The first issue that a democracy must deal with is who is eligible for citizenship. In ancient Greece a citizen was any free adult male who could fight. This didn’t include women, slaves, or the crippled. I agree with Thomas Jefferson when he wrote in the Declaration of Independence, “all men are created equal.” (p.101) Men and women, old or young, should not be denied citizenship. The next issue that faces a democracy is Representation and Participation. How are people represented fairly, and how can they participate in the government? The next issue includes how laws are made and how easily they can be changed. This procedure is found in the beginning of the Constitution. The fourth issue includes the rights and responsibilities of the citizens. In the United Stat

The United States has tried very hard to solve these issues. We have maintained a strong centralized representative democracy, keeping the power invested in the people. From looking at past democracies such as the Greeks, the framers of the Constitution knew these issues and tried to solve them by constructing a solid Constitution. They also knew that in the future other issues might spring up, so they allowed the Constitution to be amended. To amend the Constitution, Congress need a two thirds vote. (p118) A worry that the framers had was that one of the three branches would gain power over the other two, or one branch would abuse their power. To keep this from happening, each branch has checks and balances over the others. Madison addressed this concern by saying, “..the constant aim is to divide and arrange the several offices in such a manner as that each may be a check on the other.” (p.131)

It can be seen throughout the history of the Unites States that these solutions have worked very well. We have gone from a very weak thirteen colonies to a powerful world leader with fifty states that stretches from the Atlantic Ocean clear across to the Pacific Ocean. We are known worldwide as the protectors of democracy. But we do not have a democracy i

Some topics in this essay:
John Locke, Constitution Congress, Representation Participation, Niccolo Machiavelli, , Pacific Ocean, Bill Rights, Declaration Independence, Democratic Republic, issue democracy, Thomas Jefferson, absolute monarchy, rights responsibilities citizens, civil society, responsibilities citizens, nearly impossible, issue includes, political equality, rights responsibilities, representative democracy, middle class,