Democracy? What Democracy?

In response to a friend’s post referring to an article which declared that we are not a democracy, we are a republic, and that this is a good thing because it prevents tyranny of the majority, I commented as follows. This makes for a rather short post but it is one which should be sufficiently provocative to generate a great deal of discussion.

In fact, we are republican democracy.  A blend of both.   We are not a pure democracy. Neither are we a pure republic.

The electoral college was created for the specific purpose of guaranteeing the power of the southern states by allowing them to count their slaves as 3/5 of a person for their share of representation. It was intended to create a tyranny of the minority. It has succeeded. 

Have no doubt. The electoral college is an artifact of our heritage of slavery. It is intended to ensure that the American people are not allowed to rule themselves because the founding fathers, imperfect as they were, felt that ordinary people should not be allowed to even vote. Only white, wealthy men should be allowed that power. I disagree with them on that point.