DeB 83 thisIDXX2Search=1041040000000-
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Article IV Section 4
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If there is a single idea expressed in Section 4 of Article IV on which all the framers of the Constitution agreed, it was that America should have a republican form of government, both in the polities of the individual states and in the new federal structure that they were creating. However, there were probably as many variations in the meaning of the word ''republican'' as there were delegates, ranging from those who wanted a democratic government directly responsive to the people to those who wishd for a more elitist government, responsible to -- but somewhat removed from -- the people at large. The two core elements of republicanism on which all delegates could agree were that the government should be, either directly or indirectly, ''representative'' in character and that its officeholders should not be base their claims to public office on hereditary privilege.
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The second item in this section of Article IV was a direct response to one of the events that precipitated the calling of a Constitutional Convention: an armed uprising of farmers in western Massachusetts, known as Shays' Rebellion. The Constitution promises states protection against both internal uprisings and invasions from abroad but at the same time assures the states that the government will not interfere in their defense unless asked to do so by officials in the states themselves.
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