TRUE

The claim is TRUE because a republic is widely defined as a form of representative democracy 7 20. While some distinctions exist between a pure democracy and a pure republic 1, modern political terminology uses the terms interchangeably to describe governments where citizens vote for their leaders 17. In a republic, the people hold ultimate power and elect representatives to pass laws on their behalf 3 4. Official government materials from USCIS explicitly state that the United States is a representative democracy 20. Furthermore, scholars and government entities describe the American system as a democratic republic, noting that it has historically functioned as both 2. Although the word democracy does not appear in the Constitution, the document established a federal system of representative government 19. While some commentators argue the systems are distinct, the two concepts overlap in their reliance on the political power of the citizenry 7 18.