The above quotation is attributed to Benjamin Franklin at the close of the Constitutional Convention. Franklin gave this response to a query as he was leaving Independence Hall on the final day of deliberations. According to Maryland delegate James McHenry,  "A lady asked Dr. Franklin, Well Doctor what have we got a republic or a monarchy." From the Latin "res publica," a republic is a form of government in which the country is considered a “public matter”, not the private concern or property of the rulers, in which public offices are consequently appointed or elected rather than privately accommodated (i.e., through inheritance or divine mandate).