The framers of the Constitution understood democracy and republic to mean different things. Explain this difference and identify which concept the framers favored.

What will be an ideal response?

As the framers understood the word democracy, it referred to a political system in which the people decided public issues, either directly or through representatives, and without any curbs on their power. In a republic, on the other hand, the power of the people was checked by a higher law (i.e., the Constitution), which prevented a majority from using the apparatus of government to prosecute or exploit a minority. The framers supported the republican system because they feared a democracy would lead to tyranny of the majority. While this threat could never be eliminated totally, the framers believed that properly structured representative institutions would greatly diminish the threat. Thus, they believed that political power, though responsive to the public, must be separated from direct control by voters if sound policies are to result. For the framers, republic meant a government that consists of carefully designed institutions that are responsive to the majority but not captive to it.