--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: American democracy rests on a foundation…" description: "\"“American democracy rests on a foundation of competing tensions among local, state, and federal laws,”\" — Ted Koppel" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/46b/ted-koppel-3111_american-democracy_american-democracy-rests-on-a-foundation_2403263.png" --- # American democracy rests on a foundation of competing… ![“American democracy rests on a foundation of competing tensions among local, state, and federal laws,” quote by Ted Koppel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/46b/ted-koppel-3111_american-democracy_american-democracy-rests-on-a-foundation_2403263.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/46b/ted-koppel-3111_american-democracy_american-democracy-rests-on-a-foundation_2403263.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/46b/ted-koppel-3111_american-democracy_american-democracy-rests-on-a-foundation_2403263.png) > ““American democracy rests on a foundation of competing tensions among local, state, and federal laws,”” [Ted Koppel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-koppel/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Democracy in the U.S. relies on a balance of power among local, state, and federal levels, creating healthy tension. **In simple terms:** U.S. democracy balances multiple government layers. Key Takeaway Respect and engage all government levels. Themes democracy federalism balance tension Mood informative analytical Type political educational When to use this quote - voting - policy advocacy - community organizing - intergovernmental cooperation Key Concepts political science law Questions to Reflect On - How can citizens influence all government tiers? - What mechanisms reduce intergovernmental conflict? A Different Perspective Tensions can lead to gridlock and inefficiency. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [American democracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-democracy/) [Democracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/democracy/) ## Related quotes > [The U.S. corporate media, otherwise known as the "free press," is that hollow pillar on which contemporary American democracy rests.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/the-u-s-corporate-media-otherwise-known-as-the-free-press-is-that/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [Majority rule rests on numbers; democracy rests on the well-grounded assumption that society is neither a collection of units nor an organism but a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-parker-follett/majority-rule-rests-on-numbers-democracy-rests-on-the-well-grounded/) [Mary Parker Follett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-parker-follett/) > [Democracy rests upon two pillars: one, the principle that all men are equally entitled to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness; and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-d-brandeis/democracy-rests-upon-two-pillars-one-the-principle-that-all-men-are/) [Louis D. 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The bass plays first, then the drums come in later, then they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wynton-marsalis/today-you-go-into-make-a-modern-recording-with-all-this-technology/) [Wynton Marsalis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wynton-marsalis/) > [As a result of the Citizens United Supreme Court decision, American democracy is being undermined by the ability of the Koch brothers and other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/as-a-result-of-the-citizens-united-supreme-court-decision-american/) [Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/) ## More by Ted Koppel > [“Nobody’s in charge there, nobody has responsibility, nor can anybody require that they do work.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-koppel/nobody-s-in-charge-there-nobody-has-responsibility-nor-can-anybody/) [Ted Koppel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-koppel/) > [Would anyone else like to say anything nice about women?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-koppel/would-anyone-else-like-to-say-anything-nice-about-women/) [Ted Koppel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-koppel/) > [“smaller companies with lean profit margins are simply not inclined to spend a great deal on cybersecurity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-koppel/smaller-companies-with-lean-profit-margins-are-simply-not-inclined-to/) [Ted Koppel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-koppel/) > [“has to be connected to the company’s billing department, which in turn needs to be connected to whatever department actually conveys electricity to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-koppel/has-to-be-connected-to-the-company-s-billing-department-which-in-turn/) [Ted Koppel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-koppel/) > [“I think that within six months, if things weren’t straightened out adequately to have something besides anarchy, somebody’s going to show up on your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-koppel/i-think-that-within-six-months-if-things-weren-t-straightened-out/) [Ted Koppel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-koppel/) > [“the extreme vulnerability of SCADA systems to cyber sabotage was first demonstrated, and dramatically so, during the administration of George W. Bush.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-koppel/the-extreme-vulnerability-of-scada-systems-to-cyber-sabotage-was/) [Ted Koppel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-koppel/) > [“The August 2003 blackout was a wake-up call for both industry and government regulators.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-koppel/the-august-2003-blackout-was-a-wake-up-call-for-both-industry-and/) [Ted Koppel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-koppel/) > [“The world is locked into a state of cyber dependency”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-koppel/the-world-is-locked-into-a-state-of-cyber-dependency/) [Ted Koppel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-koppel/) > [“consumer deals directly only with the local company that delivers the electricity on that final leg.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-koppel/consumer-deals-directly-only-with-the-local-company-that-delivers-the/) [Ted Koppel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-koppel/) > [“We remain largely oblivious to the potential catastrophe of a well-targeted cyberattack.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-koppel/we-remain-largely-oblivious-to-the-potential-catastrophe-of-a-well/) [Ted Koppel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-koppel/) > [“the Internet is also giving rise to “filter bubbles” that decrease users’ exposure to conflicting viewpoints and reinforce their own ideological frames.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-koppel/the-internet-is-also-giving-rise-to-filter-bubbles-that-decrease/) [Ted Koppel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-koppel/) > [“(Several nation-states, most prominently the Russians and the Chinese, have already spent years conducting just such reconnaissance.)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-koppel/several-nation-states-most-prominently-the-russians-and-the-chinese/) [Ted Koppel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-koppel/) > [“the only institution with real power to decide how the power industry is protected is the power industry.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-koppel/the-only-institution-with-real-power-to-decide-how-the-power-industry/) [Ted Koppel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-koppel/) > [“What about independent actors using cyberattacks to knock out one of our power grids? Are we at that point yet? “Simple answer,” said Schmidt,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-koppel/what-about-independent-actors-using-cyberattacks-to-knock-out-one-of/) [Ted Koppel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-koppel/) > [“it took on average 279 days before companies that had been breached came to realize it or were told by someone else. The”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-koppel/it-took-on-average-279-days-before-companies-that-had-been-breached/) [Ted Koppel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-koppel/) [Explore all 139 Ted Koppel quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-koppel/) ## More American democracy quotes > [ Elvis \[Presley\] had a stepstool, if you will, to success because he came from the dominant culture. They identified with him. Michael Jackson had… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-eric-dyson/elvis-presley-had-a-stepstool-if-you-will-to-success-because-he-came/) [Michael Eric Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-eric-dyson/) > [That's what separates out American democracy from dictators and horrible governments across the world and the reason why that works is that we have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-r-chamberlain/that-s-what-separates-out-american-democracy-from-dictators-and/) Charles R. Chamberlain > [This will be the day when we shall bring into full realization the dream of American democracy -- a dream yet unfulfilled. A dream…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/this-will-be-the-day-when-we-shall-bring-into-full-realization-the/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [This has all the appearance of a foreign power trying to undermine structures of legitimacy of an American election. That is a serious matter.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-gerson/this-has-all-the-appearance-of-a-foreign-power-trying-to-undermine/) [Michael Gerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-gerson/) > [Men like Abraham Lincoln recognized that if the slaveholders were not stopped, it would only be a question of time until they spread their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heather-cox-richardson/men-like-abraham-lincoln-recognized-that-if-the-slaveholders-were-not/) [Heather Cox Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heather-cox-richardson/) > [These communities that are losing local news coverage are losing something deeper. They're losing a connection to American democracy. And those connections must be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-stelter/these-communities-that-are-losing-local-news-coverage-are-losing/) [Brian Stelter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-stelter/) > [“Today you go into make a modern recording with all this technology. The bass plays first, then the drums come in later, then they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wynton-marsalis/today-you-go-into-make-a-modern-recording-with-all-this-technology/) [Wynton Marsalis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wynton-marsalis/) > [As a result of the Citizens United Supreme Court decision, American democracy is being undermined by the ability of the Koch brothers and other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/as-a-result-of-the-citizens-united-supreme-court-decision-american/) [Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/) > [If everyone on the Court always voted for the prosecution against the defendant, for the corporation against the plaintiffs, and for the government against…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheldon-whitehouse/if-everyone-on-the-court-always-voted-for-the-prosecution-against-the/) [Sheldon Whitehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheldon-whitehouse/) > [Political violence has no place in Pennsylvania - the birthplace of American democracy - nor anywhere else across this country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-shapiro/political-violence-has-no-place-in-pennsylvania-the-birthplace-of/) [Josh Shapiro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-shapiro/) > [The atomic weapons race and the secrecy surrounding it crushed American democracy. It induced us to conduct government according to lies. It distorted justice.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stewart-udall/the-atomic-weapons-race-and-the-secrecy-surrounding-it-crushed/) [Stewart Udall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stewart-udall/) > [I have no doubt that there are Russian efforts to disturb the fabric of American democracy, but they're disruption efforts. They're troublemaking efforts. They're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masha-gessen/i-have-no-doubt-that-there-are-russian-efforts-to-disturb-the-fabric/) [Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-gessen/) > [“Still, it strikes me that, taken together, they do make an argument, and it is this: the rise of American democracy is bound up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-lepore/still-it-strikes-me-that-taken-together-they-do-make-an-argument-and/) [Jill Lepore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-lepore/) > [Mr Jefferson meant that the American system should be a democracy, and he would rather have let the whole world perish than that this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-adams/mr-jefferson-meant-that-the-american-system-should-be-a-democracy-and/) [Henry Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-adams/) > [I have no doubt that there are Russian efforts to disturb the fabric of American democracy, but they're disruption efforts. The working theory behind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masha-gessen/i-have-no-doubt-that-there-are-russian-efforts-to-disturb-the-fabric-2/) [Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-gessen/) [Browse all 168 American democracy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-democracy/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“American democracy rests on a foundation of competing tensions among local, state, and federal laws,”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ted Koppel" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-koppel/american-democracy-rests-on-a-foundation-of-competing-tensions-among/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "American democracy" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-koppel/american-democracy-rests-on-a-foundation-of-competing-tensions-among/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/46b/ted-koppel-3111_american-democracy_american-democracy-rests-on-a-foundation_2403263.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/46b/ted-koppel-3111_american-democracy_american-democracy-rests-on-a-foundation_2403263.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/46b/ted-koppel-3111_american-democracy_american-democracy-rests-on-a-foundation_2403263.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“American democracy rests on a foundation of competing tensions among local, state, and federal laws,” — Ted Koppel", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Ted Koppel", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-koppel/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“American democracy rests on a foundation...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-koppel/american-democracy-rests-on-a-foundation-of-competing-tensions-among/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-koppel/american-democracy-rests-on-a-foundation-of-competing-tensions-among/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```