ipl-logo

Democratic American Constitution

1217 Words5 Pages

How Democratic Is the American Constitution?
Robert A. Dahl wrote a book that critically analyses the much respected constitution of the United States of America. The author examines the democratic nature of the American Constitution both in the way it was enacted and whether it contains principles of democracy in it (Dahl, 2003, p.1). The entire book has been dedicated to highlighting various aspects of the American constitution more especially the historical views of the document. From the onset sets it clear that the aim of his book is not to propose changes to the American constitution but to suggest changes in the way Americans think about their constitution (Dahl, 2003, p. 1). Through the interactions he has had with people and more …show more content…

For example, he describes that the men who drafted the constitution were necessarily limited in some ways by their inevitable ignorance (Dahl, 2003, p. 7). Though it is the overt acknowledgement of the author that among the framers were men of exceptional talent and public virtue (Dahl, 2003, p.7). For example, James Madison who is regarded as one of the Americas greatest political scientist and his generation of political leaders as perhaps the most richly endowed with wisdom, public virtue, and devotion to lives of public service, he admitted that they were limited by history. The book compares the knowledge that the scientists had in the past and the quality and efficiency of their inventions with the current technological knowhow and the kind of invention of nowadays and their effectiveness in meeting the needs of the people. By that analogy, the author depicts the limitation of the framers of the American constitution had to come up with a document that could effectively fit into today’s democratic needs. Therefore, he makes an early conclusion that the knowledge of the framers, though some of them, may well have been the best available in 1787 but reliable knowledge about constitution appropriate to a large representative republic was at best meager. In addition, history had not produced truly relevant models of representative governments on the scale of the U.S had already attained, not to mention the scale it would reach in the years to come (Dahl, 2003, p. 9). The author says that lack of other countries to who were democratic enough to learn from was a major historical limitation that could have led them to come up with a document that was not truly democratic. The book portrays the framers as some knowledge that would later be brought to the light of the day

Show More
Related

What Are The Framers Of The Constitution By Alfred Youth

756 Words | 4 Pages

“The Framers of the Constitution and the ‘Genius’ of the People” written by Alfred E. Young is an article which was originally written in a newspaper called In These Times. In his article he explains the process the delegates went through at the constitutional convention and how revolutionary this moment in our history was. They were the first to form a totally new form of government and to do it in a way that didn’t involve much dispute. Delegates were originally called to revise the Article of Confederation but instead they decided to frame and entirely new document, the Constitution. The Framers wanted to create something completely unlike the monarchy they came from.

Read More

DBQ Essay: The United States Constitution

1159 Words | 5 Pages

DBQ Essay The United States Constitution is a document that or founding fathers made in order to replace the failing Articles of Confederation (A of C). Under the Constitution, the current government and states don’t have the problems they faced when the A of C was in action. The Constitution was created in 1788, and held an idea that the whole nation was nervous about. This idea was a strong national government, and the Federalist assured the people that this new government would work. The framers of the Constitution decided to give more power to the Federal government rather than the state governments because the A of C had many problems, there was a need for the layout of new government, rights, and laws, and there was a need for the Federal

Read More

Constitution Of 1787 Dbq

2030 Words | 9 Pages

1. The Constitution of 1787 attempted to resolve agreements on regulating trade, taxing, protecting private property, and several other weaknesses the Articles of Confederation did not fixate on. Another controversial topic in the Constitutional Convention was the question on representation. Two different plans were presented: the Virginia Plan and the New Jersey Plan. The Virginia Plan wanted representation to depend on the population within a state, a national government with three branches, and one house that would elect the people in a second house.

Read More

Constitutional Convention Dbq

398 Words | 2 Pages

The Constitutional Convention took place from May 25th, 1787 to September 17th, 1787 in the city of Philadelphia. The official purpose of the convention was to amend the articles of Confederation/ how the country was going to be governed. Although the convention had been called for revising the Articles of Confederation, two delegates (James Madison and Alexander Hamilton) wanted to make a totally new government. Seventy delegates from each original state were supposed to come to the Constitutional Convention, but only 55 out of the 70 arrived. The first two months of debating were only about the 15 points of the “Virginia Plan” that James Madison thought of to replace the Articles of Confederation.

Read More

Levinson The Purpose Of The Senate Summary

1618 Words | 7 Pages

The checks and balances that the founders desired between the Senate and the House would be reflected in the competing political parties within the House. 2. Sanford Levinson argues that the Electoral College is a “dreadful system of presidential selection” that is beyond defending. Using Madison’s Notes and the Federalist Papers, explain the A) purposes of the Electoral College (why they chose this method over others) and B) whether or not Publius’s defense applies to current debates over maintaining or eliminating the Electoral

Read More

Constitution Dbq

906 Words | 4 Pages

When the United States first was established, there had to be laws created in order to have a good system. The United States has been operated under two constitutions. The first written constitution that we adopted was The Articles of Confederation, that began in March 1, 1781. It was established among the 13 original states of the United States and it served as an agreement and the first constitution. After the articles had been ratified, the states stayed independent and sovereign, with Congress filling in if all else fails on interest of debate.

Read More

Women's Rights, And The Amending Process Of The Constitution By Mary Frances Berry

1689 Words | 7 Pages

Review of Why ERA Failed: Politics, Women’s Rights, and the Amending Process of the Constitution By Mary Frances Berry The struggle for women’s rights has been a long, hard fought battle in American history. The fight for even the most basic of rights, such as the right to vote or control property, often takes decades for a victory to be had. One such initiative that sought a widening of women’s rights was the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) of the 1970s. The ERA sought to put women on equal legal footing as men, and to no ones surprise the movement failed.

Read More

How Democratic Is The American Constitution By Robert Dahl Sparknotes

831 Words | 4 Pages

It will not be a summary of the whole chapter rather we will be mention few of the key issues that Dahl mention in chapter two what the framers couldn’t know. First thing he mention is that there were four things that the framers didn’t or couldn’t have known. Another key that is important in this chapter is the fact that Dahl said “framers were limited….” PG11. What Dahl meant was that they have little or no choice in the type of government.

Read More

Summary Of How Democratic Is The American Constitution By Robert Dahl

1376 Words | 6 Pages

Robert Dahl in his book, “How Democratic is the American Constitution? ” defines the word democratic as a ruling alongside an alignment of one person generally equals one vote on a majority rule bases. Based on his definition he takes a swing at the process of electing a president. He absolutely is not wrong based on his definition of democratic, but does it need to be democratic, or so they thought. I will be analyzing if his definition of being democratic on the process of electing a president is a correct definition.

Read More

Colonial America Dbq Essay

476 Words | 2 Pages

In colonial America, the citizens did not know exactly what they wanted for their government. The colonists knew they didn’t want their lives to be like they had been in England. They were open to ideas; they did not know what would work and what wouldn’t. The colonists knew that trial and error was the best idea at the time. The democratic and undemocratic features of colonial America were very apparent in that democracy as it was a work in progress.

Read More

Summary Of How Democratic Is The American Constitution By Robert Dahl

149 Words | 1 Pages

On the ground from which the constitution was conceived, does such a system which we operate from in modern America remain within the bounds of constitutional morality (in other words, the morality of the constitution)? In Robert Dahl's How democratic is the American constitution?, the reader as well as the larger audience that is contemporary society, is challenged to change the sacred light in which most Americans view our beloved constitution. In the beginning of chapter 1, Dahl begins with posing a provocative and simple question which begs for an incredibly complex answer, why should we uphold our constitution? In his answer he states that the legitimacy of the constitution should only be based on the grounds such that  “utility as an

Read More

Constitutional Convention Dbq

1379 Words | 6 Pages

The politicians of old had no idea what effect their decisions would have on the US. For example, James Madison took notes and copied down every debate and argument held in the Philadelphia State House. These documents have helped hundreds of modern-day lawyers win over juries and present their cases. These notes also helped historians understand what truly happened at the convention. However, a few states weren’t pleased with the convention’s outcome.

Read More

Constitutional Amendment Dbq

528 Words | 3 Pages

After the Civil War in 1865, Republicans in Congress introduced a series of Constitutional Amendments to secure civil and political rights for African Americans. The right that gave black men the privilege to vote provoked the greatest controversy, especially in the North. In 1867, Congress passed the law and African American men began voting in the South, but in the North, they kept denying them this basic right (“African Americans,” 2016). Republicans feared that they would eventually lose control of Congress on the Democrats and thought that their only solution was to include the black men votes. Republicans assumed that all African American votes would go to all the Republicans in the North, as they did in the South and by increasing the

Read More

Us Constitution Still Relevant Analysis

1052 Words | 5 Pages

For many years, the U.S. Constitution has become a pinnacle aspect in the debates between political parties and raises a question yet to be answered: Is the Constitution still relevant? Often times referred to as the “framework” of our nation’s government, the U.S. Constitution is open for interpretation and only serves as a guideline thus meaning that there is no correct or incorrect standpoint on the issue of relevancy. Some may claim that the Constitution is no longer relevant because it was written in 1787 therefore, it is “outdated” and cannot fit the many needs of modern day society and it is restricted to the minds of The Founding Fathers who constructed it rather than the people of the United States. On the other hand, one can argue

Read More

Key Constitutional Concepts By Leonore Annemore Annenberg Institute For Civics

644 Words | 3 Pages

The Leonore Annenberg Institute for Civics video titled “Key Constitutional Concepts” explores the history of the creation of the United States Constitution in addition to key concepts crucial to the document. Two central themes explored in the video include the protection of personal rights and importance of checks and balances. The video strives to explain these concepts through Supreme Court cases Gideon v. Wainwright and Youngstown v. Sawyer. To begin, the video retraces the steps leading up to the Constitutional Convention in Virginia in 1787. It opens by explaining the conflict that led to the Revolutionary War and the fragility of the new nation.

Read More

More about Democratic American Constitution

Related Topics

Open Document