Summary
Democracy flourished in America where it had previously floundered in Europe. As early as 1907, J. Allen Smith attributed this to the fact that the colonists were “more active, enterprising, and dissatisfied” than the typical Englishman, in his work The Spirit of American Government. He noted that the Revolutionary War was not sparked by colonists hating the monarchical system, but by the negative relationship between England and its newest colony. This attitude, coupled with an active revolution, created the perfect outlet for democratic theory to be expressed and enacted (Smith, 1907; Thoman, n.d.). In creating an independent nation, the Founding Fathers looked to various forms of government, both ancient and modern, for inspiration. They ultimately chose to combine a representative government with aspects of a limited government in hopes of creating an efficient, functional system of governance.
Clearly, United States government is an amalgamation of the various types of government. The overarching structure of the United States government echoes that of ancient Greece with three unique branches carrying out essential duties. Within each branch, the influence of other systems becomes evident. The executive branch, consisting of the President, Vice-President, and cabinet, echoes the setup of a traditional monarchy (revealing the influence of early England). The legislative branch is evidence of influences of both Roman and Iroquois systems. The United States Senate is a reflection of the Roman Senate in name and in its responsibility to create legislation. It has aspects of Iroquois Great Council incorporated as well, the most marked example being the order with which business is conducted. A visit to the chamber rooms on Capitol Hill reveals that noise is kept to a minimum during sessions of both the Senate and House of Representatives. This is in direct opposition to the chaotic scenes witnessed by the founding fathers at British Parliament meetings of the time. The third branch of government, the judicial branch, is modeled off the Greek court system and serves as a way to ensure proper and consistent enforcement of laws.
In short, the United States has come a long way towards achieving a “government of the people, by the people, and for the people,” to quote President Lincoln, and it has certainly changed since the time of the founding fathers. However, the integral setup of this government system could not have come to fruition without the influence of ancient Greece, Rome, imperialist England, and the Iroquois Nation. If the Founding Fathers had not been exposed to the ideas championed by these civilizations, American government as we know it would not exist.