Republicanism

Republicanism is one possible ideology of governing a society or state as a republic. The key point is that the people hold popular sovereignty, rather than the people being subjects of a monarch. Many countries are republics, but this article covers only those that adhere to the ideology of republicanism. Republicanism emerged as an identifiable theme in the Roman Republic, where the founders of the Republic—Lucius Junius Brutus and Collatinus—denounced the former Roman Kingdom, and had the Roman people declare a solemn oath to never allow monarchy to return.

The ideology practically vanished in ancient Rome. It revived in Renaissance Florence, and then in early modern Britain, in the British colonies in America in the causes of the American Revolution, and in France during the French Revolution. After 1800, it spread widely in Europe and European colonies. Republicanism in the United States has been a powerful force in the country since 1776.

Historical Development of Republicanism