The_Korean_War

The Korean War The Presidency and Democracy To evaluate the position of the president, the concept of democracy must first be considered. Most Americans simply assume that the United States is a democracy. However, before such an assumption is made it is wise to understand the common definition of the word democracy. The Random House College Dictionary defines democracy as, “Government by the people; a form of government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised directly by them or by their elected agents under a free electoral system.” Does the United States fit this definition' Moreover, how does the role of the president affect the United States’ claim to democracy' From a broad perspective the United States does indeed fit the definition of a democracy. The citizens of the United States continuously chose agents to represent them in government. Of the three branches of government that the United States has all the members of two are chosen this way. However once a ! individual is elected to office the general public looses a good deal of its authority over that person’s actions. This abuse of the democratic system reaches as far up as the presidency. The president is supposed president, democracy, public, people, united, states, american, actions, roosevelt, hargrove, wishes, johnson, however, elected, campaign, vietnam, presidential, power, government, congress, about, war, reagan, president’s, example, even, definition, against, way, thus, tax, support, must, important, democratic, because