by Jerry Curtis

Created on: January 19, 2012

The United States is not moving towards becoming a dictatorship. Our country may be moving towards becoming a social welfare state, or perhaps towards a disrupted federal system with the states losing much of their powers, but in the traditional meaning of the word “dictatorship,” we simply don’t have the prerequisite conditions.

What is a dictatorship?

Dictionary.com defines a dictatorship as “a country, government, or the form of government in which absolute power is exercised by a dictator.” Webster’s Unabridged expands the definition somewhat by saying that the “dictator or a small clique has absolute power without effective constitutional limitations.”

How do dictatorships come about?

Historically, dictators have come about after a population has gone through difficult times, either as a result of a bad economy, a war, or a natural disaster.  Post World War I Germany, Italy, and Spain saw the rise of fascist dictatorships precisely because the latter conditions were in place.

How do dictators keep power?

Most dictatorships need a charismatic leader arriving on the scene, who reminds the people of some lost or endangered great heritage of the “good old days.” Often the dictator will do two things to establish and maintain power:

1. The dictator will find a group to blame for all the country’s troubles. Those groups could be foreign or domestic. Hitler, for example,  used the Jews and other  “traitors” whom he accused of selling out Germany during World War I.

2. The dictator will court the power brokers (usually the army, powerful industrialists, etc.) and make sure those groups get what they want in order to secure the dictator’s power.

Could a dictator gain power in the United States?

Throughout its history, the United States has actually undergone financial crises (depressions, recessions, vast unemployment, etc.).  The country has survived much worse than foreign defeat in a war: Our Civil War (1861-1865) could definitely have resulted in a dictatorship by both Presidents Lincoln and Jefferson Davis, which did not occur. In fact, the North held a general election in 1864 when the outcome of the Civil War was not yet certain. Had Lincoln lost the election, he would have relinquished power.

Another example would be one of the most powerful and popular presidents in American history, Franklin D. Roosevelt. He was elected at the height of the Great

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