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it really didn't. democracy was highly restricted for the first 150 years of the U.S.
by mark_edward 9y ago
it really didn't. democracy was highly restricted for the first 150 years of the U.S.
- js8 9y agoActually, that's not true in the U.S. Before the WWI, there was a strong movement (which was killed by federal government because of the WWI) to direct democracy in many U.S. states and it left with the democracy that's modern comparatively to many countries even today. I don't think it's a coincidence that the two most democratic countries, USA (at least at local level) and Switzerland are also among the most successful ones. The "they have to wait until they are ready" argument was always a red herring regarding democracy. It's like with any other skill, you don't learn by waiting until you're ready to become an expert, you learn by doing.
- mark_edward 9y agoI'm not against democracy. I'm just saying, by WWI women couldn't vote, most black people couldn't vote (though the legal right was there since the 14th and 15th amendment, white terror and legal disenfranchisement effectively suppressed the black vote) , so you're talking a majority of the population disenfranchised, that's a quite restricted democracy.