Was Great Britain a democracy during the War of 1812?
Given that in 1812, neither US Senators or the President were elected by direct vote of the electorate, can it be argued that the United States was a democracy back then? And, given that the electorate was composed only of white males, the notion that the US was a democracy in 1812, isn’t tenable, except in relative terms.
Not to put too fine a point on things, but since a democratic system involves actual direct vote by the citizens, their sovereignty not delegated to elected officials, are there really any democracies? Have there ever been at the national level?
I know. Semantics.