Popular democracy was developed within the colonies because of the way the way that politics were run in Europe. Those that eventually settled in North America decided that they wanted to be represented by their own government, and they therefore decided on a popular democratic form of government, meaning that that those elected by a popular vote would hold power. Representatives were elected in order to represent their constituents in government meetings.
This was done so that the government could not take advantage of its people, like the Europeans believe that their government had been doing previously. The Electoral College was created, because it was believed that the average person was not intelligent enough to make an informed decision regarding the government. While the average citizen was allowed to vote, their vote did not directly influence who could be elected.
They could vote on those who would represent them. Unfortunately, this meant that only rich, white men were able to truly participate in politics. Only those who owned land were able to vote or hold office. Only men could technically own property, and only the rich could buy property. So while it may have seemed that “ all men were created equal” and could therefore be given the ability to vote, this was obviously not the case.
