360° Perspective: Democracy vs. Republic

We continue our 360° Perspective coverage of the Electoral College and the National Popular Vote bill that's headed to Governor Jared Polis' desk. We've gone over the history of the Electoral College and now, after many of you asked, we're taking a look at why it matters and how the United States is a Democratic Republic, not a direct Democracy.

[baldwulfnative]

We The People are a Constitutional Republic, not a democratic Republic.
❤️🇺🇲

[Ivan.A.Churlyuski]

Imagine growing up saying the pledge “and to the republic for which it stands” every school day for over a decade and leave not knowing we are a republic...

[merlingrim]

Technically speaking, we have a Constitutional Republic
The Declaration of Independence declared the Inalienable Rights of Sovereign Individuals, and that the purpose of government is to secure those inalienable rights and that the sovereign individuals delegate authority to government for that purpose. Government can claim no power which one sovereign can't claim over another. Therefore, government cannot legally do something to me which I cannot legally do unto another.


Much of what government does is a violation of our inalienable rights and unlawful.

[ReverenXero]

Actually the word Democracy, or any infinitive, never appear in the Constitution, the Declaration, nor the Bill of Rights.
Democracy: Majority Rule - this demands that there be a minority
Republic: Every man is king (no man shall have dominion over another)

[Archas]

The word democracy is nowhere in the constitution. Lol

[jakeyboy]

With a Constitutional Republic the citizens give their consent. In a Democracy the citizens submit, especially the minority. There is a huge difference in consent and submit! I might add that my loyalty or fidelity is not to a political party nor a politician. My loyalty and fidelity is to the Constitution and the Bill of Rights! God Bless America!

[boko]

I just learned why popular vote doesn't always win.

[cadreops]

We Do Not live in a democracy.
We live in a Constitutional Republic. 
It's important to know the difference. 

In a democracy, the sovereignty is in the whole body of the citizens. The sovereignty is not divided to smaller units such as individual citizens. To solve a problem, only the whole body politic is authorized to act. Also, being citizens, individuals have duties and obligations to the government. The governments only obligations to the citizens are those legislatively pre-defined for it by the whole body politic. 

In a Republic, the sovereignty resides in the Free People themselves, whether one or many. In a Republic, one may act on his/her own or through representatives as they choose to solve a problem. Further, the People have no obligation to the government; instead, the government being hired by the People, is obliged to its owner, We the People. (See 10th Amendment if you do not know.)

“A Constitutional Republic” is a government created and controlled, at least, by the Law of a Constitution. 
(See Article IV, Section 4)

The Constitution of the United States of America was, in Law, foundationally based on the Bible, the Magna Carta, and the Declaration of Independence. Those documents known as the Charters of Freedom, recognize mans sovereignty, the Divine nature of mans creation and mans divine right to Life, Liberty, Property, and the Pursuit of Happiness.

(Our Constitution was made only for a Moral and religious People. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.)

[deeveevideos]

We are a constitutional republic that uses democracy to choose our elected leaders. But those leaders cannot just make any rules they want they're constrained by the Constitution. It's all about checks and balances.

[sydmannachuk]

We are a republic....Article 4 section 4 declares us a Republic

[ra]

Who's here bec of the America's upcoming election?

[antonw-uwov]

I can’t think of a single country that practices ”direct/pure democracy”, i think what they meant to say was ”representative democracy”.

[Adam-jlnu]

I wish more people understood this difference

[hunkarun]

Six mistakes mankind keeps making century after century:
1. Believing that personal gain is made by crushing others;
2.Worrying about things that cannot be changed or corrected;
3. Insisting that a thing is impossible because we cannot accomplish it;
4. Refusing to set aside trivial preferences;
5. Neglecting development and refinement of the mind;
6. Attempting to compel others to believe and live as we do.
Marcus Tullius Cicero

[jeffreykirton]

“Faithless elector” is a loop hole. I wonder just who James Madison was worried about? 🤔

[robertnewby]

It is a constitutional representative republic. Not a democratic republic .

[joemccarthy]

We're a Constitutional Republic where we have individual rights.

[markbartlett]

A pure democracy is two wolves and a sheep voting on what's for dinner.

[itsspiritual]

The United States of America is not a democracy; it’s a Constitutional Federal Republic!
While often categorized as a democracy, the United States is more accurately defined as a constitutional federal republic. What does this mean? “Constitutional” refers to the fact that government in the United States is based on a Constitution which is the supreme law of the United States. The Constitution not only provides the framework for how the federal and state governments are structured, but also places significant limits on their powers. “Federal” means that there is both a national government and governments of the 50 states. A “republic” is a form of government in which the people hold power, but elect representatives to exercise that power. – U.S. Government

[hurricane_laine]

“American republicanism and the ordered liberty it makes possible are grounded in the Federalists’ recognition that non-majoritarian parts of the community make legitimate contributions to the community’s welfare, and that preserving these contributions is the hallmark of political justice. But, the careful balance produced by our mixed republic is threatened by an egalitarianism that undermines the social, familial, religious, and economic distinctions and inequalities that undergird our political liberty.”