We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all people are created equal, that we are endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights Governments are instituted among Us, deriving their just power
Pronouns modified to be more inclusive.
Defining Democracy
George Orwell addressed this problem in his essay “Politics and the English Language”. He made the point that "the great enemy of clear language is insincerity”, resulting from “a gap between one's real and one's declared aims”. In that context, he identified some political words that have been “abused” to the point that they have “several different meanings which cannot be reconciled with one another”. Regarding democracy, he said:
"In the case of a word like democracy, not only is there no agreed definition, but the attempt to make one is resisted from all sides. It is almost universally felt that when we call a country democratic, we are praising it: consequently, the defenders of every kind of regime claim that it is a democracy, and fear that they might have to stop using that word if it were tied down to any one meaning."
It is true that the term democracy has come to mean different things to different people but attempts to define democracy are not “resisted from all sides” – only by the defenders of other kinds of regimes – the false friends and true enemies of democracy.
George Orwell (1903-1950)
The Federal Convention of 1787
Most of the Framers of our Constitution were not fond of democracy
There is a great deal of discussion these days about how democracy is under assault in America. That is true. It is also true that democracy is always under assault – any time and any place that it takes root and manages to blossom. The drafting and ratification of the Constitution of the United States was the most successful assault on democracy in the history of America.
Meeting behind closed doors and having taken a vow of secrecy, the Framers of our Constitution were free to speak openly. As documented by James Madison, in his Notes of Debates in the Federal Convention of 1787, the majority of the men who drafted our Constitution were openly hostile to democracy. Nineteen of the fifty-five delegates spoke out strongly against democracy. Only four delegates spoke in defense of democracy. And the remaining delegates generally sided with the nineteen antidemocratic delegates when votes were taken on the motions that became our Constitution.
Most of the delegates did not want to allow “the people” to have any role whatsoever in the new government. In the end, the delegates reluctantly agreed to let the people elect the members of the House of Representatives because they knew that if they did not allow the people to have some voice in the government, it would be difficult to get the Constitution ratified.
Any provision or practice that enables a minority (or a single person in the form of a president or governor) to overrule the majority is antidemocratic. There are numerous such antidemocratic provisions embedded in our Constitution.
Those antidemocratic provisions created a form of government that is in conflict with the essential elements of democracy and with the democratic ideals upon which our nation was founded. If we want to make America a perfect democracy, we need to resolve this conflict in favor of the democratic ideals expressed in the Declaration of Independence.
Madison's Contribution to the Historical Record
Despite the vow of secrecy that had been adopted, several of the delegates took notes. James Madison was far and away the most active in that regard. He was in attendance at every session and took copious notes, using a system of shorthand he devised himself. The others in attendance knew that he was taking notes. In fact, he routinely checked with those who had spoken each day to verify that he had captured the essence of their remarks accurately. They knew that they could trust him not to share those notes publicly. And their trust was well placed. The notes that Madison took were not published until after his death and as the youngest of the delegates, he was also the last to pass away.
Madison’s Notes of Debates in the Federal Convention of 1787 fully accomplished his stated objective - preserving a record of what passed in the Convention – “the process, the principles, the reasons & the anticipations, which prevailed in the formation of” our Constitution.
Speaking privately and behind closed doors, the delegates were free to share their true feelings about democracy. Madison’s notes are the most complete and most accurate record of what was said and who said it. Only four of the delegates spoke out in favor of democracy. Nineteen of the delegates spoke out harshly against democracy. And the remaining delegates consistently voted in line with those denouncing democracy.
