The New Republic, 1781-1828

• Author: Jack Fruchtman
• Profession: Professor of Political Science and Director of the Program in Law and American Civilization at Towson University, Maryland
• Pages: 1-7

American Constitutional History: A Brief Introduction, First Edition. Jack Fruchtman.

© 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Published 2016 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

The Constitution’s first three articles set forth the structure of the new

government with three separate and coequal branches: a Congress,

divided into two houses, to make laws; a president to enforce them; and

a Supreme Court to interpret them. The structure reflected the classical

republican tradition, which envisioned a mixed regime where power was

divided to avoid tyranny and to promote a public spirit among the peo-

ple. The framers’ vision of a republic hearkened back to ancient Greek

ideas about political organization. In one of his most celebrated works,

The Politics, Aristotle, the fourth century BCE philosopher, was concerned

with the most practicable rather than the ideal state. He observed that

society was naturally divided into three social classes: royalty, nobility, and

the common people. In terms of governmental decision‐making, this

division falls into the categories of the one, the few, and the many. Only

one ruler, a king or prince, comes from the royal class, a few from the

aristocracy, and many from the people. In government, each class corre-

sponds to a political body organized along these lines:

Rule by the One Rule by the Few Rule by the Many

Society: Royalty Nobility Common People

Government: Monarchy Aristocracy Democracy

To ensure that government represents all three classes, the political

structure must guarantee that each has a role in making decisions

Part 1

The New Republic,

1781–1828