PING!
This was a particular problem in the period from 1783 to 1800, as the most conservative elements of the population had just been shipped off to Canada and England. While some of those who supported the American Revolution were not radicals, many of them were. Some wild stuff went on during this period, and it took a while for things to get back to normal.
Good article. Pure democracy is mob rule.
Ochlocracy - Democracy…its a thin line indeed.
Thank god we are a Republic, not a Democracy.
L8r
“...and to the republic for which it stands...”
I said that every morning in grade school. They don’t recite it anymore in pubic schools, for decades, purposely.
The Founding Fathers had read their ancient history and had formed a negative opinion of pure democracy from incidents like the Athenians’ unjust condemnation of the victorious generals after the battle of Arginusae in 406 B.C. Only the House of Representatives was directly elected by the people and the states were free to restrict the franchise as they wished.
They didn’t distrust democracy, they had outright loathed democracy. That’s why we WERE a constitutional republic. Now we are more of a kleptocratic, technocratic, oligarchical kakistocracy ->(i.e. Hank Johnson, Sheila Jackson Lee, Pelosi, AOC, Maxine Waters, Frederica Wilson, Ilhan Omar, etc. etc. could keep going and going..)
Both Left and Right seem to swing from populism/democracy to elitism/aristocracy at a moment's notice.