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The Conversation USA

The Conversation USA

A democracy or a republic? History shows that some Americans are asking the wrong question

  • Written by Barbara Clark Smith, Curator, Division of Political History, Smithsonian Institution
imageA Harper's Weekly image of the first reading of the Declaration of Independence outside Independence Hall in Philadelphia on July 8, 1776. MPI/Getty Images

As the nation observes its 250th birthday, historians can help settle one present-day dispute: Is the United States a democracy or a republic?

For years, advocates have argued the point.

Yet the...

Read more: A democracy or a republic? History shows that some Americans are asking the wrong question

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