this post was submitted on 14 May 2026
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US democracy drew heavy inspiration from British democracy. The main differences were that there wasn't a (largely depowered) monarch at the head, and that Americans actually got to participate in it.
It's important to remember that what caused the American Revolution wasn't the sudden urge for a new form of government - American colonies had been electing their own governments for over 100 years at that point. What caused the American Revolution was the sudden attempt by Britain to impose taxes on Americans without letting them participate in elections for the British parliament, which they were nominally legally entitled to do, as British subjects.