America Democracy
“Both the initiative and referendum are illustration of direct legislation, that is, legislation by the citizens themselves rather than by their elected representatives. It is a Modern attempt to return to pure, rather than representative, democracy." (pg 102, Henry Reed Burch)
This passage brings up the two ideas of democracy, pure and representitve. Pure, or direct, democracy is were every single person votes on ever single thing. You can see how this would be bad almost everyday people whould have to take off work to go vote. Representative, or indirect, democracy is were people vote on representivites who make the decisions for us.
Representative Democracy in America: Voices of the People is a national project designed to reinvigorate and educate Americans on the critical relationship between government and the people it serves. The project introduces citizens, particularly young people, to the representatives, institutions, and processes that serve to realize the goal of a government of, by, and for the people.
The word "democracy," as well as the concept it represents, can be traced back to the area surrounding the Mediterranean Sea. The beginnings of democracy can be credited to the Greeks of the sixth century BC. The word comes from two Greek words: demos, meaning "the people," and kratein, meaning "to rule." These two words are joined together to form democracy, literally meaning "rule by the people". The Greek system of government was perhaps closer to a true democracy or rule by the people than any other in history. The Greeks viewed dictatorship as the worst possible form of government, so their government evolved as the exact opposite. Their civilization was broken down into small city-states, and all the men voted on all issues of government. There were no representatives in the Greek system of government. Instead, they ruled themselves directly; each man was a life long member of the decision making body. This was almost a total democracy except for the fact that women and slaves were not considered citizens and were not allowed to vote. Despite this, no other civilization has come as close to democracy as its creators, the Greeks, and many later civilizations have incorporated this Greek idea as part of the foundation for their government.
In America, none of our federal laws and few of our state laws are decided by popular vote. We vote mainly to select representatives who cast the actual votes when a law is up for consideration. We also vote to select the president who, along with those legislators, appoint
judges whose job it is to interpret our existing laws and settle any disagreements as to what they really mean and how they will be carried out. So if the majority of the people in my state, for example, elect a representative or a president whose views are contrary to mine, I might
not have much of a say in which laws are passed, nor in how they are interpreted or enforced.
“But suppose the people as a whole insist that the sovereignty, or supreme power, shall remain in their hands. Then they have established a democracy. If the people themselves determine policies of law and administration directly, their government is a pure democracy. If the people elect officers to make laws and administer the government, it is a representative democracy or a republic. With so large a body of people who have the right to vote as we have in the United States today, direct government is out of the question. Possibly the whole people could vote directly on big matter of policy-they do so in Switzerland and elsewhere-but it is upon representatives democracies that the responsibility of ruling the world rests today.” (pg 425, Ray Osgood Hughes)
1. Henry Reed Burch, Samuel Howard Patterson; Macmillan, 1922.
2. Ray Osgood Hughes; Allyn and Bacon, 1922.
“Both the initiative and referendum are illustration of direct legislation, that is, legislation by the citizens themselves rather than by their elected representatives. It is a Modern attempt to return to pure, rather than representative, democracy." (pg 102, Henry Reed Burch)
This passage brings up the two ideas of democracy, pure and representitve. Pure, or direct, democracy is were every single person votes on ever single thing. You can see how this would be bad almost everyday people whould have to take off work to go vote. Representative, or indirect, democracy is were people vote on representivites who make the decisions for us.
Representative Democracy in America: Voices of the People is a national project designed to reinvigorate and educate Americans on the critical relationship between government and the people it serves. The project introduces citizens, particularly young people, to the representatives, institutions, and processes that serve to realize the goal of a government of, by, and for the people.
The word "democracy," as well as the concept it represents, can be traced back to the area surrounding the Mediterranean Sea. The beginnings of democracy can be credited to the Greeks of the sixth century BC. The word comes from two Greek words: demos, meaning "the people," and kratein, meaning "to rule." These two words are joined together to form democracy, literally meaning "rule by the people". The Greek system of government was perhaps closer to a true democracy or rule by the people than any other in history. The Greeks viewed dictatorship as the worst possible form of government, so their government evolved as the exact opposite. Their civilization was broken down into small city-states, and all the men voted on all issues of government. There were no representatives in the Greek system of government. Instead, they ruled themselves directly; each man was a life long member of the decision making body. This was almost a total democracy except for the fact that women and slaves were not considered citizens and were not allowed to vote. Despite this, no other civilization has come as close to democracy as its creators, the Greeks, and many later civilizations have incorporated this Greek idea as part of the foundation for their government.
In America, none of our federal laws and few of our state laws are decided by popular vote. We vote mainly to select representatives who cast the actual votes when a law is up for consideration. We also vote to select the president who, along with those legislators, appoint
judges whose job it is to interpret our existing laws and settle any disagreements as to what they really mean and how they will be carried out. So if the majority of the people in my state, for example, elect a representative or a president whose views are contrary to mine, I might
not have much of a say in which laws are passed, nor in how they are interpreted or enforced.
“But suppose the people as a whole insist that the sovereignty, or supreme power, shall remain in their hands. Then they have established a democracy. If the people themselves determine policies of law and administration directly, their government is a pure democracy. If the people elect officers to make laws and administer the government, it is a representative democracy or a republic. With so large a body of people who have the right to vote as we have in the United States today, direct government is out of the question. Possibly the whole people could vote directly on big matter of policy-they do so in Switzerland and elsewhere-but it is upon representatives democracies that the responsibility of ruling the world rests today.” (pg 425, Ray Osgood Hughes)
1. Henry Reed Burch, Samuel Howard Patterson; Macmillan, 1922.
2. Ray Osgood Hughes; Allyn and Bacon, 1922.
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