JACKSONIAN DEMOCRACY 1825 1850
DEMOCRACY IN AMERICA BY ALEXIS DE TOCQUEVILLE
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Question
[CLICK ON ANY CHOICE TO KNOW THE RIGHT ANSWER]
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His idea of a social contract based on the consent of the governed is a key idea of our democracy.
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His idea of a social contract based on the needs of the majority is a key idea of our democracy.
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His idea of the majority rule having power over minority rights is a key to our democracy.
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None of the above
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Detailed explanation-1: -He endorsed direct democracy, in which every citizen had an equal responsibility to agree on the laws that governed them. He held Geneva up as the prime example of a small city state where this form of governance could be established.
Detailed explanation-2: -He described a reordering of society governed by the expression of each citizen. He said the combination of such expression is absolute and leads to outcomes in the form of laws or legislation. He also set forth the implications of democracy to public duty, governance, equality and freedom.
Detailed explanation-3: -It is always said that the American Founders were chiefly influenced by Locke and Montesquieu, and so they were. But some were influenced by Rousseau as well, though his radical reputation made it unwise to say so openly.
Detailed explanation-4: -Rousseau argued that the general will of the people could not be decided by elected representatives. He believed in a direct democracy in which everyone voted to express the general will and to make the laws of the land. Rousseau had in mind a democracy on a small scale, a city-state like his native Geneva.