Republic or Democracy?

Is the United States a republic, democracy, or a hybrid form of government? Today’s politicians mostly refer to our system of government as a democracy and not a republic. I find this word-play to be confusing and somewhat divisive.

What does the United States Constitution say about this question, and does this guiding document mention the word republic? In searching the text, I found “republican” used one time in Article 4, Section 4. Interestingly, the Constitution contains the word “union” seven times, and democracy is never used. The Pledge of Allegiance is the only official document I can find in which “republic” is used.

According to historical records and writings, the Founding Fathers verbally referred to the country as a republic in private and public discussions. However, their orientation to a republic was largely based on a classic republican form of government used in ancient Rome and Greece; these republics were small city-states. A republic the size of the United States never before existed. Furthermore, they possessed a negative opinion of democratic forms of government based largely on the principle of majority rule as the deciding factor in governing.

Our form of government is a hybrid. It depends on a popular form of government where our representatives win election with a majority vote. This is the rare time that the “majority rules” so to speak. The election of representatives, by and for the people, as well as the participation of the people in the process is a characteristic of a democracy, but our country is governed by the rule of law set forth by the Constitution as opposed to the rule of a monarch or majority, which is the distinguishing feature of a republican form of government.