Harvard Scholars Discuss Founders' Skepticism Towards Direct Democracy and Imperfect Constitutional Design
Harvard scholars Alex Keyssar, Matthew W. Stirling Jr. Professor of History and Social Policy, Michael Klarman, Charles Warren Professor of American Legal History, and Daniel Ziblatt, Eaton Professor of the Science of Government, have discussed the American founders' initial skepticism towards direct democracy and the inherent imperfections in the U.S. Constitution's original design. According to Keyssar, the independence movement initially sought more rights within the British Empire, not a complete break. Once independence was declared, the founders, lacking models for a non-monarchical government, created a republic with an indirect democracy where citizens elect representatives. Klarman noted that the founders did not trust the masses with direct rule, believing in deference to 'betters.' Ziblatt highlighted that the original system had 'violations of what we would today call democracy,' including the endurance of slavery, the omission of a guaranteed right to vote, and the three-fifths clause, which c...
