The United States' democratic government was built out of philosophy and liberty. As the country fought against absolute monarchy, it was faced with a decision on the type of government it should adopt. The founders then borrowed ideas and concepts from previous philosophers and civilizations. John Locke was arguably the most influential person for this new democracy. Locke argued that human beings have the ability to be self-governed and had the right to "life, liberty, and property." A version of this sentiment made it into Jefferson's Declaration of Independence. Another big factor was the various enlightenment periods, such as the Protestant Reformation. These movements favored freethinking and the individual. Some other factors were the democratic principles of Ancient Greece and the Magna Carta.
As for the new election and campaigning process, the formality and hierarchy seemed to dissolve into a new democratic process. Gone were the days of appointed rulers from faraway lands. Now, individuals had to campaign for themselves. They had to build a platform that convinced the populace to vote for them. The Electoral College was instituted in 1804. While controversy has surrounded the Electoral College process, it still was a major overhaul compared to the absolute monarchy of Europe.
https://www.ushistory.org/gov/2.asp
One thing to be aware of is that, in the aftermath of the American Revolution, the United States was entering into uncharted territory. There were no examples in Europe of republicanism practiced on the kind of geographic scale of the United States, so to a large degree, democracy in this country was a work in progress.
Indeed, it should be noted, the United States has actually had two separate founding documents. Originally, it was organized under the Articles of Confederation, which envisioned a very decentralized balance between federal and state power, but in practice, this original political structure proved unable to answer the challenges of the post–Revolutionary War period. With this in mind, the Constitution was drawn up to replace it and provide a new approach to organizing large-scale democratic government.
However, even so, many critical United States government traditions would only arise in the process of actually running a United States government. So it was with the Presidential Cabinet, or the two-term limit, precedents which were set by George Washington himself rather than enshrined in the original US Constitution. Political parties likewise emerged organically, originating in a political struggle between Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson. Hamilton and his followers formed the Federalist Party and Jefferson's side formed the Democratic-Republican Party. Political parties have been with us ever since. Your question on elections fits into this same theme: to take presidential elections as an example, the Constitution originally stated that when compiling the votes, the person with the highest tally would become president and the person with the second highest vice president. However, in practice, this proved unfeasible, especially in a world of political parties, and with the Twelfth Amendment, it was changed so that president and vice president would share one ballot. The methods and tactics of campaigning would likewise evolve over time, as political candidates would find better and more effective means of mobilizing support to get elected.
Your question is about the establishment of the democratic government and election processes in the United States of America following the Revolutionary War. Much of the tension between the American colonies and the British stemmed from being ruled by a monarchy and parliament across the Atlantic Ocean that could change the laws and raise taxes without any input from the citizens of the colonies or the delegates chosen to represent them. In 1774, prior to the war, the Continental Congress was established by delegates from the thirteen colonies to attempt better communication and debate with the British government, as a more unified representation of the colonies wants and requirements. By using a system of motions and voting to decide what issues to raise with the British Parliament, the Continental Congress acted as an early form of the United States Congress, which would be established after the Constitutional Convention and rely on officials elected by the general population.
From May 25th to September 17th, 1787, the Constitutional Convention was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to better establish what the leaders of the country wanted from the new government. The final result of this convention was the creation of the United States Constitution, which laid out the laws that form the three branches of the US government and the system of checks and balances in place to keep one branch from having too much influence. The president was established as a representative of the general population, a single elected official put in office by a majority vote from the electoral college. At the time, the only Americans allowed to vote were land-owning, white men. The primary voting demographic of early America was very similar to that of democratic ancient Greece, which also only allowed a specific segment of males to vote.
One point of contention at the Constitutional Convention was about the amount of time a president should serve in office. Some, like Alexander Hamilton, argued that the president should be a position for life, while others thought that system would be too close to a monarchy and wanted to avoid that system in the country's new government. Prior to Washington’s election as the first president, there was no limit on terms a president could serve, but Washington resigned after two, setting a precedent for all presidents. It wasn’t until the 32nd president, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, that a president would seek election after a second term. Washington claimed in his farewell address that he resigned so the nation could move on and grow without him and continue to do so after other presidents.
https://www.monticello.org/site/research-and-collections/aaron-burr
https://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=false&doc=15
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/the-real-birth-of-american-democracy-83232825/
No comments:
Post a Comment