“A government of the people, by the people, for the people”
.everyoneloves__top-leaderboard:empty,.everyoneloves__mid-leaderboard:empty,.everyoneloves__bot-mid-leaderboard:empty{ margin-bottom:0;
}
From a famous speech:
A government of the people, by the people, for the people
I believe the last part is clear (for the people). But what is the difference— in meaning— between of the people (it is a genitive form?) and by the people?
As for the question mark ("it is a genitive form?") I think there is no need to set it inside the parentheses.
prepositions figures-of-speech politics
asked Jan 6 '16 at 15:04
RockRock
22117
add a comment |
From a famous speech:
A government of the people, by the people, for the people
I believe the last part is clear (for the people). But what is the difference— in meaning— between of the people (it is a genitive form?) and by the people?
As for the question mark ("it is a genitive form?") I think there is no need to set it inside the parentheses.
prepositions figures-of-speech politics
asked Jan 6 '16 at 15:04
RockRock
22117
add a comment |
From a famous speech:
A government of the people, by the people, for the people
I believe the last part is clear (for the people). But what is the difference— in meaning— between of the people (it is a genitive form?) and by the people?
As for the question mark ("it is a genitive form?") I think there is no need to set it inside the parentheses.
prepositions figures-of-speech politics
asked Jan 6 '16 at 15:04
RockRock
22117
From a famous speech:
A government of the people, by the people, for the people
I believe the last part is clear (for the people). But what is the difference— in meaning— between of the people (it is a genitive form?) and by the people?
As for the question mark ("it is a genitive form?") I think there is no need to set it inside the parentheses.
prepositions figures-of-speech politics
prepositions figures-of-speech politics
asked Jan 6 '16 at 15:04
RockRock
22117
asked Jan 6 '16 at 15:04
RockRock
22117
edited Jan 6 '16 at 16:10
Rock
asked Jan 6 '16 at 15:04
RockRock
22117
asked Jan 6 '16 at 15:04
RockRock
22117
asked Jan 6 '16 at 15:04
RockRock
22117
22117
add a comment |
add a comment |
2 Answers
2
active
oldest
votes
"Of the people" refers to the government's composition. It's referring to the fact that the government is made up of people who come from the people.
"By the people" refers to who chooses those people who make up the government.
Essentially, it's saying that it's a government comprised of common people who were chosen by common people.
answered Jan 6 '16 at 15:07
Benjamin HarmanBenjamin Harman
5,73331740
1
Thanks to the Supreme Court's interpretation of the meaning of "person" - it can be equally translated to "Of the lobbyists, by the PACS, for the corporations"... :-P
– Michael Broughton
Jan 6 '16 at 15:51
So, 'of the people' refers to government's officials, they may come from all citizen.
– Rock
Jan 6 '16 at 15:54
2
Yes, it's pointing to the fact that there is no nobility, no aristocracy, no house of lords, and no king. There is no special class ruling the country that is set apart from common people. As all people are just people, neither commoner nor noble, then all people lead, and by election, any person(s) can govern.
– Benjamin Harman
Jan 6 '16 at 16:11
I would disagree slightly in that "government by the people" means that it's "people" (i.e. common people) who are doing the governing (i.e. those in power are common people), and "of the people" means chosen by, and accountable to, the people. So your implications are entirely correct but I think different part of the sentence refer to different things.
– DJClayworth
Jan 6 '16 at 16:16
1
@BenjaminHarman: And 'by the people' means similar: all the citizens have active voting right (as regards government).
– Rock
Jan 6 '16 at 16:34
|
show 2 more comments
Of the people refers to the government's target, indicating what is governed.
Of the people is not really necessary, but emphasizes the rest of the sentence.
[B]y the people indicates that government was designated by the people. It refers to democracy.
[F]or the people indicates that the objective of the government is to improve common welfare.
edited 12 hours ago
jimm101
7,42792240
answered Jan 6 '16 at 15:30
GraffitoGraffito
11.4k11841
add a comment |
Your Answer
StackExchange.ready(function() {
var channelOptions = {
tags: "".split(" "),
id: "97"
};
initTagRenderer("".split(" "), "".split(" "), channelOptions);
StackExchange.using("externalEditor", function() {
// Have to fire editor after snippets, if snippets enabled
if (StackExchange.settings.snippets.snippetsEnabled) {
StackExchange.using("snippets", function() {
createEditor();
});
}
else {
createEditor();
}
});
function createEditor() {
StackExchange.prepareEditor({
heartbeatType: 'answer',
autoActivateHeartbeat: false,
convertImagesToLinks: false,
noModals: true,
showLowRepImageUploadWarning: true,
reputationToPostImages: null,
bindNavPrevention: true,
postfix: "",
imageUploader: {
brandingHtml: "Powered by u003ca class="icon-imgur-white" href="https://imgur.com/"u003eu003c/au003e",
contentPolicyHtml: "User contributions licensed under u003ca href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/"u003ecc by-sa 3.0 with attribution requiredu003c/au003e u003ca href="https://stackoverflow.com/legal/content-policy"u003e(content policy)u003c/au003e",
allowUrls: true
},
noCode: true, onDemand: true,
discardSelector: ".discard-answer"
,immediatelyShowMarkdownHelp:true
});
}
});
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
StackExchange.ready(
function () {
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fenglish.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f298077%2fa-government-of-the-people-by-the-people-for-the-people%23new-answer', 'question_page');
}
);
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
2 Answers
2
active
oldest
votes
2 Answers
2
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
"Of the people" refers to the government's composition. It's referring to the fact that the government is made up of people who come from the people.
"By the people" refers to who chooses those people who make up the government.
Essentially, it's saying that it's a government comprised of common people who were chosen by common people.
answered Jan 6 '16 at 15:07
Benjamin HarmanBenjamin Harman
5,73331740
1
Thanks to the Supreme Court's interpretation of the meaning of "person" - it can be equally translated to "Of the lobbyists, by the PACS, for the corporations"... :-P
– Michael Broughton
Jan 6 '16 at 15:51
So, 'of the people' refers to government's officials, they may come from all citizen.
– Rock
Jan 6 '16 at 15:54
2
Yes, it's pointing to the fact that there is no nobility, no aristocracy, no house of lords, and no king. There is no special class ruling the country that is set apart from common people. As all people are just people, neither commoner nor noble, then all people lead, and by election, any person(s) can govern.
– Benjamin Harman
Jan 6 '16 at 16:11
I would disagree slightly in that "government by the people" means that it's "people" (i.e. common people) who are doing the governing (i.e. those in power are common people), and "of the people" means chosen by, and accountable to, the people. So your implications are entirely correct but I think different part of the sentence refer to different things.
– DJClayworth
Jan 6 '16 at 16:16
1
@BenjaminHarman: And 'by the people' means similar: all the citizens have active voting right (as regards government).
– Rock
Jan 6 '16 at 16:34
|
show 2 more comments
"Of the people" refers to the government's composition. It's referring to the fact that the government is made up of people who come from the people.
"By the people" refers to who chooses those people who make up the government.
Essentially, it's saying that it's a government comprised of common people who were chosen by common people.
answered Jan 6 '16 at 15:07
Benjamin HarmanBenjamin Harman
5,73331740
1
Thanks to the Supreme Court's interpretation of the meaning of "person" - it can be equally translated to "Of the lobbyists, by the PACS, for the corporations"... :-P
– Michael Broughton
Jan 6 '16 at 15:51
So, 'of the people' refers to government's officials, they may come from all citizen.
– Rock
Jan 6 '16 at 15:54
2
Yes, it's pointing to the fact that there is no nobility, no aristocracy, no house of lords, and no king. There is no special class ruling the country that is set apart from common people. As all people are just people, neither commoner nor noble, then all people lead, and by election, any person(s) can govern.
– Benjamin Harman
Jan 6 '16 at 16:11
I would disagree slightly in that "government by the people" means that it's "people" (i.e. common people) who are doing the governing (i.e. those in power are common people), and "of the people" means chosen by, and accountable to, the people. So your implications are entirely correct but I think different part of the sentence refer to different things.
– DJClayworth
Jan 6 '16 at 16:16
1
@BenjaminHarman: And 'by the people' means similar: all the citizens have active voting right (as regards government).
– Rock
Jan 6 '16 at 16:34
|
show 2 more comments
"Of the people" refers to the government's composition. It's referring to the fact that the government is made up of people who come from the people.
"By the people" refers to who chooses those people who make up the government.
Essentially, it's saying that it's a government comprised of common people who were chosen by common people.
answered Jan 6 '16 at 15:07
Benjamin HarmanBenjamin Harman
5,73331740
"Of the people" refers to the government's composition. It's referring to the fact that the government is made up of people who come from the people.
"By the people" refers to who chooses those people who make up the government.
Essentially, it's saying that it's a government comprised of common people who were chosen by common people.
answered Jan 6 '16 at 15:07
Benjamin HarmanBenjamin Harman
5,73331740
answered Jan 6 '16 at 15:07
Benjamin HarmanBenjamin Harman
5,73331740
answered Jan 6 '16 at 15:07
Benjamin HarmanBenjamin Harman
5,73331740
answered Jan 6 '16 at 15:07
Benjamin HarmanBenjamin Harman
5,73331740
5,73331740
1
Thanks to the Supreme Court's interpretation of the meaning of "person" - it can be equally translated to "Of the lobbyists, by the PACS, for the corporations"... :-P
– Michael Broughton
Jan 6 '16 at 15:51
So, 'of the people' refers to government's officials, they may come from all citizen.
– Rock
Jan 6 '16 at 15:54
2
Yes, it's pointing to the fact that there is no nobility, no aristocracy, no house of lords, and no king. There is no special class ruling the country that is set apart from common people. As all people are just people, neither commoner nor noble, then all people lead, and by election, any person(s) can govern.
– Benjamin Harman
Jan 6 '16 at 16:11
I would disagree slightly in that "government by the people" means that it's "people" (i.e. common people) who are doing the governing (i.e. those in power are common people), and "of the people" means chosen by, and accountable to, the people. So your implications are entirely correct but I think different part of the sentence refer to different things.
– DJClayworth
Jan 6 '16 at 16:16
1
@BenjaminHarman: And 'by the people' means similar: all the citizens have active voting right (as regards government).
– Rock
Jan 6 '16 at 16:34
|
show 2 more comments
1
Thanks to the Supreme Court's interpretation of the meaning of "person" - it can be equally translated to "Of the lobbyists, by the PACS, for the corporations"... :-P
– Michael Broughton
Jan 6 '16 at 15:51
So, 'of the people' refers to government's officials, they may come from all citizen.
– Rock
Jan 6 '16 at 15:54
2
Yes, it's pointing to the fact that there is no nobility, no aristocracy, no house of lords, and no king. There is no special class ruling the country that is set apart from common people. As all people are just people, neither commoner nor noble, then all people lead, and by election, any person(s) can govern.
– Benjamin Harman
Jan 6 '16 at 16:11
I would disagree slightly in that "government by the people" means that it's "people" (i.e. common people) who are doing the governing (i.e. those in power are common people), and "of the people" means chosen by, and accountable to, the people. So your implications are entirely correct but I think different part of the sentence refer to different things.
– DJClayworth
Jan 6 '16 at 16:16
1
@BenjaminHarman: And 'by the people' means similar: all the citizens have active voting right (as regards government).
– Rock
Jan 6 '16 at 16:34
1
1
Thanks to the Supreme Court's interpretation of the meaning of "person" - it can be equally translated to "Of the lobbyists, by the PACS, for the corporations"... :-P
– Michael Broughton
Jan 6 '16 at 15:51
Thanks to the Supreme Court's interpretation of the meaning of "person" - it can be equally translated to "Of the lobbyists, by the PACS, for the corporations"... :-P
– Michael Broughton
Jan 6 '16 at 15:51
So, 'of the people' refers to government's officials, they may come from all citizen.
– Rock
Jan 6 '16 at 15:54
So, 'of the people' refers to government's officials, they may come from all citizen.
– Rock
Jan 6 '16 at 15:54
2
2
Yes, it's pointing to the fact that there is no nobility, no aristocracy, no house of lords, and no king. There is no special class ruling the country that is set apart from common people. As all people are just people, neither commoner nor noble, then all people lead, and by election, any person(s) can govern.
– Benjamin Harman
Jan 6 '16 at 16:11
Yes, it's pointing to the fact that there is no nobility, no aristocracy, no house of lords, and no king. There is no special class ruling the country that is set apart from common people. As all people are just people, neither commoner nor noble, then all people lead, and by election, any person(s) can govern.
– Benjamin Harman
Jan 6 '16 at 16:11
I would disagree slightly in that "government by the people" means that it's "people" (i.e. common people) who are doing the governing (i.e. those in power are common people), and "of the people" means chosen by, and accountable to, the people. So your implications are entirely correct but I think different part of the sentence refer to different things.
– DJClayworth
Jan 6 '16 at 16:16
I would disagree slightly in that "government by the people" means that it's "people" (i.e. common people) who are doing the governing (i.e. those in power are common people), and "of the people" means chosen by, and accountable to, the people. So your implications are entirely correct but I think different part of the sentence refer to different things.
– DJClayworth
Jan 6 '16 at 16:16
1
1
@BenjaminHarman: And 'by the people' means similar: all the citizens have active voting right (as regards government).
– Rock
Jan 6 '16 at 16:34
@BenjaminHarman: And 'by the people' means similar: all the citizens have active voting right (as regards government).
– Rock
Jan 6 '16 at 16:34
|
show 2 more comments
Of the people refers to the government's target, indicating what is governed.
Of the people is not really necessary, but emphasizes the rest of the sentence.
[B]y the people indicates that government was designated by the people. It refers to democracy.
[F]or the people indicates that the objective of the government is to improve common welfare.
edited 12 hours ago
jimm101
7,42792240
answered Jan 6 '16 at 15:30
GraffitoGraffito
11.4k11841
add a comment |
Of the people refers to the government's target, indicating what is governed.
Of the people is not really necessary, but emphasizes the rest of the sentence.
[B]y the people indicates that government was designated by the people. It refers to democracy.
[F]or the people indicates that the objective of the government is to improve common welfare.
edited 12 hours ago
jimm101
7,42792240
answered Jan 6 '16 at 15:30
GraffitoGraffito
11.4k11841
add a comment |
Of the people refers to the government's target, indicating what is governed.
Of the people is not really necessary, but emphasizes the rest of the sentence.
[B]y the people indicates that government was designated by the people. It refers to democracy.
[F]or the people indicates that the objective of the government is to improve common welfare.
edited 12 hours ago
jimm101
7,42792240
answered Jan 6 '16 at 15:30
GraffitoGraffito
11.4k11841
Of the people refers to the government's target, indicating what is governed.
Of the people is not really necessary, but emphasizes the rest of the sentence.
[B]y the people indicates that government was designated by the people. It refers to democracy.
[F]or the people indicates that the objective of the government is to improve common welfare.
edited 12 hours ago
jimm101
7,42792240
answered Jan 6 '16 at 15:30
GraffitoGraffito
11.4k11841
edited 12 hours ago
jimm101
7,42792240
edited 12 hours ago
jimm101
7,42792240
edited 12 hours ago
jimm101
7,42792240
7,42792240
answered Jan 6 '16 at 15:30
GraffitoGraffito
11.4k11841
answered Jan 6 '16 at 15:30
GraffitoGraffito
11.4k11841
answered Jan 6 '16 at 15:30
GraffitoGraffito
11.4k11841
11.4k11841
add a comment |
add a comment |
Thanks for contributing an answer to English Language & Usage Stack Exchange!
- Please be sure to answer the question. Provide details and share your research!
But avoid …
- Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers.
- Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience.
To learn more, see our tips on writing great answers.
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
StackExchange.ready(
function () {
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fenglish.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f298077%2fa-government-of-the-people-by-the-people-for-the-people%23new-answer', 'question_page');
}
);
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
