Our Founding Fathers created a republican form of government - a state in which the supreme power rests in the people through their elected representative - a self-government based on a structure of checks and balances.
The story goes that, as Benjamin Franklin, left the Constitutional Convention in 1787, he was approached by a Mrs. Powell, who asked him, "What have you given us, Dr. Franklin?"
"A republic," he replied, "if you can keep it. [source: We Cannot Say Ben Franklin Did Not Warn Us]
The deliberations of the Constitutional Convention of 1787 were held in strict secrecy. Consequently, anxious citizens gathered outside Independence Hall when the proceedings ended in order to learn what had been produced behind closed doors. The answer was provided immediately. A Mrs. Powel of Philadelphia asked Benjamin Franklin, “Well, Doctor, what have we got, a republic or a monarchy?” With no hesitation whatsoever, Franklin responded, “A republic, if you can keep it.” [source: Our Republic - Benjamin Franklin]
BONUS
One of my favorite people in history. FYI: Alexis de Tocqueville (29 July 1805 –16 April 1859) was a French political thinker and historian best known for his Democracy in America (appearing in two volumes: 1835 and 1840) and The Old Regime and the Revolution (1856). In both of these works, he analyzed the rising living standards and social conditions of individuals and their relationship to the market and state in Western societies. Democracy in America published after his travels in the United States, is today considered an early work of sociology and political science.
Tocqueville was active in French politics, first under the July Monarchy (1830–1848) and then during the Second Republic (1849–1851) which succeeded the February 1848 Revolution. He retired from political life after Louis Napoléon Bonaparte's 2 December 1851 coup, and thereafter began work on The Old Regime and the Revolution. [source: wikipedia]
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