It's A Republic

America is technically not a democracy -- it's a republic. You may remember: "And to the republic for which it stands" In a true democracy, every single citizen is eligible to vote on every single issue — it would be like having referendums every day. In a constitutional republic (which the U.S. is), citizens elect leaders to make those decisions for them. And on a side note, back in 1776, democracy was a dirty word, the way terrorism is today, and the Founding Fathers wouldn't have been able to rally support for a new democratic nation.