Article 12

Is monarchy more or less effective than democracy?

The success of a nation depends on what type of government is run inside of the country. The two most successful types are monarchies and democracies. Both of them have advantages and disadvantages. Time has shown that democracies have come out to be longer lasting and more successful than monarchies.

According to dictionary.com, a democracy is a “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” (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/democracy). What this basically means is that the people are indirectly in charge of what goes on in the government and the country. In a democracy, the people vote for governors, senators, congressmen, House representatives, and the president. Elected officials that hold these positions are in charge of passing and creating bills.

The Constitution states that congressmen have the following powers: “The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States; to borrow money on the credit of the United States; to regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes; to establish an uniform Rule of Naturalization, and uniform Laws on the subject of Bankruptcies throughout the United States; to coin Money, regulate the Value thereof, and of foreign Coin, and fix the Standard of Weights and Measures; to provide for the Punishment of counterfeiting the Securities and current Coin of the United States; to establish Post Offices and Post Roads; to promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries; to constitute Tribunals inferior to the supreme Court; to define and punish Piracies and Felonies committed on the high Seas, and Offenses against the Law of Nations; to declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water; to raise and support Armies, but no Appropriation of Money to that Use shall be for a longer Term than two Years; to provide and maintain a Navy; to make Rules for the Government and Regulation of the land and naval Forces; to provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions; to provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining, the Militia, and for governing such Part of them as may be employed in the Service of the United States, reserving to the States respectively, the Appointment of the Officers, and the Authority of training the Militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress; to exercise exclusive Legislation in all Cases whatsoever, over such District (not exceeding ten Miles square) as may, by Cession of particular States, and the acceptance of Congress, become the Seat of the Government of the United States, and to exercise like Authority over all Places purchased by the Consent of the Legislature of the State in which the Same shall be, for the Erection of Forts, Magazines, Arsenals, dock-Yards, and other needful Buildings; And to make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any Department or Officer thereof” (The Constitution http://www.usconstitution.net/const.html).

Many of these powers are now useless, but the majority of them still give the congress the ability to have great influence on the country. With this kind of power, congressmen need to be selected carefully. When intelligent and experienced congressmen, senators, and representatives are chosen, a democracy is a much better form of government than a monarchy. If the majority of the house, senate, and congress is of one party or corrupt, major problems may arise in the country.

Dictionary.com defines monarchy as a “supreme power or sovereignty held by a single person” (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/monarchy). This simple means that there is a sole ruler in charge of a country.

King Henry VIII was the king of England in the sixteenth century. He had one of the most controversial reigns over England out of all of the Tudor Kings. He had a total of eight wives, because none of them could produce a male heir. He had to change the official religion of England from Catholicism in order to divorce each of his wives. This put England through a time of great turmoil. The actions of one man changed the history of an entire country. In monarchies, the success depends on how intelligent the king or emperor is and how good of a ruler he or she is.

Monarchies are based on the readiness and leadership qualities of one person. This gives it a “hit or miss” trait. In a democracy, power is distributed throughout many people. This gives a larger range in the greatness of a person’s leadership qualities. Democracies are much more reliable because of the many people involved in the government, as opposed to the very few people involved the government of a monarchy.

"The United States Constitution - The U.S. Constitution Online - USConstitution.net." Index Page - The U.S. Constitution Online - USConstitution.net. Web. 14 May 2010. .

"Democracy | Define Democracy at Dictionary.com." Dictionary.com | Find the Meanings and Definitions of Words at Dictionary.com. Web. 14 May 2010. .

"Monarchy | Define Monarchy at Dictionary.com." Dictionary.com | Find the Meanings and Definitions of Words at Dictionary.com. Web. 15 May 2010.

"File:Henry VIII V2 BestLo.jpg." Wikimedia Commons. Web. 14 May 2010. .