Understanding American Republicanism: An Analysis of the Influence of Modern and Ancient Thinkers on the Founding

The Consitution of the United States promises citizens a republican form of government. Since the document was signed there have been debates over American republicanism and, therefore, what it promises to the people. This article will use works from ancient and modern political philosophers to determine their definitions and characteristics of republicanism. This will then be applied to the United States Constitution to look for influence and innovation within the document. Previous literature has looked at the document as either wholly ancient or wholly modern. However, this research will make the argument that not only did both of these ideologies heavily influence the American Founding but also that there are uniquely American innovations developed from the past failures of ancients and moderns. The United States, while influenced by others, developed a new type of republicanism that the world had never seen before