Popular Versus Elite Democracy

Americans have long struggled with maintaining a balance between elite democracy and popular democracy. For instance, some of the very first political controversies in the country raged over whether states would be represented equally or according to population, a debate that resulted in our bicameral legislature. At the core of all American politics, from the Constitution to modern day struggles, lies this issue. Power between the groups seems to be cyclical, with one group always at an advantage. Existence of tyranny within the system can create surprisingly extreme instances of power shifts, where one group is so supremely in power that the entire system appears caricatured. The elite had almost complete power during the antebellum era, where robber barons and corrupt politicians created a political scene in which the people had a very small say, and a miniscule minority was controlling the entire government. Conversely, during the 1960s, students rose up to create a New Left, a movement that brought power back to the people through participatory politics from a hitherto unheard from generation of Americans. American politics has always seen a struggle between elite democracy and popular democracy, but at certain points in history the combination of the power shifts between the elite and the people and the existence of tyranny or bolstered individualism creates unique polarizations, such as the elitism of the antebellum robber baron era and the grassroots power of the 1960s student movement.