The United States government is known as a democratic government, meaning that the government is ruled by the people. Though that seems simple enough, there are actually three different forms of a democratic government; participatory, pluralist, and the elite which are all separate types of how a democratic government should be run. Participatory government allows for a broad participation of the population in small towns; pluralist allows for many different parties and ideas in which different groups of people believe their beliefs are superior to others; and elitists government allows for a limited participation meaning the more educated are allowed participating. However, the founders did not intend on having three different types, rather they intended for American democracy to focus on one model of representative democracy to ensure a stable government in the hands of the people. In order to fulfill the founders’ intent for the American form of democracy that they believed at the time would create a sturdy government that incorporated the ideas of the people was the elitist form of democracy. The founders intended for this model of representative democracy for the United States because it can be supported through federal documents such as the U.S. Constitution and the Federalist No. 10.
As it can be seen in the U.S. Constitution, the founders intended on having the government run by only a select few individuals. The original creators of the Constitution wanted only the most popular, highly educated, and wealthy individuals to be in charge of running the U.S. government. In the Constitution, the creators developed the separation of powers into three branches of government; legislative, executive, and judicial. Each branch was given individual powers. For instance, the Constitution implemented the system of checks and balances so that no single branch of government gains more power than the others, for example, Congress has the power to pass laws, however, the President has the power to veto them; the president has the power to appoint federal judges, but they must be approved by the legislative branch. This system of checks and balances is an example of how the founding fathers intended on the government being an elitist democracy due to the fact that the wealthy, educated people that were already appointed officials had to power to appoint other wealthy and educated people to other positions. The President had to power to appoint judges to the Supreme Court which allows him to fill the courts with judges that have similar viewpoints and make the wealthy fill those spots. The Constitution also states “The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each state, chosen by the Legislature thereof, for six years; and each Senator shall have one Vote” (Article 1 Section 3). This statement means that the people already part of the legislative branch have the power to appoint Senators and the individuals who were most well known and wealthy were those who would be most likely chosen. With the majority of government official seats being filled by appointed officials from other officials, this demonstrates an elitist form of democracy. The rich and well-educated individuals with power are those that are able to best demonstrate the elite people running the government like the founders intended.
Through the creation of the electoral college and the power of veto are just other examples of how to the Founding Fathers intended on the United States government to be an elitist form of democracy. The electoral college was created to make the final decision in electing the President and the Vice President of the United States. The U.S. Constitution states, “The Electors shall meet in their respective states, and vote by ballot for President and Vice-President,…..—The person having the greatest number of votes for President, shall be the President” (Article II Section 1). Though the people believed that they had a say in the election for the President of the United States, the popular vote does not make the decision of the President. Rather, the electoral college; which made up of wealthy, educated, and well known people; who have the final decision on the election of the new president. The founders did not intend on having the people have to power to elect the leader of the country rather a group of people considered “elite” to make the decision and have the people’s vote not even count. The power of veto, in which, allows the President of the United States to veto, or reject, any law that the President does not agree with or deems unconstitutional. The Constitution states, “Every Bill which shall have passed the House of Representatives and the Senate, shall, before it become a Law, be presented to the President of the United States;…. unless the Congress by their Adjournment prevent its Return, in which Case it shall not be a Law” (Article 1 Section 7).Many bills that the people compile are used to share common ideas and beliefs that they believe are serious laws that should be in place, however, it takes seemingly an infinite of time to get it to be passed and it is more than likely that the President will veto the bill. This allows the President to only pass laws that agrees with his ideals and opinions and laws can only be passed if the individuals in power agree with those beliefs making the government run by the elite, proving that the Founding Fathers intended on the wealthy and educated individuals to run the United States.
Along with the U.S. Constitution being used to demonstrate how the Founding Fathers intended on the U.S. government to be an elitist form of democracy, Federalists No. 10 can also be used to demonstrate such ideology. Federalists papers were created in order to support the newly ratified document, the U.S. Constitution. Federalists No. 10 is the most well known essays in these papers, through which, it is argued how factions were destroying the United States with the violence and injustices that go along with them. This new form of government would allow these factions to be controlled and prevent them from continuing such violence and destruction. These factions are created from people who want to protect their own opinions both politically and economically. At the time, they were gaining too much power and the overall fears were that they were going to overpower the government. In the first sentence of the document, James Madison is states, “AMONG the numerous advantages promised by a well constructed Union, none deserves to be more accurately developed than its tendency to break and control the violence of faction” (Federalist No. 10). Within Madison’s statement, he implies how these factions are going out of control and are trying to look past what the people need in order to advance their power and think only for their groups. The factions are making it incredibly dangerous for the other individuals in the states and with that, the Constitution is going to eliminate this overpowering and prevent the factions from gaining control over the government. If this country follows the rulings of the Constitution, the U.S. will be able to unite against the factions and create one unified country. Madison also argues how it is impossible for the government to be run by each individual, but rather elected representatives. Madison wrote, “In the next place, as each representative will be chosen by a greater number of citizens in the large than in the small republic, it will be more difficult for unworthy candidates to practice with success the vicious arts by which elections are too often carried; and the suffrages of the people being more free, will be more likely to centre in men who possess the most attractive merit and the most diffusive and established characters.” (Federalists No. 10). This quote exemplifies how the government will not be able to exists if everyone was allowed to participate and would cause more issues than factions, however, having smaller groups of well-educated individuals elected as representatives of the people would be a more successful way of governing the U.S.. The Founding Fathers intended on destroying the ideas of factions by creating a form of government run by a select group of educated individuals to be representatives of the public opinion; demonstrating an elitist democracy.
Many people argue that the Founding Fathers did not intend to create an elitist form of government. Many believed that an elitist form of government would simply be run by the wealthy, well educated without the public opinions and they would have too much power. This belief is demonstrated by Brutus 1, which was written at the time by antifederalists trying to spread the opinion that states should not allow the newly proposed Constitution to be ratified. Brutus 1 states, “ Many instances can be produced in which the people have voluntarily increased the powers of their rulers; but few, if any, in which rulers have willingly abridged their authority. This is a sufficient reason to induce you to be careful, in the first instance, how you deposit the powers of government” (Brutus 1). This is not correct because of the fact that the Founding Fathers must have know how it is impossible for the government to be run by each individual person of the United States and that is why they created the idea for the people to elect representatives. The antifederalists that wrote Brutus 1 also believed that if the government was run like an elitist government, the people would lose all their fundamental rights and freedom. The document states, “But, if, on the other hand, this form of government contains principles that will lead to the subversion of liberty—if it tends to establish a despotism, or, what is worse, a tyrannic aristocracy; then, if you adopt it, this only remaining assylum for liberty will be shut up, and posterity will execrate your memory” (Brutus 1). The antifederalists thought that the elitist government would allow the people to not be able to display their opinions with an elitist government, however, the elitist government allows the people to elect representatives to represent the people’s opinions and ideas. The Founding Fathers knew that the elitist form of democracy was the best form of government compared to the pluralist and participatory form of democracy.
The Founding Fathers were determined to create a strong, stable government. They both wanted to avoid conflicts and to allow the people of the United States to have a say in the government’s decisions. They choose that an elite democracy was the best form of democracy for the country and for the people. The Fathers knew that the pluralist and participatory democracy would not have worked out for the country as a whole and that the elitist democracy was the best for everyone.