Deflection

How did the Framers see the United States Government? Did the Framers see the US government as a democracy? The members to Democratic Party continuously state that our government is a democracy. Or, did the Framers see the government as a Republic? The truth is that they had both in the US Constitution (Constitution). But, since the ratification of the constitution, the government has moved to more of a democracy. With the frustration that we see in the government today, it seems like this movement to a democracy has not been kind to the US citizens, since the government has deflected from the Framer’s vision of government.

To elect a president, it as not to be a direct democracy. Regarding how the president is elected today, it was not to be like it envisioned by the Framers. To elect a president was to take many steps, but there was not to be a popular vote as we see today. Male property owners were to meet in a local setting like a church, community building, or tavern. There were not to vote for the president of there choice, but they where to vote for the person in the group that would best carry their feelings for a presidential candidate to the county convention, and this does mean that they discussed all of the candidates running for office, but there was no political parties at that time. Eventually they were voting for their candidate. Then there would be a county conference where the local representatives would meet to vote on a person that would take the county’s feelings for president on to the state convention. At the state convention, the members would vote for the members in the electoral college. During the national convention, the electors would vote for the president. Therefore, the election of the president is more like a republic then a democracy were the people vote directly for the president.

As we can see today, women and non-property owners are allowed to vote directly for the president. It is clear that we would have a different government today if only male property owners were allowed to vote and that conference votes were still taking the property owners points of view to the electoral college. Today, each party selects the people to represent their party at the electoral college. This is why each state votes all of the electoral votes to the party that wins the presidential vote in the their state. This method of selecting a president does not fit the vision of the Framers.

The Framers vision of voting for the president was not to be a form of democracy as it is today. If the presidents did not have as worry much about public pressure as the presidents do today, the presidency would have a different out look. This does not mean that the president would have free rein on administrating government, since there are articles of impeachment in the Constitution.

The Constitution documented that US Senators (Senators) were to be confirmed by the legislatures of each state; however, the Constitution is silent on the selection of a person to come before each of the legislatures. As with the House of Lords in Great Britain, two prominent persons, and not necessarily politicians, were to represent each state. The Senators were to serve the governments of the states, and focus on principals, and not politics, for the good of the people. Therefore, the selection of the Senators was to be in the form of a republic government, without the public having an influence on their selection to the senate.

The House of Representatives (Congress) were to be voted into office by the people, as documented in the Constitution. The Congress representatives were to feel the pressure of the people. With a two year term in members in the Congress, they were to stay in close touch with the people. Therefore, the election of people serving in Congress is a democratic government.

The US Supreme Court Justices (Justices) are to be selected by the President and confirmed by the Senators for life, as documented in the Constitution. The Justices are to be only focused on the Constitution Law. This is republic form of government, since the people are not to have any influence on the selection of the Justices.

By reviewing this material, it becomes clear that the Framers were invested in a hybrid of a republic and democratic government. The Senators and Justices were to be selected as a republic form of government and the members of Congress were to be selected by a democratic form of government. As for the President, the vote stated out as a democratic form of government, with the property owners voting for people to represent they at the county conventions. From the county conventions to the electoral college, the selection became a republic. This is definitely a combination of both forms of government.

It becomes clear that the Framers knew that the government would not survive if the country was governed by either a republic or a democratic form of government. Therefore, they used a combination to insure a stable government.

To fit with today’s society, the Constitution needed to be tweaked. Since women do own property today, the Constitution would need to have been changed. With the vision of only males voting, it seems like the Framers wanted one vote from each property owner. When it came to politics in the colonial times, women did have a big influence on how there husbands vote, just look at Abigale Adams as a woman have a big influence on how her husband voted. Although there are other tweaks that were needed to fit today’s society, property owner not having the chance to vote is the biggest one.

There is no question that the section of government officials has deflected from what the Framers were visioning. The presidential election is more democratic than the Framers were looking for to elect a solid President. The selection of Senators is a democratic selection and not a republic selection. This country is suffering from not having a more republic section of the president, with them spending too much time trying to get elected again or losing interest as a lame duck president in their second term. The Senator are only focused on keeping the voters are home happy, instead of focusing on the principles for this country. As with the changes in the voting for Presidents and Senators, this country really struggles to maintain its sovereignty. Furthermore, although the vision of selecting government officials has changed, the Constitution was written well enough to stay in place even with these deflections.