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When the Ramble Convention adjourned in September 1787 and the delegates streamed downward the steps of Independence Hall, one of their number, Benjamin Franklin, suddenly institute himself under ambush. Eager to hear what form of government awaited America, a Philadelphian named Elizabeth Powell began prodding Franklin'due south lapel: 'Well, doctor, what have we got, a republic or a monarchy?' The reply was instant: 'A republic, madam – if you can keep it.'

On Saturday, the approachable vice-president, Joe Biden, expressed the same ambivalence. As he closed the starting time session of the 115th Congress, which officially confirmed the ballot victory of Donald Trump, Biden was overheard muttering 'God save the Queen'. It was barely aural over the applause merely, in an ballot dominated by hot mic moments, information technology was also revelatory (and, thankfully, more germ-free than the president-elect's 'locker-room talk').

What the remark revealed was not Biden's hidden royalist sympathies but a deeper unease most the health of the American republic under a Trump presidency. He seemed to advise that if Americans were prepared to elect Trump – a human being politely described equally 'temperamentally unfit' for the peak job – perhaps they could no longer 'keep' their republic? Indeed, if the break-away from the British Empire, the Declaration of Independence and the American Revolution could lead to Trump, were they conceived in fault?

On 1 level, nosotros should probably not read too much into Biden'due south whispers. They were clearly tongue-in-cheek and the vice-president has a long history of human foot-in-rima oris mishaps. All the same, information technology was an odd sort of protest. Americans have never really expressed regret about overthrowing monarchy. Even during the bleak winter of 1777, when it seemed that the American Revolution might be crushed by British military machine might, few of the patriots believed that life would be better under George III.

True, the United States did not rid itself instantly of its monarchical habits. 1 early patriotic song, first sung in 1786, even took the tune of the royal anthem and prepare information technology to new lyrics: 'God Relieve Great Washington!' But a return to the bosom of the British monarchy has never featured in the American repertoire of alternative political futures. The Loyalists who did non abscond during the Revolution – almost 400,000 of them – failed to grade a serious opposition force in the nascent United states of america. The political tussles of the early republic would happen between republicans, not against royalists. Monarchy was expelled from American shores in 1776, never to return.

Some historians have nevertheless queried the republican credentials of the United States. Eric Nelson has argued that when America created its constitution, it too created an executive office of such power – the presidency – that it was kingly in all but name. This is compelling, but the American Revolution as well knocked dead the hereditary principle. It may well accept been 'a revolution in favour of royal power', as Nelson contends, but it was not a revolution in favour of kings or courts. Americans accept never been shy almost decapitating their political dynasties. Just ask Hillary Clinton.

What Biden's mock royalism revealed was not a desire to revise the Announcement of Independence, but a sense of fear and futility. 'Information technology'south over', he shouted, as Democrat legislators vainly protested the confirmation of Trump's victory. His parting gaffe betrays a crease of concern, every bit yet half-formed, that a crunch is approaching for American democracy. Anyone who watched a nanosecond of the 2016 presidential race will know that this is not a ridiculous suggestion. The election of Donald Trump did not kill satire; it destroyed hyperbole, which is why the journalist Andrew Sullivan can justifiably – and without exaggeration – claim that it represents 'an extinction-level outcome'.

Many of the Founding Fathers believed that republics were naturally decumbent to peril, dependent as they were upon the virtue and vigilance of ordinary citizens, not the good governance of a monarch. Plummet, as Franklin ominously observed, is always around the corner. There is nothing new about this fright. Merely today, with the election of a president who cares piddling for the institutional integrity and political norms of the American democracy, the potential for peril has never seemed so existent.

In this sense, Biden'southward declaration of 'God Save the Queen' is an historically unusual response to an historically unprecedented ballot event. Voters in the United States have never wanted to make America Dandy United kingdom over again. They may entertain an affection for the 'quaint' British royals, just they practice not want to be governed by them. Then once again, they have never seen a president quite similar Trump, either. #MAGBA may yet catch on.

Rhys Jones is Research Fellow in History at Sidney Sussex College, University of Cambridge.@rhyshistorian

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Source: https://www.historytoday.com/make-america-great-britain-again

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