Problems in American Democracy Part 2

13. THE LIMITED MONARCHY.--When a monarch has been restricted in his powers a limited or const.i.tutional monarchy is said to exist. Almost always the establishment of a limited monarchy has been preceded by a series of struggles between king and people. In many cases 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 Pet.i.tion 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 const.i.tutions, 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 cla.s.s composed of a small minority of the people. In modern republics a larger proportion of the adult population partic.i.p.ates 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 a.s.sociated 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 cla.s.ses, 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, ill.u.s.trate 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 ma.s.ses 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 a.s.serting 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 home. In 1639 the inhabitants of three Connecticut towns came together in a ma.s.s meeting, and drew up the Connecticut Fundamental Orders, which many authorities regard as the first written const.i.tution in this country.

Aside from the fact that the Orders created a small republic in the heart of the wilderness, they are of importance because they issued directly from the people, without suggestion from, or direction by, any outside agency. Elsewhere in New England, too, local self- government was a spontaneous growth. Usually the settlers grouped themselves in small, compact communities known as towns, the freemen coming together in the town meeting for the purpose of pa.s.sing laws and electing officials. The town meeting const.i.tuted a pure democracy, in which the freemen governed themselves consciously and directly.

18. SPREAD OF THE REPRESENTATIVE IDEA.--The principle of representative government appeared very early in English history, expressing itself most clearly in the houses of Parliament. The principle was early transplanted to America, for in 1619 we find the London Company establishing in Virginia a House of Burgesses, the first representative a.s.sembly in the New World. The representative democracy spread rapidly through the colonies, in many cases replacing the pure democracy as a form of local government. In Ma.s.sachusetts Bay, for example, the population of the colony became so dispersed, and the complexity of its government so great, that it was necessary for most freemen to remain at home, and to content themselves with choosing a small number of individuals to represent their interests.

These representatives gathered in the General Court and transacted the business of the colony.

19. THE SEPARATION OF POWERS.--As government develops in scope and complexity, there is a tendency for the agents of government to specialize in various types of work. A more or less recognizable separation of the governmental machinery into legislative, executive, and judicial branches had long been a feature of English government.

Early in the seventeenth century this principle was transferred to the government of the English colonies in America. There was established in each colony a legislative branch for the enactment of laws, an executive branch to see that the laws were enforced, and a judicial branch for the interpretation of the laws. This separation of functions was more definite in America than in England because the jealousy existing between colonial legislature and colonial executive tended sharply to separate their powers. In America, too, the judiciary was more clearly an independent branch of government than in England.

20. THE COLONIES AS SELF-GOVERNING STATES.--It has often been said that for a considerable period prior to the American Revolution, the thirteen colonies were in reality self-governing states. For most practical purposes they were independent, indeed, some American patriots insisted that they were only nominally subject to England. In each colony there was an a.s.sembly chosen by a restricted number of voters. This popular a.s.sembly championed the cause of the colonists against the governor, who in most of the colonies was primarily an agent of the Crown. After the middle of the eighteenth century, the struggles between a.s.sembly and governor increased in number and in intensity, and victory rested more and more often with the a.s.sembly.

[Footnote: For the similarities existing among the various colonial governments see Chapter x.x.xIX.]

21. EFFECT OF THE REVOLUTION UPON AMERICAN GOVERNMENTS.--The Revolution did not greatly affect the character of American governments. Democracy, at first weak and ill diffused, had been spreading steadily during the preceding century, and when at last the break with England came, it found the states trained in self- government and able to conduct their own affairs. In many cases the Revolution simply erased the name of the king from doc.u.ments and inst.i.tutions already American in spirit and character. The states either retained their old charters as const.i.tutions, as in the case of Connecticut and Rhode Island, or framed new const.i.tutions based upon the experience of colonial government. The popular legislative a.s.sembly was everywhere retained. The common law of England continued in force, and the system of courts was retained in practically its pre-Revolution form. The basis of state government had been laid long before the Revolution, the new states simply accepting the basic political principles with which they, as colonies, had long been familiar. The defeat of English claims was only an incident in the irresistible progress of American democracy.

QUESTIONS ON THE TEXT

1. What is one of the chief objects of government?

2. What is the essential feature of the absolute monarchy?

3. Give an example of a country once ruled by a "divine right"

monarch.

4. Explain the difference between an absolute and a limited monarchy.

5. What is the distinction between a monarchy and a republic?

6. Name some modern republics and explain their origin.

7. Explain clearly the nature of political democracy, and show its relation to the monarchy and to the republic.

8. What are the four reasons for the rise of democracy in early America?

9. Trace the early application of the democratic idea in America.

10. Where in America was the representative principle first applied?

11. Explain the principle of the "separation of powers."

12. To what extent were the colonies self-governing states?

13. Explain the effect of the Revolution upon American governments.

REQUIRED READINGS

1. Williamson, _Readings in American Democracy,_ chapter ii.

Or all of the following:

2. Bryce, _Modern Democracies,_ vol. i, chapters i and xii.

3. Beard, _American Government and Politics,_ chapter i.

4. McLaughlin, _Steps in the Development of American Democracy,_ chapter i.

5. Turner, _The Frontier in American History,_ chapter i.

QUESTIONS ON THE REQUIRED READINGS

1. What was the extent of democracy in the world a century ago?

(Bryce, page 3.)

2. Why is the study of democracy increasingly important? (Bryce, pages 4-5.)

3. What is the fundamental significance of local self-government?

(Bryce, pages 131-133.)

4. In what way has the advance of the frontier meant a steady movement away from the influence of Europe? (Turner, page 4.)

5. How did the frontier promote individualism? (Turner, page 30.)

6. What intellectual traits are fostered by pioneer life? (Turner, pages 37-38.)

7. Explain the significance of the Virginia House of Burgesses.

(McLaughlin, pages 11-13.)