<P> The term republic does not appear in the Declaration of Independence, but does appear in Article IV of the Constitution which "guarantee (s) to every State in this Union a Republican form of Government ." What exactly the writers of the constitution felt this should mean is uncertain . The Supreme Court, in Luther v. Borden (1849), declared that the definition of republic was a "political question" in which it would not intervene . During Reconstruction the Constitutional clause was the legal foundation for the extensive Congressional control over the eleven former Confederate states; there was no such oversight over the border slave states that had remained in the Union . </P> <P> In two later cases, it did establish a basic definition . In United States v. Cruikshank (1875), the court ruled that the "equal rights of citizens" were inherent to the idea of republic . The opinion of the court from In re Duncan (1891) held that the "right of the people to choose their government" is also part of the definition . It is also generally assumed that the clause prevents any state from being a monarchy--or a dictatorship . Due to the 1875 and 1891 court decisions establishing basic definition, in the first version (1892) of the Pledge of Allegiance, which included the word republic, and like Article IV which refers to a Republican form of government, the basic definition of republic is implied and continues to do so in all subsequent versions, including the present edition, by virtue of its consistent inclusion . </P> <P> In March 1861 in his famous First Inaugural Address, Abraham Lincoln denounced secession as anarchy and explained that majority rule had to be balanced by constitutional restraints in the American system: </P> <Dl> <Dd> "A majority held in restraint by constitutional checks and limitations, and always changing easily with deliberate changes of popular opinions and sentiments, is the only true sovereign of a free people ." </Dd> </Dl>

What are the roots of the american understanding of republicanism