Why didn't our grounding father's choose Direct Democracy as opposed to a Republic we enjoy today?

Was it too difficult to create?

Would it have given more power to individual groups?

What is your intake on it?

I don't think it matters, the people in office today ignore the constitution so I expect them to do the same under any form.

I think it was the fact that most people were not so educated. Also travel and communications were not like they were today and people having to vote for everything would be very troublesome for working class people. Thus they have representatives.

Direct democracy would have limited states rights by allowing more populated states a greater control of the Union.

This would have led to some states having no say over their soverign destiny.

the answer was a Republic...

With the states practicing democracy and the Union formed of a Republic of the States.

democracy is an ideal, not a workable form of government. there is not a country on the planet that is governed under a democracy. our representative republic represents the most judicious use of the principles of democracy imo.

and yes, a democracy would give more power to the majority which was what madison feared most when he said, "our new republic protects the minority from the tyranny of the majority." if the majority ruled in america the south would still be segregated.

can you give an example of who's ignoring the constitution and what article and section are being ignored?

Thanks guys. I am starting to understand why now. :)

not sure if you've read the entire constitution greeneye, most americans haven't, but it only takes about a half hour to get through and is written in very plain language that you don't have to be a lawyer to understand. it will explain more clearly the workings of our government that few americans, i've found, rarely understand fully. here's a link, enjoy.

http://www.usconstitution.net/const.html

Thanks alot! Yeah I will read it. I have an idea of how it works, but I just feel that somehow what was invented is not working today. I feel the corporations are pulling the strings of our government and that the people are truly not getting what they are asking for. With 14 trillion in debt, infrastructure problems, health care problems, educational devaluations, and where the middle class is dwindling it is easy to look for another alternative to have a more sustainable government. Maybe it is less government like Republicans mention and maybe it is more government like Democrats mention. Maybe we just need to adjust the whole darn thing. If anything I have been out of the country for too long (serving my country) seeing changes I don't like anymore.

Anyway, yeah thanks I will read it.. Actually I will save it also to reread every time I need to remind myself how our grounding fathers took so much effort in creating this system.

By the way my family has been living in this country since 1799. So we have alot of history to tell about what they went through to help establish this country. We are hard workers and it is just saddening to see our country dwindle ever so more each year.

I just bought a book called "The Words We Live By" by Linda R. Monk

Your annotated Guide to the Constitution.

Looks great! Will say more later about it if anyone is interested.

hmm.. spoken like a true liberal... so that is saying that "majority rules" means nothing?... the people speak, but someone else knows better? thats one of the problems in this country, people vote and want something, like the gay marrige in california where the people voted and decided they didn't want gay marriage, but someone says BS, lets do it anyway?... ridiculous? i think so...

"Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for dinner."

When my father grounded me there was no democracy involved. It was a purely dictatorial set up.

Well I certainly don't want to be that lamb SpiderCrmb and to be like your father Ruth34611, although I am sure he was a honorable American!

If you really want to appreciate the freedoms you have, join the military.

It is surprising how many rights you surrender to protect the rights of others.

hahaha. james madison, cofounder of the republican party with thomas jefferson, a LIBERAL??? man that is a good one. yes, that "majority rules" means nothing in this REPUBLIC is the very fondation of the REPUBLICAN party. yes, the gay marriage ban in california will be overturned just as dred scott was for very similar reasons.

i think the term you're looking for is "our founding fathers." but i don't think the constitution needs much adjusting. it's been amended 27 times. nor do i think that what we have today is not what the founders intended. if anything, after the reconstruction amendments, 13, 14 and 15, more people enjoy more freedom and liberty today than during the nineteenth century. throw in the voting rights act and the civil rights acts and i'm sure the founding fathers would agree that we're on the right track.

if you want to understand what the courts use when a question of what the founders intended comes up, i'd refer you to the federalist papers.

You are probably right jrbogie. I certainly agree that the founding fathers probably didn't expect many things if they had the chance to observe this country for another 100 years in the making.

Actually this has become very interesting as I read more about the Constitution. I am already looking for more historical books on our FOUNDING fathers. lol

I will be looking into Federalist papers also as suggested. I also have currently a big interest in Alexander Hamilton just because he found the time to learn so many languages. I am studying to become a English Professor and read that his father exposed him to his personal library. With that he read over 80 books before he even turned 10 and started to learn more about the Republic, which required him to study Latin amongst other languages. It is interesting to see how he could have single handly provided most of the ideas in the creation of our Constitution because of his vast knowledge of his previous studies of other political systems. This could also be the reason why he didn't choose Direct Democracy as he also studied the Greek language and wanted to know how the ancient Greeks ran their government at the time.

Man I tell you It is great to be out of the service to have such time to study and to have access to the internet! I will try to keep this updated with what I discover as it is good to share this with someone. Don't hesitate to share more of what you know. Knowledge is spreading what we know and learning from others to build more knowledge in the process. Thanks for taking the time to reply to these messages by the way.

Actually now that I think about it isn't the time when the nation is voting for a president a form of Direct Democracy? I know it is called something else, but I mean in technicality isn't it a type of Direct Democracy?

Although I think only 80 million vote right? We don't even have the entire nation voting anyway.

actually greeneye, when you get to artcle two you'll see that "we the people" don't actually vote to elect the president. the electoral college does that. in fact, nowhere in the constitution is a right to vote given to the people. says the right to vote cannot be denied some folks, women and eighteen year olds for instance, but gives nobody the right to vote. that's left to the states to decide.