Republic vs Democracy

AENN

By Paul Preston

Fundamental to our Constitution is what form of government will it produce? A republic or a democracy.

From the ThoughtCo

In a republic, an official set of fundamental laws, like the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights, prohibits the government from limiting or taking away certain inalienable rights of the people—even if that government was freely chosen by a majority of the people. In a pure democracy, the voting majority has almost limitless power over the minority. 

The main difference between a democracy and a republic is the extent to which the people control the process of making laws under each form of government.

Founding Father James Madison may have best described the difference between a democracy and a republic:

“It [the difference] is that in a democracy, the people meet and exercise the government in person: in a republic, they assemble and administer it by their representatives and agents. A democracy, consequently, must be confined to a small spot. A republic may be extended over a large region.”

Dan Smoot

Dan Smoot contrasts a constitutional republic with a democracy, arguing the former prioritizes individual liberty while the latter pursues universal equality that can lead to dictatorship. He claims America was founded as a republic to limit majority rule through constitutional restraints, warns against linguistic and ideological shifts toward “democracy,” cites Founding Fathers’ skepticism of pure democracy, and emphasizes that federal powers are limited by the Constitution regardless of popular support. He urges citizens to educate others to preserve the republic.