Changes

'''Republicanism''' is a [[political]] [[ideology]] in opposition [[monarchy]] and [[tyranny]].  Republicans hold that a political system must be founded upon the [[rule of law]], the [[rights]] of individuals, and the [[sovereignty of the people]].  It is also closely connected to the idea of [[civic virtue]], the responsibility citizens owe to their republic, and to opposition to corruption, or the use of public power to benefit the politician.

'''Republicanism''' is a [[political]] [[ideology]] in opposition [[monarchy]] and [[tyranny]].  Republicans hold that a political system must be founded upon the [[rule of law]], the [[rights]] of individuals, and the [[sovereignty of the people]].  It is also closely connected to the idea of [[civic virtue]], the responsibility citizens owe to their republic, and to opposition to corruption, or the use of public power to benefit the politician.

Republican thought is evident in [[Ancient Greece]], particularly [[Athens]], but is most commonly associated with the [[Roman Republic]] and such statesmen as [[Cicero]]. Republicanism was revived during the [[Renaissance]], especially by political thinkers in Florence such as [[Niccolò Machiavelli]]. The British overthrew and executed King [[Charles I]] in 1649, and established a republican government under [[Oliver Cromwell]].  After Cromwell died in 1658 the republic collapsed, the monarchy was restored, and republican ideas were driven out of the mainstream of British political thought. They did not disappear, but were promulgated by the Whigs Country Party, whose pamphlets were eagerly read by the American colonists. Republicanism became the driving force behind the [[American Revolution|American]] and [[French Revolution|French Revolutions]].  In the 20th centuries absolute monarchies almost disappeared, and the surviving constitutional monarchs were nominal heads of countries that were basically republican in all but name. Canada and Australia, for example, still have a king ([[Queen Elizabeth II]]) but they largely ignore her and show little interest in royalty or aristocracy.  

Was Machiavelli a Machiavellian? In ''The Prince'' he showed how an absolute monarch can use tyranny and deceit to get his way. But in other books he took an opposite view, emphasizing that when a state does not have a prince (a powerful king), the people rule in a "republic" and they must have civic virtue for the republic to survive. Through his book on Roman history ''Discourses on Livy'' Machiavelli has been a major positive influence of modern conservative thought.  He took the lead in defining what civic virtue means for a citizen of a republic--a state where the people are sovereign and not some king. For example a citizen has the duty to oppose corruption and when called upon fight for his country.  His ideas on [[republicanism]] strongly influenced British, French and American thought on the duties of the good citizen, and can be traced through American history from the days of [[Benjamin Franklin]] and [[James Madison]] down to the 21st century.<ref>See Paul A. Rahe, ed. ''Machiavelli's Liberal Republican Legacy'' (2005).</ref>

 

The British overthrew and executed King [[Charles I]] in 1649, and established a republican government under [[Oliver Cromwell]].  After Cromwell died in 1658 the republic collapsed, the monarchy was restored, and republican ideas were driven out of the mainstream of British political thought. They did not disappear, but were promulgated by the Whigs Country Party, whose pamphlets were eagerly read by the American colonists. Republicanism became the driving force behind the [[American Revolution|American]] and [[French Revolution|French Revolutions]].  In the 20th centuries absolute monarchies almost disappeared, and the surviving constitutional monarchs were nominal heads of countries that were basically republican in all but name. Canada and Australia, for example, still have a king ([[Queen Elizabeth II]]) but they largely ignore her and show little interest in royalty or aristocracy.  

==United States==

==United States==