The Candidates by Robert Munford give a major insight into the political climate of the late colonial period and early American republic and more specifically the southern planter class. The play follows Mr. Wou’dbe, a Virginia aristocrat running for election as a candidate for the local general assembly. Over the course of the play, Mr. Wou’dbe competes against far less capable or scrupulous opponents while discussing the values of democracy and good government. The candidate shows the strong enthusiasm felt by Americans towards democracy and civil participation in government during the lathe 18^th century. Mr. Wou’dbe is shown to be running not for personal gain or glory but rather as a reluctant man putting himself in the unconfutable position of power because he is the most worthy and capable man for the job. Mr. Wou’dbe’s worth is shown by his refusal to partake in such dirty tricks as paying for votes with liquor or trying flatter men he hardly knew like his opponent Sir John Toddy did. Rather than resorting to these tricks, Mr. Wou’dbe puts emphasis honesty and integrity. This attitude is not treated as naïve or fanciful but rather as genuine and expected of politicians. Through this, we see the strong emphasis that was put on civil participation in 18^th century America. Prior to independence self-government and participation, whether in the town meetings of the north or the more aristocratic parliamentary systems of the south were a major point of pride for Americans and a staple of American culture. During and after the revolution, this democratic tradition became a way for the new republic to define its own identity as a distinctive entity form the monarchies of Europe.