The close of the Constitutional Convention of 1787:

A lady [one Mrs. Powel of Philadelphia] asked Dr. Franklin Well Doctor what have we got a republic or a monarchy[?] — A republic replied the Doctor if you can keep it[.]

The Founders of what was to become the United States of America utterly repudiated democracy. As James D. Best summarized the sentiments of the Founders:

The Founders’ intent at the national level was a representative republic.  The word democracy is not mentioned in the Constitution. Most of the Founders distrusted pure democracy.  …

John Adams wrote that “There never was a democracy yet that did not commit suicide,” and James Madison wrote in Federalist 10 that “Democracies have, in general, been as short in their lives as they have been violent in their deaths.”

And here we are, in 2016, now on the precipice of … democracy. Uh oh.

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Read the full story at Forbes.com.

Ralph Benko, internationally published weekly columnist, co-author of The 21st Century Gold Standard, lead co-editor of the Gerald Malsbary translation from Latin to English of Copernicus’s Essay on Money, is American Principles Project’s Senior Advisor, Economics.