Democracy or Republic: What's the Difference

Is America a democracy or republic? The question comes up frequently in American political debates. Many people assume the two terms mean the same thing, but they describe different forms of government.

The United States is best understood as a constitutional democratic republic that blends elements of both systems. Our Founders combined elements of classical democracy with the structure of a republic, giving us a representative democratic government.

Understanding how this works requires a little background knowledge of history. So, in celebration of our nation's 250th anniversary, we'll look into those origins to understand the philosophy of our Founders. Let's jump into this!

Definitions: Democracy vs Republic:

• Democracy: a democracy operates by direct majority vote by the people. When an issue is to be decided, the entire population votes on it; the majority wins and rules.
• Republic: a republic is a state in which supreme power is held by the people and their elected representatives, and which has an elected or nominated president rather than a monarch.

A History of Democracy

Democracy famously began in ancient Athens. In the year 507 BC, Cleisthenes introduced a series of political reforms that he called demokratia. The term comes from demos (people) and kratos (power), meaning "rule of the people."

Democracy did not last forever in Athens, nor did it necessarily run the way we would expect a democracy to run. It is worth noting that not everyone in Athens had voting rights.

Voting was restricted to free, male Athenian citizens. Women and slaves were ineligible to vote.

Still, many of the ideals that informed our Founders were present in Athens.

For example, in his descriptions of the different types of governments, the historian Herodotus famously said this of democracy: "In a democracy, there is, first, that most splendid of virtues, equality before the law."

That reality existed because of the three institutions that governed the Athenian democracy. Those institutions were:

• The ekklesia
• The boule
• The dikasteria

The Ekklesia

The ekklesia was the sovereign governing body that wrote laws and dictated foreign policy. The word translates to assembly, and was open to any eligible voter to attend and participate in.

The ekklesia held meetings 40 times per year in a hillside auditorium west of the Acropolis. The meeting place was known as the Pnyx.

The meetings had agendas, in which citizens made communal decisions about war and relations with other city states in the region. They also wrote and revised laws based on a simple majority vote.

One interesting fact is that the Assembly could vote to approve and condemn the actions of public officials. In fact, our term ostracism comes from these sessions. The Assembly had the authority to banish a citizen from Athens for a ten-year period.

The Boule

The boule was a council of representatives from the ten Athenian tribes. This council consisted of five hundred men, fifty from each of the ten tribes, who served on the Council for a one-year term.

The boule handled most of the daily work of governance; for this reason, they met daily, unlike the ekklesia. Their duties included:

• meeting with ambassadors and representatives from other states
• managing the care of naval vessels and war horses
• deciding what matters were brought to the ekklesia to be decided by the majority

Positions in this group were determined by drawing lots, rather than elections. The basic idea behind this was that lots would be a fairer system, un-swayed by popularity or status.

The Dikasteria

The dikasteria were popular courts in which citizens argued their cases against other citizens. The jurors were fellow citizens who were chosen every day by a lottery system. This design was intended to keep a non-biased jury.

There were five hundred jurors were chosen by lot from a pool of male citizens. There was an age limit for the position, in which only citizens above the age of 30 were eligible.

Eventually, Athens moved into something that could fairly be called an aristocracy.

The move was not one of pure totalitarianism. Athenian democracy unfortunately became known for falling into a chaotic mob rule. However, the legacy of Athenian democracy lasted long after its decline and played a significant role in the imagination of the Roman Republic.

The History of Republican Government

If one is a purist about the definition of republican government, then there have been relatively few republics in history. However, the republican ideals of elected representation and participation in governance go back very far.

In ancient Sumeria, there were government arrangements in which kings acted more like executives than rulers. Instead, city-states might have aristocratic bodies that shared power with both kings and common citizens.

Sometimes, the public could even appoint a king during a time of crisis. Later, in Phoenicia, monarchical power was often shared with a merchant class and citizen council.

However, the most famous political body that most would recognize as having a true republican government is the Roman Republic.

Rome's constitution broke political power into three bodies:

• Two annually elected Consuls (similar to monarchs)
• The Senate (a form of aristocracy)
• Popular Assemblies (a democratic element)

The consuls were two elected patricians who held supreme civil and military authority. They held the power to command the army, preside over the Senate, and veto each other. At different times, Rome might witness the move toward a Triumvirate, or to a single consul.

The Senate was a body of roughly 300 men who served in the body for life. They were in charge of foreign policy, managing the treasury, and advising the consul.

Finally, there were the popular assemblies. These groups were comprised entirely of free male citizens, who voted on laws, elected magistrates, and decided on war or peace. There were two key assemblies:

• The Centuriate (military)
• The Tribal (civilian)

What you see in both the ancient Athenian democracy system and the Roman Republic is that there were three levels of the governing polity. In the Roman system especially, there was an idea that each level of government was meant to place checks and balances on the other.

When Rome transitioned from a republic to an empire under Augustus Caesar, republican government took several centuries to reappear in the West. That took place at the founding of the United States.

The American Experiment: Democracy or Republic

When the Founding Fathers came together to devise a system of governance, they naturally leaned toward a republican system. The legacy of Rome had left an indelible mark on Europe's consciousness.

As Enlightenment philosophers delved back into the writings of early Roman historians, they quickly idealized the Roman Republic. However, the Founders had a problem of scale.

In the colonial era, the thirteen colonies operated more or less independently of each other. They had different established churches, and sometimes different colonial governing bodies (such as the House of Burgesses in Virginia).

During the Revolutionary War, the thirteen colonies essentially were thirteen different entities that entered into an alliance based on shared grievances. When they had to figure out a way forward, they needed a way to preserve that independence while also having a united central government.

The answer to that was a new system called federalism. This system established three levels of government for the new nation:

• The federal government
• State governments
• Local town and county governments

Each of these systems had a representative democracy. The citizens of a town vote for the mayor and town council; citizens of a state vote for the governor and state legislature.

Famously, the citizens of the United States vote for their local representatives in Congress, their senators, and the President of the United States.

Similarly, each level of government has three branches:

• The executive branch
• The legislative branch
• The judicial branch

The executive and legislative branches are decided by an election. However, many Americans note that the popular vote does not determine who will be the President of the United States.

Instead, that election is determined by the electoral college. This body is perhaps the clearest demarcation of what makes America a republic and not a pure democracy.

The electoral college exists to preserve some sovereignty of the individual states. The electoral college sorts through the votes of their individual states, and as representatives of their states, will determine which candidate for president won in their state.

This system might feel convoluted to modern people; indeed, many have called for the eradication of the electoral college (usually when their preferred candidates lose).

The reason for this relates to populations. The Founders were aware that the population in the United States was not evenly spread. They did this to ensure that states with smaller populations did not have unequal representation in the federal election.

After all, the Founders were well aware of how often the beaten minority in Athenian democracy could become resentful. They also knew that pure democracy often led to mob rule.

Knowing this, they devised a system that allowed each state an equal say in choosing an executive to govern the united nation. So, the electoral college served three purposes:

• Balancing state representation
• Limiting direct mass democracy
• Allowing state-based elections

This one system serves as an example of what the Founders sought to achieve with their republican government. They wanted a government that preserved some degree of sovereignty for states and local governments, yet also united them in the common cause of liberty and justice.

Likewise, the entire system served as a way of limiting each branch of the government. They wanted to ensure that this republic would not succumb to imperial ambitions like Rome, or to the abuse of individual rights that the colonies experienced under England.

In short, they wanted a republic that preserved both individual freedom and civic responsibility.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q: Is the United States a democracy or a republic?

A: The United States is best described as a "constitutional democratic republic". Citizens vote for representatives who make laws on their behalf.

Q: What is the difference between democracy and republic?

A: A democracy generally refers to direct rule by the people through majority voting. A republic uses elected representatives and constitutional limits to govern.

Q: Why do people say America is a republic and not a democracy?

A: America qualifies as a republic because the U.S. Constitution created a representative system with checks and balances, rather than direct majority rule.

Democracy or Republic: The Experiment Continues

When the United States was founded, it was the only attempt in the world at a republic. The majority of governments in the world remained monarchies, though some had republican elements in the form of a national parliament.

Today, roughly 150 countries in the world identify as republics. Although not all of them are true republics, it shows the tremendous influence that the American experiment has had on the world in just 250 years.

So, when people ask whether America is a democracy or republic, they have partially missed the point. The country is a democratic republic, combining the best aspects of democracy into a republican system.