It’s a Republic, Don’t Expect Democracy

We seem to persistently think of ourselves as a democracy, but of course we’re not.

The Founders gave us a republic for a reason. They thought the masses were incapable of governance, but essential to freedom. Jesus, how could they know us so well? Establishing the United States as a republic was their answer.

In a republic, a state is ruled by representatives of the citizen body, so actual farmers and businessmen don't fuck it up. It's founded on the idea that sovereignty rests with the people, although who is included and excluded has always had a darker side to it across our history.

Originally only the landed gentry got the vote

In 1789 you had to be a property-owning or tax-paying white male, which amounted to about 6% of the population (mostly people they knew and trusted). The 1828 presidential election was the first where non-property-holding white males could vote and by the end of the 1820s, state laws generally allowed a universal white male vote. Obviously, turnout soared and…