THE ORIGIN OF AMERICAN DEMOCRACY
11. THE NATURE OF GOVERNMENT.—A government may be defined as an agency through which the purposes of a state or nation are formulated and carried out. This agency develops where men live in groups. One of the chief objects of government is to adjust individual interests, or, to say the same thing in slightly different words, to control members of the group in their social relations.
Where groups are small and culture is at a low level, government may consist in little more than the arbitrary rules of a self-appointed chieftain. From this stage there are numerous gradations up to the great complex governments of the leading nations of to-day. With the origin and general development of government we are not here concerned, and we may accordingly confine our attention to those types of modern government which throw light upon the development of American democracy.
12. THE ABSOULUTE MONARCHY.—An absolute monarchy may be defined as a government in which supreme power or sovereignty is lodged in one individual. This monarch holds his position for life, generally with hereditary succession. Often the absolute monarchy arose out of the ancient chieftainship, when, as the result of territorial expansion and cultural development, the chief of a group of tribes became the king of a settled and civilized people. The absolute monarchy existed in most of the countries of Europe previous to the end of the eighteenth century. In its most extreme form the absolute monarchy rested upon the claim of the monarch that he ruled by "divine right," i.e., that God had authorized him to rule. France in the era of Louis XIV is one of the best known examples of a modern nation ruled by a "divine right" monarch.
13. THE LIMITED MONARCHY.—When a monarch has been restricted in his powers a limited or constitutional monarchy is said to exist. Almost always the establishment of a limited monarchy has been preceded by a series of struggles between king and people. In many cases these struggles have been precipitated or intensified by the monarch's abuse of power. A striking example is offered by English history. As the result of his arbitrary rule, King John was in 1215 obliged to sign the Magna Charta, by which act he gave up many important powers. The limits thus set upon the kingly power were affirmed and extended by the Petition of Right of 1628 and by the Bill of Rights of 1689. A similar limiting process has gone on in other countries, either by the framing of constitutions, or by the enlargement of the powers of legislatures, or by both methods. To-day the absolute monarchy is practically unknown among civilized nations.
14. THE REPUBLIC.—The republic is a form of government in which ultimate power or sovereignty resides with the people as a whole rather than with a single individual. Instead of a monarch there is generally an elective president, with varying powers. The republic is a very old form of government, but in the republics of Greece, Rome and Venice the powers of government were exercised by a class composed of a small minority of the people. In modern republics a larger proportion of the adult population participates in government.
A republic may arise in any one of several ways, but most of the republics of modern times have grown out of monarchical conditions, either directly or indirectly. Our republic arose as a reaction against English monarchy, while the French republic came into being as the result of the destruction of a monarchical government. Most of the republics of Latin America date from the throwing off of the Spanish yoke in the first half of the nineteenth century. More recently, the World War has given rise to a number of European republics, composed of peoples formerly under the control of monarchical governments.
15. DEMOCRACY AS A POLITICAL IDEA.—The term democracy is derived from two Greek words which taken together mean "control by the people." Strictly speaking, democracy is a form of government only where a small group governs itself directly, i.e., without making use of the representative device. This "pure" democracy, such as existed in the early New England town, becomes a representative democracy, or a republic, when a greater population and an increasing political complexity require the people to act through their representatives, rather than as a body. In the sense that democracy is popular control, the term democracy may conceivably be applied to any form of government. The present government of Great Britain, for example, is technically a limited monarchy, yet the gradual extension of popular control has made it one of the most democratic governments in the world. Nevertheless, the modern republic is so generally associated with the democratic movement that many authorities speak of a democracy as identical with a republic. For the time being we may use the term democracy to describe a form of government in which considerable control is exercised by the people. More briefly, democracy may be thought of as self-government.
16. WHY DEMOCRACY DEVELOPED IN AMERICA.—There are four reasons why democracy developed early in America.
The first is to be found in the conditions of pioneer life in the colonies. The wilderness forced self-government upon the settlers. Clearing the forests, subduing the Indians, and conquering animal foes was stern work, which weeded out the indolent and inefficient, and rewarded the capable and self-reliant. Pioneer conditions did not encourage a cringing or submissive spirit, but fostered independence and individualism. The spirit of equality tended to become a dominant feature of American life, for despite the existence of social classes, the great majority of the population had to rely for their living upon their own efforts. Under such conditions self-reliance and self- government were natural developments.