Democracy Dbq

America, at its founding, was radically democratic relative to the time period, but was still far from being a true democracy. In 1776, as the Declaration of Independence was signed, there were many restrictions on voting: only white, property owning, males had the right to vote. This leaves out all women, all Natives, all African Americans, and all men who were not rich; all of those groups made up a large percent of the population. The founding fathers of the United States also didn’t fully believe in the people’s ability to vote intelligently. John Adams wrote to his wife Abigail that women were too consumed in childcare and were too delicate to be trusted with the power of voting. He also said to James Sullivan, another politician, that if voting were to be more widespread, that it would be dangerous because it could, “confound and destroy all distinctions, prostrate all ranks…” (John Adams 1776).

The Constitution, surprisingly enough, also never guarantees a democracy.

Instead, it guarantees an electoral college in Article II, Section 1 and in the 12th Amendment. These give more power to the electors than the ordinary citizens, and so even if the popular vote goes to one candidate, that doesn’t mean that that candidate will win, unless the electoral college also votes in favor of them. Still, even this limited form of voting and representation was extremely democratic for the time period. Britain, which was considered relatively democratic, had voting practices that excluded much of the population and, “tended to be uneven, corrupt, and far more restrictive than America’s” (Ed Crews 2007). Most other countries didn’t even have the right to vote at all. Although the United States’ personal form of democracy was flawed, it still existed in some form, unlike

others.
Today, America has come a long way, but we still shouldn’t consider ourselves to be truly democratic. Yes, now women, people of color, and those without property have the opportunity to vote, but still there are many people that cannot. For example, citizens of Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory, cannot vote in U.S. elections. These people will be strongly affected by the decisions of the American government, and yet do not have a say in it, which goes against democratic principles. The voting also is heavily influenced by outside factors, such as super-PACs. The Citizens United Supreme Court case has allowed for these wealthy groups to have a huge influence over American elections. Gabrielle Levy, a political reporter, says, “As a result, a small group of wealthy donors has gained even more influence on elections, and are able to maintain that influence once candidates take office.” (Gabrielle Levy 2015). Candidates who need money to campaign often want to please these organizations more than ordinary citizens because the organizations are the ones who can actually provide fundraising. This makes our representative system flawed because our representatives are, in some way, forced to represent some Americans more than others, which is anti-democratic. Gerrymandering is also an issue surrounding the validity of our elections. It allows those in power to redraw districts in order to change which political direction the vote is swayed. Senator John McCain filed a brief explaining its issue, saying, “Partisan gerrymandering has become a tool for powerful interests to distort the democratic process.” (Adam Liptak 2017). The issue of the electoral college presented in the founding of America also has not been fixed. In this recent election, Clinton won the popular vote by over 2.8 million, making her the most voted-for losing candidate in U.S. history. This system of voting in which the power of choosing our government is still held tightly in the hands of wealthy politicians hinders our ability to truly be a democracy because not everyone is equally represented in America.