The Federal Government as a Threat to Democracy

A detailed Summary of The Federal Government as a Threat to Democracy


Early in its history as a nation, the United States government did not assert much power, but as time went on, the government's power outweighed the democratic ideals of the people. The government did this by acquiring features generally attributed to a totalitarian dictatorship.

One such incident was the writing of and reading of the Monroe Doctrine. The Monroe Doctrine, which was nothing more than a statement issued by President Monroe to Congress in 1823, never actually became a law (Bailey and Kennedy 255-256). It did, however, have lasting ramifications on the framework of the federal government: the president was given a dictatorial power while the country obliviously observed. The president could make a profound statement and it could become accepted law without ever being approved and passed by Congress. This doctrine has even been used by


Bailey, Thomas A. and David M. Kennedy. The American Pageant: A History of the Republic. Lexington, Mass.: D.C. Heath, 1994.

As a matter of fact, Congress did pass an act that gave the president more power. The Alien Friends Act gave President John Adams the power to deport any alien that he considered to be a threat (Gragg 3). With this power, the president

presidents following Monroe, such as Teddy Roosevelt when he wanted to protect Latin American countries (Bailey and Kennedy 674). When President Monroe began playing with dictatorial powers, it could have been possible for him to use Congress to pass legislation that would give the Chief Executive the ability to become a dictator such as Ferdinand Marcos of the Philippines or Adolf Hitler of Germany.

With Presidents Adams and Monroe as dictators of the Executive branch and the Federa

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Approximate Word count = 579
Approximate Pages = 2 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: History

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