In the late 1800s, Henry Adams wrote Democracy: An American Novel, in which he portrayed Washington society through the eyes of a wealthy young widow, Mrs. Madeline Lee, who is seeking the basis of American governmental power. In her search for the foundations of power, Ms. Lee encounters many aspects of Washington society, such as the types of people who control the government. The novel goes beyond a simple plot and story and includes portraits of the basic types of Washington people, Washington society, and Adams' assumptions about American democracy. Adams's main assumption was that respectable government was virtually impossible. Subsequently, he believed that the American political system naturally tends towards corruption, and finally, he thought that politics and power inevitably tend to weaken a person's morals. Adams' assumption that respectable government is not possible in a democracy underlies the entire book and culminates in Mrs. Lee's conversation with Senator Ratcliffe about government corruption. Ms. Lee asks, “Is respectable government impossible in a democracy?” Senator Ratcliffe responds: “That no representative government can long be better or much worse than the society it represents. Purify society and you will purify government. But try to artificially purify the government and you will only compound the failure” (Adams 42). Speaking through Senator Rafcliffe, Adams is saying that representative governments not only represent the political views of the people, but also reflect the morals of society. Adams adds at this point the point of view of the corrupt and cynical Bulgarian minister, Baron Jacobi. In response to Senator Rafcliffe's statement, Baron Jacobi declares that among nations, the United States has elements of... middle of paper... in favor of a person's morals and makes politics a risky enterprise for anyone. Ms. Lee discovered this when she realized that, believing that Ratcliffe was truly honest and working for the public good, she also began to lose sight of right and wrong. Perhaps Adams presents the best solution with the end of his book; Mrs. Lee leaves Washington, its intrigues, corruption and people. He ventures to Egypt to recover and regain his sense of right and wrong. In conclusion, if politicians could step away from politics for a while, perhaps they too could regain their sense of ethics and morality. Works Cited Adams, Henry. Democracy An American Novel. New York: Random House Inc., 2003. Page no. Print.Martin, Gary. The meaning and origin of the expression: power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely. Ed. Gary Martin. The Phrase Finder, 1996. Web. 18 November. 2013.