CHAPTER 4 REPRESENTATIVE GOVERNMENT Chouni 66 rested with a single party.The situation is different elsewhere.In Great Britian, West Germany,Japan,and many other democracies,when the voters go to the polls,one party is almost certain to capture full control of legislative and Tve power,leaving no doubt that its policy agenda should p The roots of the American situation lie two centuries deep,in the framers' REPRESENTATIVE Histrust of popular majorities.The delegates to the Philadelphia convention 代a. built significant antimajoritarian devices into the Constitution.In the Framers' (宁是：要园艺作、 GOVERNMENT:PROVIDING judgment,the great risk of popular government was tyranny of the majority Inflamed by a personality or issue of the moment,the majority could become an 礼冷观) rrattonal mob with no regard for others.There would be times.James Madison POPULAR SOVEREIGNTY wrote in Federalist No.10,when "the]passions...,not the reason of the 3lell couplics public,would sit in judgment."Moreover,an unreasoning majority was hard to 可想至（人a明手） contain because it would arrogantly believe that its view should prevail over any view held by a minority of citizens.Yet the minority also had its rights and The people must be govemed bya mjority,resides.But how isthe interests,including property,personal freedom,and a fair chance to persuade 于有三化动加照 the majority of the merits of its viewpoint. efte fudi dewa sense of this majority to be obtuined? Fisher Ames (1788 The challenge for the Framers was to devise a goverment that allowed for majority rule but also protected minority interests and individual rights.No C人anaa form of self-government could eliminate the threat of majority tyranny,but the Framers believed that this danger would be greatly diminished by properly structured institutions.The United States would have not a democracy,but a 5w.) republic.Today the terms democracy and republic are used interchangeably to refer to a system of government in which ultimate political power rests with the people through their capacity to choose representatives in free and open elections.In 1787 however"democracy"and "republic"referred to quite different governing systems.When the people gathered in a large assembly to decide public issues directly,that was democratic govemment.When elected he Iran-Contra arms-trading scandal of 1986 had been public knowledge for about a month when the Reagan administration fought back on the officials met in representative institutions to decide poliey,that was republican, 兰使3a issue of Central American policy.President Ronald Reagan's communications or representative,government. The United States was much too large to be governed directly by the people director,Patrick Buchanan, accused congressional Democrats of exploiting the &scandal in order to achieve a cutoff of all assistance to the Nicaraguan rebels and through popular assemblies,so the Framers also had another distinction in hereby to undo a decision made by the American people two years earlier, mind when they called their plan republican rather than democratic in its form. In the Framers'conception of representative govemment,representatives were when they had resoundingly reelected Reagan.In Buchanan's view,Reagar landslide reelection victory proved that the American people desired a continu- placed at a considerable distance from the people.The public would elect directly only the members of the U.S.House of Representatives.U.S.senators, ation of Republican leadership and policies,including support for the Contras But was that really the case?After all,the Democrats had won a landslide of the president,and federal judges would be chosen by indirect forms of popular their own in 1984,gaining a 253-182 seat advantage in the House of election.The purpose was to make it dificult for a popular majority to gain and exploit the full power of government. Representatives. Americans are accustomed to thinking of their country as the most democratic Although the Framers maintained that these arrangements would result in a on earth.However,if democracy is defined by the directness with which an government that served the public's "rue interest,opponents of the Constitution charged that the people had been denied self-government.Offi- electoral majority leads to a governing majority,the American system is less cials would be free to pursue policies of their choosing,and even if they were demucratic than many others.As the 1984 campaign illustrates,U.S.electlons do not always produce a clear-cut governing majority.Since World War Il, committed to serving the public's interest,they would be so distant from the 40 control of the presidency and of one or both houses of Congress has been split people as to have no real understanding of their needs.For its critics,the Constitution was a blueprint not for popular sovereignty but for rule by the between the Republican and Democratic parties for more years than it has upper classes. e L.Graham.Jr. Chatham House,1984).19. Federalist No.10. 64
PART ONE THE CONSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK CHAPTER 4*REPRESENTATIVE GOVERNMENT 67 66 The debate over the power of the majority which began with the writing of The Framers'concept of representative democracy was similar to an idea put the Constitution has continued in one form or another throughout the country's forth by the English theorist Edmund Burke (1729-1797).In his Letter to the history.This chapter traces that debate,concentrating on the theory and Sheriffs of Bristol,Burke argued that representatives should act as public trustees: practice of representative government as originally expressed by the.Constitu- they are obliged to promote the interest of those who elerted them,but the tion and as modified by subsequent developments,such as the change to direct nature of this interest is for them,not the voters,to decide.Burke was concerned election of U.S.senators.The major ideas presented in the chapter are these: about the ease with which society could degenerate into selfishness,and he thought it imperative for representatives not to surrender their judgment to ThecrproviedbyheCsheaoc popular whim Pog horm沙(6小为r金将 INDIRECT POPULAR RULE today. Theide of majority'desyirectd Under the Constitution,all power is one or two steps removed from the people imediate ic public policy-hsnsthsine theionbeging The Constitution has no provision for any form of direct popular participation e the public's direct in the making of public policy. The House of Representatives was the institution placed closest to the people, Edmund Burke,English political the national governme nt.The impulse for these developments has come largely from theorist.(The Bettmann Archive) the American people themselves and from leaders acting on the majority's behalf. who would directly elect its members to two-year terms of office.Frequent and Athrfedeeproper fomm ofrepresee direct election of House members was intended to make government sensitive diference ofopinion about worst comsequences.Those who fear a concentration of power to the concerns of popular majorities.The Constitution specified,however,that in the hands of the majority believe that it leads toa goverment that does not respect the House could have no more than one representative for every 30,000 the legitimate rights and interests of the minority.Those who fear a lack of power in inhabitants;this provision was designed to ensure that each representative the hands of the majority claim that it leads that the would represent a large area and population and thus not be bound too closely rights and interests of a small upper-cass elite. to local concerns. U.S.senators would be appointed by the legislatures of the states they represented.Because state legislators were popularly elected,the people would be choosing their senators indirectly,Every-twe years,a third ef the-senators Representation in the Constitution would be appointed to six-year terms.The Senate was expected to check and balance the House,which,by virtue of the more frequent and direct election of To the Framers,a representative govemment that worked effectively only in its members,would presumably be more responsive to popular opinion. good times was undeserving of respect.The true test of a governing system was Presidential selection was an issue of considerable debate at the Philadelphia its ability to withstand the stress of a period of desperation and fear.And in this convention.Hamilton favored a life-term president,but others feared that life regard,the record of democracies left much to be desired.In 1786,for example, tenure would turn the office into a monarchy.Another proposal was to have the debtors had gained control of Rhode Island's legislature and made paper money president chosen by Congress,but this suggestion was defeated on the a legal means of paying debts,even though existir ng contracts called for payment argument that it would upset the balance between the legislative and executive in gold.Creditors were then hunted down and held captive in public places so branches,since one would be appointing the chief of the other.Direct election that debtors could come and pay them in full with worthless paper money.A of the president was twice proposed and twice rejected because the delegates Boston newspaper wrote that Rhode Island should be renamed Rogue Island. were uneasy about linking executive power directly to popular majorities., James Madison offered a broader indictment:"may be concluded...that The Framers finally chose to have the president selected by the votes of such [uncontrolled]democracies have ever been spectacles of turbulence and electors (the so-called Electoral College;see Chapter 19).Each state would have (化u观) contention;have ever been found incompatible with personal security,or the as many electors as it had members in Congress and could select them by any rights of property;and have in general been as short in their lives,as they have method it chose.Each elector would vote for two candidates for president.The been violent in their deaths. cardidate who received the largest number of electoral votes,if that number To guard against chaos and incivility,the Framers devised a government that constituted a majority (that is,more than 50 percent),would be selected as incorporated the principle of majority rule along with built-in protections president;the runner-up would become vice-president.If no candidate won a against majority power.The objective was a government that would be sensitive majority,the election would go to the House of Representatives,which would to the majority's immediate concerns yet deliberative enough to promote choose the president from among the top five finishers.The president would society's broader and more enduring interests. serve a four-year term and be eligible for reelection. With regard to the Supreme Court justices,the Philadelphia convention was Federslist No.10. Federalist No 10
68 PART ONE THE CONSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK CHAPTER 4 REPRESENTATIVE GOVERNMENT 69 CHOOSING NATIONAL LEADERS Because the Framers feared the concentration of political power,they devised alternative methods of selection and terms of service for national officials. This 1793 cartoon depicts the Anti-Federalists as a "dub" OFFICE METHOD OF SELECTION TERM OF SERVICE condemn federal government.Jefferson is shown President Electoral Callege d years standing with an auctioneer's US.senator State legislature 6 years (1/3 of senators'terms expire Ravel,woodering"whether 'tis G2yea nobler in the mind to kneck U.S.representative Popular election 2y光n down [that is,actiono dry Federal judge Indefinite (subject to “sood behavior'"”) gheadolnlodcsome means of knocking down a Govemment and on its ruins raise myself to Eminence and in general agreement that they should be appointed rather than elected.At first arrangement was necessary because otherwise representatives would be "undu- the delegates decided that the Senate should make the appointments,but they ly attached"to local interests and"too little fit to comprehend and pursue great finally chose to have judges nominated by the president and confirmed through and national objects."To Lee and others,such arguments were a mask for approval by the Senate.Once confirmed,the Constitution declared,judges elitism-rule by a few who claimed to know the people's interest better than "shall hold their offices during good behavior."Although the selection proce- the people knew it themselves.s dure tied the judiciary to the other branches,the Framers intended to ensure an independent judiciary by allowing judges,in effect,to hold office for life unless they committed a crime. Modifying the Framers'Work: These differing methods of selecting national officers would not prevent a Toward a More Democratic System determined majority from achieving full power if it had sufficient strength and longevity,but control could not be attained easily or quickly.The House of The Framers denied that the Constitution was intended to thwart popular Representatives might surrender to an impassioned majority in a single government.They claimed that it was formulated instead to correct flaws that election,but the Senate,presidency,and judiciary were unlikely to yield so had ruined previous attempts at rule by the people.Madison declared in quickly.The delay would reduce the probability that government would Federalist No.10 that the Constitution was "a republican remedy"for the defects degenerate into mob rule.The Framers helieved that majority tyranmy would be inherent in democratie government. impulsive.Given time,the people would presumably come to their senses. Nevertheless,the Framers'conception of self-goverment was somewhat at odds with prevailing theory and practice.From Aristotle on,it had been held ANTI-FEDERALIST DISSENT that majority rule was the defining characteristic of a government of the people. The majority might not be any wiser than the minority,but the view of the The Anti-Federalists viewed the Constitution's scheme of representation as at greater number ought to prevail over that of the smaller number.Furthermore, best a severe restriction on majority rule and at worst an elabsurate conspiracy by the promise that they would govern themselves was what had Tured ordinary the Federalists to secure power for the wealthy.As the Anti-Federalists saw it, Americans by the thousands to make great sacrifices in the war against England. the Constitution was not a bulwark against mob rule,but a barrier to rule by the The spirit of 1776 was democratic in its nature,a fact that was reflected in the people.The Senate and presidency in particular were seen as elite institutions. constitutions of the states.Every state but South Carolina held an annual Richard Henry Lee of Virginia criticized even the House of Representatives, which he said had "very little democracy in it"because each of its members would represent a large population and area.Madison had claimed that this 86子品d
PART ONE THE CONSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK CHAPTER 4 REPRESENTATIVE GOVERNMENT 70 71 legislative election,and several states also chose their governors through annual vision of how a popular government might work in practice.He believed that election by the people.? legislative majorities were the proper expresson of the public's interest and In this context,the Constitution's provisions for popular rule were paltry,and accordingly was reluctant to use his presidency for this purpose.Jeffersonaso it was not long after the Constitution was ratified that Americans sought a had no illusions about a largely illiterate population's readiness for a significant stronger voice in their own goveming.The process has continued throughout governing role and feared the consequences of inciting the public to pursue their the country's history:in no other constitutional area have Americans shown resentment of the moneyed class.An assault on the wealthy,in Jefferson's such a willingness to experiment. opinion,would be not only wrong but also destructive of the nation'sga srosperity,and therefore ruinous to all.Jetfersonian democracy was thus THE ERA OF JEFFERSONIAN DEMOCRACY mainly a revolution of the spirit;Jefferson taught Americans to look upon the national government as belonging to all,not just to the privileged few. Thomas Jefferson,who otherwise admired the Constitution,was among the prominent Americans who questioned its provisions for self-government.To THE ERA OF JACKSONIAN DEMOCRACY Jefferson,America was the hope of ordinary people everywhere for liberation from rule by the elite few,and he reasoned that the American people might Not until Andrew Jackson became president in 1828 did the country have a someday rebel against the small governing role assigned them by the Constitu- powerful leader who was willing and able to involve the public more fully in tion. government.Jackson carried out the constitutional revolution that Jefferson had Ironically,it was Jefferson who may have spared the nation a bloody foreshadowed. revolution over the issue of popular sovereignty.Under John Adams,the nation's second president and a thoroughgoing elitist,the national government The President as a Popular Leader increasingly favored the nation's wealthy interests.Adams publicly suggested that the Constitution was designed for a governing elite,while Alexander Jackson recognized that the president was the only official who could easily Hamilton urged him to use force if necessary to suppress popular dissent. claim to represent all the people.Unlike the president,members of Congress Jefferson asked whether Adams,with the aid of a strong army,planned soon to were elected from separate states and districts rather than from the whole of the deprive ordinary Americans of their freedoms altogether.Jefferson challenged country.Yet the president's claim to popular leadership was diminished by the Adams in the next presidential election and,upon defeating him,hailed the existence of the Electoral College.If the president and the people were to be victory as the "Revolution of 1800." brought closer together,so that each could draw power from the other,the office Although Jefferson was a champion of the common people,he had no clear would have to rest on popular election.Jackson first tried to persuade Congress to initiate an amendment that would abolish the electoral voting system.Failing 光 in this effort,Jackson persuaded the states to make popular voting the basis for Hannah Arend choosing their presidential electors By 1832,all states except South Carolina Benjamin Ginsberg The of (New York:Random House,1982)22. had done so. Jackson's Teform is still in effect today and basically places the choice of a president in the voters'hands.The winner of the popular vote in each state is awarded its electoral votes,and the probability is strong that the candidate who wins the popular-vote contest will also receive a majority of electoral votes. Since Jackson's time,only once has the loser of the popular vote won the presidency (Rutherford B.Haves in 1876). The "Spoils System" Andrew Jackson also sought to put an end to the aristocracy of wealth that had been governing the country through control of public offices.He urged the This painting of Monticello,the states to abolish property ownership as a condition for voting,promoted home Jefferson designed for rotaton of ofce as a eans of keeping offcals in close touch with the people, and appointed common people to high administrative posts.Politically out- regarded as the wellspring of an independent and self-governing ociaty.(Thomas Jeffersan okenfrom alter Lippmsnn Publie Opin (New York:Free Prst.196 "Ttintarproetatianistakeam y.196792. Men odaboo.H. 178-179. Andrew Johnson）
CHAPTER4 REPRESENTATIVE GOVERNMENT 73 72 PART ONE THE CONSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK participation of thousands of citizens.The election of 1832 also marked the appearance of the party nominating convention in presidential politics. Jackson's protege and successor as president,Martin Van Buren,shared Jackson's admiration of political parties.Van Buren was connected with New York City's Tammany Hall,one of the country's first party "machines,"and he realized that parties could revolutionize government.In the absence of strong parties,Van Buren concluded,government naturally serves the interests of the dich and powerful.When ordinary citizens are not organized in parties,they lack power;individually they cannot hope to compete against people of wealth and status.Through party organization,however,ordinary citizens can act together as a voting majority that is capable of gaining political control by electing leaders committed to their interests. This vision of strong national parties was never fully realized in the United States,partly because federalism and the separation of powers have enabled party organizations and leaders in various states and institutions to hold Alexis de Tooqueville,astute differing views of their party's principles (see Chapter 12).Nevertheless,the French obeerver of the young development of grass-roots political parties in the 1830s gave the people a American democracy.(The Bettmann Archive) powerful means of collective influence.Until then,each voter had a say only in the selection of his single representative.With the advent of grass-roots parties, a majority of individuals throughout the nation,united by affiliation with a political party,could choose a majority of representatives who shared the same Andrew Jackson used his policy goals.Majority opinion could thereby be more readily translated into 2n public policy.So fundamental was the emergence of the grass-roots party to the this civil service"reform"was influence of the people that the historian James MacGregor Burns has called it he spoils system,whe中y America's"second constitution."s offices became avallable every When the Frenchman Alexis de Tocqueville visited America in the early I know of no courtry in which 1830s-at the peak of facksonian democracy-he felt compelled to say that"in CIVIL BERVICE REFORM the United States,the majority governs."But Tocqueville's evaluation was not thought and real freedom of OpricE-Serxen."St.Jackson,can't you saw us Can't yoo give us aomething altogether favorable."Iknow of no country,"Tocqueville said,"in which there Library) is so lttie mndependence of thought and real freedom of discussion as in Alexis de Tocqueville numbered,the nation's upper classes could only deride Jackson's policies as a America."In Tocqueville's judgment Americans were too inclined to defer to mere"spoils system."Believing that"to the victor belong the spoils,"Jackson what they perceived to be majority opinion.They feared the isolation that can had appointed his campaign workers to goverment posts of all kinds(see come to those who hold unpopular views.Tocqueville mistrusted majorities Chapter 12). created in this way:opinions fully considered and debated wereto him,as to the Framers an improper basis for governing. The"Party Constitution" Jacksonian democracy's greatest contribution to majority govemnment was the THE PROGRESSIVE ERA grass-roots political party.America's first parties,the Federalists and the After the 1840s,the parties gradually drifted toward localism,corruption,and Republicans,had developed in the 1790s out of disputes between Hamilton and favoritism.In the cities especially,they were taken over by powerful party Jefferson over national policy.These parties were thoroughly dominated by bosses whose arrogance was matched only by their appetite for patronage.By political and community leaders.Ordinary citizens had no large role in them. the 1880s,many party bosses were in league with the robber barons to block Andrew Jackson had a different kind of political party in mind.He wanted a party built from the"grass roots"-that is,based on participation at the local government from regulating business trusts (see Chapter 2). level by ordinary citizens.Its strength would be its popular base,not its ties to the elite.By the election of 1832,Jackson's Democratic party had enlisted the cre Bus,The Vinend (New Yark:Knop,1982)372. .368. Dmoymr5-ed.P.Mayer (Garden City,N.Y. 15,16. White,"The DSee Richard P.Me Carolina Press,1966)