University:
Arizona State University
Course:
HST 200 | Historical Themes
Academic year:

2024
Views:

312

Pages:

2
Author:

Thuyoul US

Creating Republican Governments, 1776-1790 POLITICS: REPUBLICANISM AS A WORLDVIEW Dynastic succession, in which the throne is inherited by the monarch's offspring or another relative, is the foundation of monarchy. Warfare and protracted strife were the results of contested royal succession in Europe. Most of Europe was controlled by well- established kings in the eighteenth century, and they were expected by custom to protect and lead their subjects. But by the middle of the 1770s, a large number of American colonists thought that Great Britain's King George Ill had not succeeded in doing so. Patriots said George Ill had ruined the British monarchy and had become a despot who didn't give a damn about the customary rights enjoyed by the people of the British Empire. The reason a republic seemed like a preferable option to the revolutionaries is because of their distaste for monarchy. The American revolutionaries adopted a republican system of governance and broke with the British monarchy by drawing inspiration from historical figures. The Roman Republic offered direction. The Romans had abandoned monarchy and established a republic in which their population would choose or nominate the leaders who would represent them, much like the Americans in their conflict with Britain. While republicanism provided an alternative to monarchy, it also provided an alternative to democracy, which is typified by majority rule-the ability of the majority of citizens to make decisions that have binding effects on the whole population. Many revolutionaries believed that democracy was a poor substitute for monarchy, particularly the rich landowners, merchants, and planters. In fact, the conservative Whigs characterized themselves by rejecting democracy, which they associated with chaos. 'Democracies have always been spectacles of turbulence and contention; have ever been found incompatible with personal security or the rights of property; and have in general been as short in their lives as they have been violent in their deaths,* Virginian James Madison wrote in the tenth essay of a series of essays that would later be known as The Federalist Papers. Many had this view and made a concerted effort to restrain democratic inclinations. It is understandable why democracy appeared dangerous: minority rights may be readily overruled by majority rule, and the affluent minority had good reason to fear that their money could be taken and redistributed by an envious and hostile majority. Although a lot of people currently believe that the United States was formed as a democracy, history is usually more nuanced. Conservative Whigs supported a patrician elite, a governing class made up of a select few wealthy families, as the basis for government. Radical Whigs advocated for democracy and increased public engagement in politics.