Sir Alexander Tytler was a Scottish advocate, judge, writer, and historian. Lord Tytler lived from 1747 until 1813; about the time of Washington, Adams, and Jefferson in America. Tytler was a professor at the University of Edinburgh. One of Tytler's most influential and proverbial historical writings was about the lifespan of countries operating under democratic republican governance. Tytler believed the life expectancy of a self-ruled nation was about 200 years. Tytler was very dismissive about who holds the real power in a democratic republic or even a pure democracy. He felt these types of government do not last, cannot sustain...