Democracy Dbq

The united states is a democratic nation that chose to be governed by those who reside on its soil rather than royalty across the ocean in 1776. The framework for how the country would be ran was established in the constitution which was created without the use of democracy since none of the founders were elected. “The “committee of five” included Benjamin Franklin, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson who were all firmly in the revolutionary camp. The committee also included Roger Sherman, who had some doubts but still backed the independence movement and Robert R. Livingston” (Braunwarth Chp2.4.2). These revolutionaries created the set of rules that they thought would lead to a democracy which poses the question; Can a country that states that

it is democratic be so with hypocrisy in its foundation?
The intent of the constitution was to establish a right for the people and allow them protection from what had been seen before with monarchs and oppressive ruling.

“ Jefferson wrote of certain self-evident truths: “that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” (Braunwarth Chp2.4.3). These fundamentals would then lead into allowing the public which at the time was limited to white male property owners, to have a say in the government leaving out all those that did not meet the criteria. ” The federalists maintained that inequalities are inevitable. Some will be cleverer, some will work harder, individual experiences will differ, and, consequently, wealth and power will come to be distributed unequally. It is, therefore, natural that an elite class will develop to which the masses will defer” (Braunwarth Chp2.10.5). Allowing only a certain part of the population to vote did not create a true democratic country but instead allowed the elite to have democracy while the remainder had to follow by their decisions, until later amendments would allow all Americans to vote. These decisions of what the populace can and cannot do would be further stated under the title of civil

liberties.
“Civil liberties are the freedoms individuals have which are protected from government interference by constitutional provisions, laws, and practices” (Braunwarth Chp3.2.2). The rights that all Americans have is one that in modern day continues to be debated on based off individual interpretations of the amendments. The foundational rights of the free American was established in a time where technology and thinking was different from modern day, and with some attempts are being made to limit or dissolve. “The Second Amendment to the United States Constitution reads: “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” (Braunwarth Chp3.6.1). This right for instance is controversial topic in modern politics; while votes have been held to limit the potential, higher government authorities have un-democratically utilized their positions to create bans without having the populace vote. Many laws pertaining to firearms are put in place not by the people voting, rather higher level politicians that have been voted in to office deciding what is constitutional or not. Another controversial area under democratic decisions would be the Military-Industrial Complex.
“President Eisenhower warned that “In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex” (Braunwarth Chp14.11.1). America having the largest military spending budget compared to other countries shows a sense of power and implements intimidation into foreign affairs. This budget that is created has no input from the general public but continues to grow utilizing the taxes that many would rather see utilized in other areas. The spending has been continuously been growing since the 1930s and has accelerated more since the events on 9/11, this connection between politicians and industry has resulted in both gaining more revenue and a continuation in the accent of the budget without being able to be voted on by the citizens. Partnerships between military industry and politicians is not the only deals that are made, control of the media is another area they control.
Politicians have been utilizing the media to inform the reader to news that would benefit them since the revolution.

”All newspapers had small circulations and most were financed by political groups as a means to express particular opinions and criticize their opponents”(Braunwarth Chp10.2.1). While modern day the availability of news is limitless, having un biased and accurate information is limited. “In the early twentieth century many newspapers….The so-called “muckrakers” dug up stories about government corruption, which was at an all-time high in the United States. In their zeal to expose, newspapers often published stories based on faulty information”(Braunwarth Chp10.2.5). False news accompanied by slander is still a problem in modern times and the control is in the hands of political parties. The control over the media and current utilization causes harm to a democratic country, the citizens are shown false information not to educate them but rather, persuade them to vote in favor of the medias benefactor by only showing points they want observed. “the media do not so much influence what people think as what they think about.” By gatekeeping and framing, the media help determine which policies the public thinks are important” (Braunwarth Chp10.7.3). The public has an option on where they become educated to vote but many of those resources are all owned by four

companies.
How democratic is the United States? Compared to most countries the United States is a great democracy. The country that was founded with great ideals to be democratic through a non-democratic structure has prevailed through out the world. Even though compared to the rest of the world the United States is highly democratic, the interior has many flaws within the system that are preventing a true democracy that if not fixed could result in a change of governing.