It's my understanding that in that type of system, one of the two houses passes laws while the other represents the general population. In the US, laws are ini

It's my understanding that in that type of system, one of the two houses passes laws while the other represents the general population. In the US, laws are initiated in the House. If they pass the vote, they go to the Senate which must also vote to pass them. Finally, the President signs them into action or vetoes (which can be overridden by a 2/3 majority). The Shay's Rebellion had a huge influence on the government design. The majority (all the farmers) agreed that they could vote to force the minority (the banks) to forgive their debts. Several of the earlier Federalist papers go over the many, many democracies that failed (usually for this very reason). Voters actually elect people as state electors. Those electors come together to cast the actual vote for the president (with backups in case of election issues as this election is likely to require). The minimum number of electors gives slightly disproportionate power to less-populated states. Quite literally, the Constitution gives louder voices to minority areas. We see this same idea in the Senate. States are equal members of the union no matter if they are large or small and the Senate gives them this power. Even the largest states (population-wise) can't just force through legislation to their exclusive benefit.