Here's the definition, it might help: a state in which the supreme power rests in the body of citizens entitled to vote and is exercised by representatives chosen directly or indirectly by them.
Anybody except Adult White Males could not vote, it was called the
<span>Jacksonian democracy</span>
Civic and political participation is important so that decisions
are not made by a few people. Participation by the masses insures
greater freedom.
