Republicanism

• 1. Classical Antiquity Foundations

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  In the 6th century BCE, Lucius Junius Brutus and Collatinus expelled the kings from Rome to establish a system they called res publica. This Latin phrase meant public thing and described a government where sovereignty resided in the people rather than a hereditary ruler. Ancient Greek philosophers like Plato and Aristotle analyzed similar concepts under the term politeia. Plato argued that civic peace could only exist if rulers possessed the nature of philosophers or if philosophers became rulers. He placed great emphasis on civic virtue alongside personal virtue for ideal governance. Aristotle considered Carthage a republic because its political system resembled that of Sparta while avoiding certain defects. The Roman historian Polybius wrote in the mid-2nd century BCE about how this mixed form of government contributed to Rome's rise over the Mediterranean. He described the Roman Republic as a combination of monarchy, aristocracy, and democracy. Polybius believed this structure provided greater domestic tranquillity than any other form of government. Cicero later linked the Roman concept of res publica to the Greek politeia in his work De re publica. His writings influenced Enlightenment thinkers such as Voltaire who developed modern political concepts based on these classical models.

• 2. Renaissance And Early Modern Revival

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  During the late Middle Ages, states arising from medieval communes embraced republican systems across Europe. Wealthy trading city-states like Florence, Genoa, and Venice became centers of this revival. A group of autonomous villages called Dithmarschen formed a peasants' republic. Renaissance scholars used ancient ideas to advance their views of an ideal government. Niccolò Machiavelli wrote Discourses on Livy as the period's key work on republics. He also authored The Prince which discussed how best to run a monarchy. Jean Bodin identified monarchy with republic in Six Books of the Commonwealth published in 1576. Anti-monarchism grew strident in the Dutch Republic during and after the Eighty Years War beginning in 1568. Brothers Johan and Peter de la Court wrote systematic critiques calling all monarchies illegitimate tyrannies. Their works appeared as widely distributed pamphlets rather than formal philosophical treatises. In Poland-Lithuania, republicanism was the ideology of landed nobility who feared losing power if monarchy expanded. They called their state Rzeczpospolita believing it followed the Roman model. These thinkers did not see the republican model as universally applicable since most believed it worked only in small urbanized city-states.

• 3. Enlightenment And Revolutionary Era

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  The Corsican Republic lasted fifteen years from 1755 to 1769 before falling to Genoese and French forces. Pasquale Paoli led reformers who pushed for political overhaul through constitutional and parliamentary means. His government introduced universal male suffrage and granted women voting rights at a time when French women could not vote. Rousseau declared in On the Social Contract that Corsica was one European country capable of making its own laws. Voltaire affirmed in Précis du siècle de Louis XV that bravery among free peoples deserved recognition. The Corsican experiment influenced American revolutionaries ten years later with Sons of Liberty declaring Pascal Paoli an inspiration. Ebenezer Mackintosh named his son Pascal Paoli Mackintosh in honor of this leader. Five American counties bear the name Paoli today. Oliver Cromwell established the Commonwealth of England between 1649 and 1660 after overthrowing King Charles I. James Harrington became a leading philosopher of republicanism during this period while John Milton expressed views through poetry and prose. Milton used Satan's fall in Paradise Lost to suggest unfit monarchs should face justice. The collapse of the Commonwealth in 1660 discredited republicanism among ruling circles yet it flourished in the country party of early 18th century England. This produced political theory heavily influencing American colonists who increasingly saw Britain as corrupt and hostile.

• 4. Global Republican Movements

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  The Society of United Irishmen founded in 1791 in Belfast and Dublin identified English rule as corruption threatening Ireland's liberty. Thomas Paine's Rights of Man sold over forty thousand copies in Ireland within eight months of publication. An uprising against British rule lasted from May to September 1798 with military support from revolutionary France. In Brazil, republican thought organized formally during the 1870s though present since the First Reign ending in 1831. A group of radical liberals met in 1870 to found the Republican Party operating erratically until 1889. Giuseppe Mazzini founded Young Italy movement in exile in Marseille during July 1831 aiming to transform Italy into a unitary democratic republic. He formulated thought and action requiring every idea followed by practical steps. Pietro Barsanti became first martyr of modern Italian Republic shot in 1870 for favoring insurrection against Savoy monarchy. Italy became a republic after institutional referendum held on the 2nd of June 1946 marking Festa della Repubblica celebration. Mustafa Kemal Atatürk declared Republic of Turkey in 1923 implementing secularism free education gender equality economic statism and many reforms. These policies separated new Turkish state from Ottoman predecessor while embracing Western-style modernized lifestyle.

• 5. American Political Identity

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  The Founding Fathers included Thomas Jefferson Samuel Adams Patrick Henry Thomas Paine Benjamin Franklin John Adams James Madison and Alexander Hamilton as strong advocates of republican values. James Madison rejected pure democracy in Federalist No. 10 calling representative democracy a republic instead. He argued what distinguished democracy from republic was that former weakened as it grew larger suffering violently from faction effects. John Adams insisted government should be bound by fixed laws people had voice making and right defending. Thomas Jefferson warned elective despotism not the government they fought for. Richard Ellis and Michael Nelson argue constitutional thought focused on problem of majority tyranny ensuring inalienable rights life liberty pursuit happiness would not trampled by majorities. In 1854 social movements harnessed abolitionism and free labor values epitomized early formation Republican Party known red republicanism. Alvan E. Bovay Thaddeus Stevens Abraham Lincoln led these burgeoning radical traditions shaping American political identity through decades before Civil War era.

• 6. Modern Neorepublican Theory

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  Philip Pettit and Cass Sunstein emerged as prominent theorists defining neorepublicanism as alternative postsocialist critique market society from left. Michael Sandel late convert to republicanism from communitarianism advocates replacing or supplementing liberalism with republicanism outlined Democracy's Discontent America Search Public Philosophy. Jurist K. Sabeel Rahman wrote Democracy Against Domination creating neorepublican framework economic regulation grounded thought Louis Brandeis John Dewey popular control contrasting New Deal managerialism neoliberal deregulation. Elizabeth Anderson traced history republican critiques private power arguing classical free market policies intended help workers only lead domination employers. Alex Gourevitch examined strain late 19th century American republicanism known labour republicanism producerist labour union Knights Labor using republican concepts service workers rights strong critique role union supporting Chinese Exclusion Act. Contemporary work continues developing attractive public philosophy contemporary purposes drawing classical republican tradition modern challenges.