ABSTRACT
The sovereign (whether a single person or a collectivist) is by definition the supreme power. The rigorous application of any systematic political ideology—monarchist, aristocratic, racist or democratic—tends toward the concentration of sovereignty. A division of sovereignty in practice is inconsistent with the reign of a single ideology in theory, although this inconsistency may not be acknowledged. The Founding Fathers were unanimous, or nearly so, in wishing to prevent a concentration of governmental power, of sovereignty. The Fathers, while accepting power as an essential expedient in human affairs, distrusted all power. The Fathers' idea of a "republic", since it is not derivative from a monolithic ideology is not as neat, unequivocal and systematic as "democratism". With respect to "democracy" the American tradition has not, of course, carried out strictly the intentions of the Fathers. No one questions that the long-term curve of the nation's history has been toward more democracy.
