak for them. The Electoral College is a group of representatives voted for by the people to vote the president into office. Each state is given as many electors as it has Representatives and Senators. When the Constitution was first created, it wasn’t a democratic. There were no amendments and they needed to add protection of individual rights. However, the framers didn’t want to create a democratic government because they people might not agree with it and want too many changes.
ReplyDeleteIt limits the government’s power because not all people have a say in government. As it was before, the majority wins. But now, we have representatives who can vote for the state’s vote. Any powers that are given to the state rather than the federal government, weakens the national government. Some examples would be education, the drinking age and the voting age. On account of federalism, the tenth amendment provides that any power that doesn’t belong to Congress, belongs to the states and people.
The Constitution, today, is a very democratic document. As the framers of the Constitution somewhat disliked democracy, they favored a republic. At first, the Constitution proved to be not very democratic whatsoever. As years went by, though, many different acts, bills, and amendments were passed to ensure rights,just to give an example. An example of this would be the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which made segregation by race illegal in the United States. On the other hand, it is somewhat restrictive on being democratic in the way that this is not a pure democracy. This is a republic. For instance, we do not directly vote for political leaders but rather elect official to represent us. All in all, through numerous documents and additions, the U.S. Constitution has evolved into a very democratic document.
ReplyDeleteThe U.S. constitution has changed to be very democratic but did not start that democratic. Voting is one thing that is evidence of how the constitution both limits and promotes democratic principles. It left the voting regulations to each state to decide, but recently the national government said that if they lower the voting age below 18, then they would stop giving that state funds for things like highways. That is how voting limits democracy. Voting promotes democracy because it lets the people choose what issues they want, and who they want in office not someone picking for them. The constitution was not to be democratic because the framers did not want to give to much power to the people.
ReplyDeleteThe U.S Constitution is democratic in some ways. The Framers wanted to set up a republic not necessarily a Democracy. Our Constitution endorses individualism coming from the Bill of Rights. On the opposite end we elect representatives that don’t always vote the way his or her state would like. We are supposed to be a government “of the people, by the people, and for the people.” Representatives in government make most of this statement untrue. It is of the people it is not by the people not every person gets a vote in Congress. For the people always differs our representatives vote the way they want not the way we want.
ReplyDeleteThe U.S. constitution is democratic. It allows the voters the ability to choose their representatives and vote on issues that they feel are important. The constitution is set up to represent the people and to protect their rights. The system of checks and balances helps to keep governmental branches from becoming too powerful and infringing their rights. Also, even though we don’t directly elect the president and senate members, we elect the people who elect those officials.
ReplyDeleteThe constitution at first was not really democratic. It set down rules such as checks and balances, and separation of powers so that no branch of government could take over the others so that is somewhat democratic so that not one group of people would have complete control over the United States. But other than that the constitution is not that democratic. There was no where written in the constitution any rules about who was allowed to vote. The constitution wasn’t democratic because the writers feared a democratic government. But as years have gone by the constitution has became more democratic. It limits democratic principles by making rules on who is allowed to vote but it promotes it by giving any one who becomes a citizen the right to vote.
ReplyDeleteThe U.S. Constitution was not very democratic to begin with. However, amendments over time have increased the people’s role in government. Some of these amendments include the 15th amendment over voting rights and the 17th over direct election of Senators. Now the U.S. Constitution is more democratic than before. The Constitution promotes democratic principles by giving everyone the freedom to vote. The document limits democratic principles by having the president being voted on by the Electoral College.
ReplyDeleteThe original writing that the framers wrote for the Constitution does not seem very democratic at all. They were trying to limit the powers of the majority, and not give too much political power to the people. They could only vote for the House of Representatives and no one else holding a political seat. Since most of the delegates were part of the elite class, they wanted to make sure they would mainly be a part of sayings in policy and make sure their rights, specifically property, would always be protected. These men gave only white male landowners, who were basically them, the right to vote and to have political power. The Constitution has become more democratic since amendments have been added on. Those such as the fifteenth amendment and the nineteenth amendment gave more people the power to vote. The fifteenth gave African American men the right to vote, as the nineteenth gave women the right to vote. The Bill of Rights protected the most important rights of the people like speech, religion, press, assembly and the right to bear arms.
ReplyDeleteThanks to the addition of the Bill of Rights, the Constitution can now be considered a democratic document, with it becoming progressively democratic as time goes by. Before the Bill of Rights, the Constitution could not be considered very democratic at all, due to the framers of the Constitution not trusting the ordinary people to make wise choices and decisions. The Constitution limits democracy in that it gives the states both power to set the voting and drinking age. In a true democracy anyone would be able to both vote and drink alcohol. The Constitution promotes democratic principles by allowing anyone over the age of 18 to vote, as well as accepting new immigrants from other countries to join the nation.
ReplyDeleteThe U.S constitution is for the people, but there is also some undemocratic way such as: tolerance of slavery, sufferage, election of the president and the framers created a representative democracy. Slavery was not outlawed till after the civil war. The voting rights for women, african americans and native americans were not protected until the 15th, 19th, or 24 amendments. The election of the president was choosen by the electoral college which was where each state had representation of congress, now when electing the president we use popular vote in that state. The framers feared democracy thinking that the people were not stable to guide the country on their own. Our U.S government is democratic by allowing freedom of speech, press, religion, assembly and petition. Also by allowing equal voting rights and the government has seperation of powers and checks and balences so one branch doesn’t become to powerful. I believe that the U.S government was made to have a structure for the people and that as the years go by it will continue to be for the common good.
ReplyDeleteRealistically, the Constitution is not very democratic. This is due to the founders’ fear of democracy and their belief that the average citizen was not wise enough to make government decisions. In fact, the Constitution, at first, left voter qualifications up to the states. Originally, the people only directly voted for the House of Representatives and their state legislatures. The state legislatures would then decide the Senate and Electoral College. The President was chosen by the Electoral College and the judiciary was nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate. This left the people greatly out of touch with the government.
ReplyDeleteAt first the Constitution wasn’t very democratic, but as the years have passed it has transformed into being more democratic. The Constituting was not made to be democratic because the framers feared democracy; they thought that the common man was not intelligent enough to make a logical decision.
ReplyDeleteThe constitution limits democratic principles because it gives states the power to decide who votes and has a say in the government. The constitution promotes democratic principles by giving everyone the equal opportunity to become a U.S citizen.
A democracy by definition is government by the people. The Constitution by this definition is not exactly democratic then. It is much more of a republic. This is how we came to have a democratic republic form of government. The framers of the Constitution never wanted a true democracy because they thought that the common everyday average farmer was not informed enough to make decisions of such a nature and feared the people having too much say in government. With the amendments that have been added thus far to the constitution, it is on its way to becoming a more democratic document. The Constitution promotes democracy by making sure citizens have the right to vote on public issues to ensure that it is actually what the majority of the people want, not just the representatives in government.
ReplyDeleteThere are many democratic and undemocratic aspects represented in the constitution. Some democratic things mentioned in the constitution are voting, the idea of one person one vote, and majority rule. Some aspects on how the constitution limits democratic principles is election of the president, representation of the senate, because of how one state is allowed two senators, and how the senators are elected is also undemocratic because they are appointed by the legislature of the state. Judicial power is another example of the limits the constitution has because judges have the power to rule or regulate any law, and limitation on congressional power is also an example. The framers used a government in which elected officials represent the people which is called representative democracy, they used this form of government because they feared and were afraid of a direct democracy.
ReplyDeleteThe Constitution was is mostly democratic. Actually, the framers were against having a fully democratic government because they thought that the average citizen was too uneducated or ignorant to make the right decisions. It is also dificult to have a full democracy in a mass population. The framers came up with ideas of a republic where the citizens vote directly for their representatives, who then in turn decide on policy. They also wanted to keep the majority from becoming too powerful, so they created minority rights. That way the minority’s opinion will always be respect, not mistreated. This government is based on democratic principles, but is not a full democracy.
ReplyDeleteWhen the framers first started writing the Constitution in the summer of 1787, they were trying to come up with a government that had very little to do with democracy. The framers wanted to limit the power of the majority so that it wouldn’t become too powerful and take over the national government. And to do this the government had to regulate factions and try to prevent the reasons why a faction would start in the first place.
ReplyDeleteBut as the time has passed, I now feel that the Constitution has become more and more democratic. The Constitution is a flexible document and can be changed in many ways. For example, Congress can pass a bill without it affecting the words written on the Constitution. Also, the Constitution has changed over time to treat citizens equally. Now, all women have the right to vote, rich or poor. And, every person is guaranteed the same rights.
Ways in which government limit democracy through limiting factions, or interest groups, from becoming too powerful. It would be considered a limitation because a faction is a group of people with the same belief and the government is still letting them express their beliefs but they make sure that they do not dominate.
At first the Constitution was not very democratic. As the years go on the Constitution is becoming more and more democratic. The Bill of Rights helped the Constitution become more democratic. It established a government that permitted a lot of movement towards democracy. The Constitution itself does not have any rules for voting or limitations on voting. They left it to the states to decide but today it is in the Constitution. In the beginning the Constitution was not meant to be democratic. The framers did not want the people to have that much say in the government and they feared democracy. Some democratic principles that the Constitution has is giving everyone the chance to become a citizen and allowing them to vote on issues. Later on there were more amendments added to the Constitution like giving women and african Americans the right to vote. In a democracy everyone should have a say in government.
ReplyDeleteIn the beginning the constitution was an undemocratic document. The framers actually feared having a democracy in the United States. Over time however we have learned to accept it. In the beginning the constitution let states decide who was capable to vote. However, now the document gives the rights to certain people and only those people can vote. Also, the constitution was against the majority ruling when it was first designed. Now the majority of people can have a say in who becomes elected as our countries President. The constitution is more democratic now than it was
ReplyDelete