Why America's Architects Distrusted "Democracy"

Remember, Democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts and murders itself. There never was a Democracy Yet, that did not commit suicide." This searing 1814 assessment by John Adams underscores the founders’ prevailing view. They were not championing government by the people in its purest form, but rather designing a system that would contain and tame the "turbulent and changing" passions of the populace. Their reliance on mechanisms like the Electoral College and the original design of the Senate ensured that power remained in the hands of enlightened, filtered representatives, effectively shielding the young Republic from the very instability and factionalism they witnessed in ancient history and the chaos of Shays' Rebellion.