Leland C. answered • 05/27/21
Ph.D. in Public Policy and Administration
Those who wrote the Constitution had rebelled against monarchy but suspected that democracy was a formula for demagoguery and mob rule. This led to creating a republic that separated the powers of government and provided for indirect democracy. The President was chosen by the Electoral College, not by a direct popular vote. Senators were chosen by state legislatures. Justices were appointed by the President to lifetime terms with the advice and consent of the Senate. Voting laws were delegated to the states, and at first only white men who owned land could vote.
While the principles of democracy were not emphasized in the Constitution as originally adopted, voting rights expanded over time. Some states had extended voting rights to all white men before the Civil War, and the 15th expanded voting rights to all men regardless of “race, color, or previous condition of servitude.” The 17th Amendment was ratified in 1913 and provided for direct election of Senators. The 19th Amendment extended the right to vote to women in 1920. In summary, the Constitution established a republic by separating powers and providing a measure of indirect democracy that expanded over time.
