But they were rejected. Instead, delegates envisioned the Senate as a place where the wisest and most prudent officials would serve as a check on the immediate passions of the lower chamber. Elected by popular vote in small districts for a term of two years, this larger body had the sole power to originate revenue bills.
The process of taxation could start only where the people were most closely represented. Senators served a six-year term of office, which promoted stability and consistency in the laws, ensuring that they would not fluctuate with every changing whim of the people. This goal is reflected in the curious fact that unlike the House the entire Senate never goes up for re-election in a single election cycle. Also, only the Senate would have power to ratify presidential appointments and treaties.
On September 17, , the convention adjourned, sending the Constitution to the states; it would be put into effect only if conventions in nine of the states ratified it. In his first essay published in October , the Anti-Federalist, Brutus, charged that it was impossible to provide fair and true representation in such a large republic. Like-minded writers under pseudonyms like Federal Farmer and Cato raised similar concerns: the legislature would not be able to respond to the needs of people from all walks of life and would end up representing the interests of only the wealthy and influential few.
The Anti-Federalists feared that representatives would be too disconnected from their constituents, pointing to the lengthy terms and the small number of representatives relative to the number of constituents. They feared a large, consolidated government whose representatives would lose touch with the people they were supposed to represent.
An important philosophical question separated Federalists and Anti-Federalists: Should a representative only vote for what his constituency wants or should the representative be free to do what he believes is in their best interest?
Most fundamentally, the Anti-Federalists thought that the Congress would be an aristocratic body that would be out of touch with the people they were supposed to represent. Anti-Federalists did not fear the people so much as they feared a betrayal of the popular will. Just as important, as Madison argued in Federalist No. Through the complex Electoral College process, the president would represent the people as a whole, faithfully executing national laws. The goal in each case was that the people would elect the wisest and most virtuous to be their representatives.
Finally, the Federalists disagreed that a legislature should mirror the people, being composed of the same interests, feelings, and opinions that the people have at large. They wanted a legislature where the wisest and most virtuous citizens could resist the will of the majority when it was in error. As James Madison famously proclaimed in Federalist No.
Under such a regulation, it may well happen that the public voice, pronounced by the representatives of the people, will be more consonant to the public good than if pronounced by the people themselves, convened for the purpose. The new federal republic created a bicameral Congress in which the interests of the people and the states were balanced.
It was, in an assessment attributed to Benjamin Franklin, a republic—if we can keep it. Upcoming Events Explore our upcoming webinars, events and programs. View All Events. Invest In Our Future The most effective way to secure a freer America with more opportunity for all is through engaging, educating, and empowering our youth. Support now Make your investment into the leaders of tomorrow through the Bill of Rights Institute today! Make a Donation.
Learn More. About BRI The Bill of Rights Institute engages, educates, and empowers individuals with a passion for the freedom and opportunity that exist in a free society. Page: Resources Library Arrow icon. Curriculum: Congress and the Constitution Arrow icon. Unit: The Nature of Representation Arrow icon. Lesson: Legacy of Republicanism.
History of Representation and Republican Government American conceptions of a republic as the proper form of government can be traced back to classical antiquity, but the American Founders put forth a somewhat new understanding of republican government.
Determining Representation at the Constitutional Convention The Virginia delegation on May 29, introduced the Virginia Plan, also known as the Large States Plan, which recommended not just a revision of the existing confederation of sovereign states but the creation of a powerful national government that would be supreme over the states.
Not so long ago, the late political scientist Robert A. Dahl and the legal scholar Sanford Levinson asked whether the constitution they produced was even properly democratic. But seldom have critics so thoroughly disdained the events in Philadelphia as to call for a do-over. Until recently. Amid the stunning Presidential-election results last November, a smaller, though perhaps equally consequential, development went relatively unnoticed: the Republican Party now controls thirty-three state legislatures.
On its face, this development demonstrates the discrepancies between the Democratic and Republican farm teams. Not only does the G. Senate and the House of Representatives; it has created a pipeline of candidates to fill those offices for the foreseeable future. But there are more immediate implications. Article V of the Constitution provides for amendments to the document when a proposed change has been approved by two-thirds of each chamber of Congress and is subsequently ratified by three-fourths of the states.
In , under the leadership of Newt Gingrich, House Republicans alarmed by the federal debt approved an amendment that would have effectively barred the federal government from adopting a budget in which expenditures exceeded revenues. That was a bad idea—deficit spending is a tested way to stimulate a sluggish economy. The amendment stalled in the Senate, where it fell just short of the sixty-seven votes required for it to be submitted to the states.
In the years since, a balanced-budget amendment—unlike faddish anti-flag-burning and defense-of-marriage amendments—has remained a lodestar of G. Even so, a balanced-budget amendment is not completely out of the question, owing to the fact that it is high on the agenda of many statehouse Republicans. This growing sentiment culminated in the rejection of the authority of the King and Parliament of Britain to tax and impose legislation on Americans without them being represented in government.
After the revolutionary war, the United States of America was founded and its constitution, based on the principles of republicanism, came into force in The Republic Party of the United States, one of the two major political parties operating today, takes its name from the philosophy of republicanism. Google Analytics tracking has been deactivated for this browser on this website. This cookie is valid until
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