Han 1

Terry Han
Professor Gail Taylor
English 1A
18 September 2014

Democracy in the United States Constitution

The Constitution of the United States of America has many democratic elements. The
Preamble to the Constitution begins with We the People, (US Const. preamble) which suggests
that the Constitution is for all citizens, regardless of authority. It also unites the citizens by
lumping them into one group, the People. These citizens are giving the united responsibility to
maintain a free government. The Constitution provides elected representation for its citizens.
Everyone who is born in the United States is a citizen, and is therefore able to participate in the
government when he or she is of legal age. Anything not mentioned in the Constitution is up to
the people, or states.
A democratic government would give its people the power to elect who has the supreme
power. Article I, section 2 states: The House of Representatives shall be composed of Members
chosen every second Year by the People. (US Const. art. I, sec. 2) And, to ensure that no one
person holds that power, he or she is limited to two years of responsibility. Having elected
representatives gives citizens the right to voice their opinions in government, and to execute
what they think the government should allow.
In the 14th Amendment, all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject
to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.
any person born in the country is given citizenship. By obtaining citizenship, citizens are given

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protection from the states. (US Const. amend. 14, sec. 1) By giving citizenship to those born in
the country, they are given the right to participate in government when they are of legal age, and
can then vote to elect Representatives. Citizens are also given the right to life, liberty, and
property. These rights cannot be revoked by the state without fair treatment of the normal
judicial system
The ninth and tenth amendment addresses the peoples rights that may not have been
specifically mentioned in the constitution. These certain rights gives the people the right to
decide whether a vague situation is legal or illegal. The tenth amendment mentions, The
powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States,
are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people. (US Const. amend. 10)
The Constitution of the United States is democratic in that it vests a lot of power to the
people. It allows its citizens to elect their own Representatives in government. The constitution
also gives citizenship to anyone born or naturalized in the country. And, perhaps the most
democratic part of the government that the Constitution permits is that the citizens are given the
right decide within their own states if something is legal or illegal if it isnt mentioned in the
Constitution. These three sections of the constitution are the essence of democracy.