Tyranny in America
by Kelvin Alexander Green
A decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that I should declare the causes which impel me to write this discourse. Tyranny is a concept that has recaptured the consciousness of Americans in recent years. The controversial 2016 presidential election stimulated a great many people to inquiry and discourse. Given the topic of this paper and the sentiments provoked by present circumstances in the current political climate, it would be logical for one to assume, that I too, trace my inspiration for this work to the need for reconciliation. While the research that I have conducted helps to bring clarity and context to the political drama of our age, my fascination with government long predates these developments.
I owe a large part of my inspiration to Alexis De Tocqueville and his seminal treatise Democracy in America (1835), which I discovered in an anthology of political ideas assembled by the prominent historian Henry Steele Commager. It is no coincidence that this paper is entitled “Tyranny in America” — the construct is an intentional homage Tocqueville’s masterpiece.
Furthermore, the American government which is portrayed in history class has always struck me as too sterile, too simple and too straightforward to be a reflection of reality: a legislature that makes law, an executive that enforces law, and a judiciary that interprets law. Surely these boundaries are not so static given the manifold responsibilities of modern American government. The fundamental division of authority is complex and generates significant ambiguity; and in this ambiguity, lies the potential for exploitation and tyranny.
It goes without saying that I make no attempt to illustrate every episode of extra-democratic behavior in American history. It would be impossible to document, much less provide adequate analysis of every instance of potential tyranny in the confines of twelves pages. Full length studies have attempted, and failed, to achieve this end.
