A Unique Experiment

The question “What is Democracy?” is very intriguing because of the variety of possible answers. Many of these can be very complex or can be as simple as the Merriam-Webster dictionary definition which states that democracy is government by the people, especially with the rule of the majority. The main idea behind this chapter, stemming straight from the title of it, is that democracy for the United States was an experiment. It was an experiment in a few ways. First, it had never been done before. The Framers were tasked with forming an entirely new governmental system and had absolutely nothing to base their system on or even to get ideas from, it was all new. Second, because it had never been done before, the Framers really did not know how well it would work out. However, despite these challenges, the Framers spent countless hours and ultimately forged the basis of what our government is like in America over 200 years later.

There are many philosophical benefits of a democracy that the Framers were taking into account when they decided upon this type of system and benefits that are still heavily focused on in democracy today. First of all, this system recognizes the intrinsic worth and equality of humans – by being human, you get some sort of representation towards what decisions will be made and by whom they will be made. Furthermore, the fact that pooled knowledge will lead to the right decision is a big factor. The more minds that come together to make a decision, the more likely the decision is to be the right one, even though sometimes it might not be the most optimal. Finally, John Locke mentions the social contract aspect of democracy, between the people and the government officials. He said, “the only reason for having a government is the preservation of our rights and liberties.” I will focus on this topic in regards to the question, is government working in this area. I would say yes. In order to answer yes to this question, it needs to be clear what exactly “working” means in this sense. Working, here, would mean that the government is doing everything it can to, and succeeding to maintain the freedom and rights of the people in its society. The government is working because it has been and is doing these things. We still abide by the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, people still have a say in the government by electing their officials both locally in their towns and states, but also the entire country. In addition, the government provides the safety and protection of the people through the armed forces. This overarching protection gives citizens the everyday freedoms they deserve and the luxury to not constantly be afraid of dangers around them. For these reasons, I believe the government is certainly working in the sense of preserving people’s rights and liberties, as John Locke described.

To conclude, I just have a few questions that I am interested to hear people’s opinions on:

Do you think the Framers who engineered our original system of government did a good job at doing so?
Do you think they would be pleased with the development and outcome that their original plans and ideas have developed into today?

4 Responses to "A Unique Experiment"

Katherine Fell says:

September 8, 2017 at 8:11 pm

I think that you make very insightful arguments about how the Founders were able to establish a government that could stand the test of time and still hold our country together even in incredibly trying times. Even other countries around the world are trying to implement a democracy that resembles that of the United States, which speaks to how successful the Founders were in creating a good style of government. However, the were unable to foresee what kinds of issues would arise today, and the vague words in the Constitution do little to help us solve these problems. For instance, gun control in America is an incredibly polarizing topic that is debated every day. Even though there are many tragic shootings every year, the government is not near a solution for this important issue. The Second Amendment protects American’s right to own a gun because the Founders wanted the citizens of their new country to be able to protect themselves in their homes and communities. The Founders were not able to foresee the vast developments that have been made in weapons technology, though, and now it has become very easy for the wrong people to own incredibly effective and dangerous weapons. This is ironic because the very law that was made to allow Americans to protect themselves is what is allowing for dangerous people to wreak havoc and hurt innocent people. The Founders did not leave much in the Constitution for us to look to, so today’s leaders now must find a solution to fix this horrible problem that plagues the country. Therefore, I agree with you in that the Founders were successful in creating a resilient government, but it was impossible for them to foresee what kinds of problems would arise today, so we cannot just look to the Constitution to solve every problem.
Camryn Travis says:

September 10, 2017 at 2:24 pm

To go off of Declan’s post and Katherine’s comment, I agree that the Framers created a complex and highly sophisticated system of democracy for the age of government in which they lived. I do, however, think that the original form of government, specifically the Constitution, has become outdated and underdeveloped in comparison to the growth and changes within society. For example, when the Framers first created the modern “American Democracy,” women and Black people were not considered to be equal citizens that deserved the same rights as white men. Katherine brings up the Second Amendment and the growth in weapon technology as another example of the vast difference between America’s society in the 1700s and today. The exclusive nature of the Constitution suggests that the Framers were not successful in creating a democracy if the measure of success is based off of providing and protecting all human rights. However, if one measures the success of accurately implementing a working democracy as a form of government run by the majority then I would completely agree that the Framers were successful in creating a working democracy.
Jackson Puckey says:

September 10, 2017 at 3:19 pm

I completely agree on your point that, in the Lockean purpose of government as protecting people’s rights and maintaining stability, the government is indeed working. While American democracy initially began as somewhat of an oligarchy or an aristocracy, our society has grown and developed within the bounds of our constitution and government to become one of tolerance, universal liberty, and equality under law. While there are still issues with these goals within our society, I believe we will prevail over these societal ills. Martin Luther King Jr. once said that “the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.” While the system the founders built had some huge and glaring flaws (the 3/5ths compromise being among the worst), they also established a system for modifying and adapting the Constitution to fit the needs of the modern world and to incorporate a greater number of demographics into the Lockean model of the protection of rights by the government.
As for whether or not the founders would be pleased with modern government and its interpretation of the constitution, it depends on the individual. The founders were an extremely diverse group in terms of their political beliefs and views on government (though not exactly diverse in their demographics) and would definitely have vastly differing views on the nature of our society. I do believe they would feel that we have progressed our society extremely well through the framework they built and that the government is continuing to protect the rights of individuals and adapt those rights and protections as we begin to recognize new issues in need of remedy and new freedoms in need of protection.
Montgomery Thornburn says:

September 17, 2017 at 11:06 pm

The Framers really did do something truly “unique” when they created the framework for our government. The system that they developed fit them and their beliefs on government well. The government they built has survived longer than anyone initially thought and I think that provides the evidence that the Framers were successful. They included provisions for their laws to bend to the will of the people so that the government could grow and evolve as the nation’s populace grew and evolved.

Despite all this, I believe that the current government is not the one that the Framers intended to create. As Declan mentioned, the Lockean purpose of government is to protect the rights and the liberties of the people. Currently we see more instances of government overreach into American’s lives than ever before. We find ourselves in a day to day conflict of liberty versus security and most Americans (knowingly or unknowingly) have allowed the government to impede on their rights. Benjamin Franklin famously said, “Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety” and I think that this should remind us why we have government in the first place. To the Framers, the importance of Liberty was second to none and with increasing over watch from governmental agencies like the NSA, I think that we have strayed from the intended purpose of government and the Framers would recognize that.

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