The Founding Fathers of our nation wisely established a Republic, not a Democracy, and there are many important differences. The differences can be debated and argued in many ways but the best and simplest definition I have found to date are the definitions printed in The Soldiers Training Manual issued by the United States War Department, November 30, 1928. These definitions were published by the authority of the United States Government and must be accepted as authentic in any court of proper jurisdiction. These precise and scholarly definitions of a Democracy and a Republic were carefully considered as a proper guide for U.S. soldiers and U.S. citizens by the Chief of Staff of the United States Army. Such definitions take precedence over any ‘definition’ that may be found in the present commercial dictionaries which have suffered periodical ‘modification’ to please ‘the powers in office’.
The definition for DEMOCRACY is found in TM2000-25: Section 118-120.
“Democracy, n.:- A government of the masses. - Authority derived through mass meeting or any other form of direct expression. - Results in mobocracy. - Attitude toward property is communistic... negating property rights. - Attitude toward law is that the will of the majority shall regulate, whether it is based upon deliberation or governed by passion, prejudice,and impulse, without restraint or regard to consequences. - Result is demagogism, license, agitation, discontent, [chaos].”
Shortly after the ‘bank holiday’ in the 1930’s, hush-hush orders from the White House suddenly demanded that all copies of this book [Ed. Note: Training Manual 2000-25] be withdrawn from the Government Printing Office and the Army posts, to be suppressed and destroyed without explanation. Sadly, on the orders of the Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) administration, this outstanding Training Manual was “withdrawn” and destroyed. Question: Why did the FDR administration destroy this outstanding training manual?)
I’ll stay with the Electoral College as described in the Constitution and not try to out-guess our founders. Long live the Republic.
National Popular Vote has nothing to do with whether the country has a “republican” form of government or is a “democracy.”
In a republic, the citizens do not rule directly but, instead, elect officeholders to represent them and conduct the business of government in the periods between elections.
A “republican” form of government means that the voters do not make laws themselves but, instead, delegate the job to periodically elected officials (Congressmen, Senators, and the President). The United States has a republican form of government regardless of whether popular votes for presidential electors are tallied at the state-level (as has been the case in 48 states) or at district-level (as has been the case in Maine and Nebraska) or at 50-state-level (as under the National Popular Vote bill).