The People's Power

Democracy is a government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised by them directly or indirectly through a system of representation usually involving periodically held free election. In 19th century the United states of America had become a democratic government. It wasn't always every citizen had the right to vote though, it used to be more difficult for someone to be able to vote. Before the United States switched over to democracy men had to own property to vote. Benjamin Franklin once said "“Today a man owns a jackass worth fifty dollars and he is entitled to vote; but before the next election the jackass dies.  The man in the meantime has become more experienced, his knowledge of the principles of government, and his acquaintance with mankind are more extensive, and he is therefore better qualified to make a proper selection of rulers – but the jackass is dead and the man cannot vote.  Now gentlemen, pray inform me, in whom is the right of suffrage?  In the man or in the jackass?”  He was basically saying anyone that owned property could vote. For example even if the wisest man in town didn't own property he still would not be able to vote. Another American that shared Franklin's distaste for the suffrage of the united states is Northern Townshend. Townshend realized that the United States was not a complete democracy at the time and wanted universal suffrage so the US would be a true democracy.

Throughout the 1800's the United states government began to morph into a democratic government.The US eased into the idea of giving more voting rights and power to the people. As shown in the graph of Methods of Electing Presidential Electors, the states individually gave up the the legislative's power of voting and handed it over to the people. The only state that had not given it up by 1836 was South Carolina, who eventually gave it up. As time has gone on the US has become more, and more democratic and now we truly are a democratic country because the power of voting is the people's power.