America was not founded as a Democracy or as a Monarchy, for the educated and landed founding fathers felt assured that neither would provide the nation with rights for all and privilege for the few. America was founded as a Republic, and one might add as an ogliarchic republic at that. Those with the right gender, race, and wealth were represented through their while others were represented through the votes of their betters. Today, nearly-universal sufferage (age and past misbehavior are both barriers) assures that these factors do not determine whether a person can vote – but an argument can still be made that the majority of the political process is determined by wealth. "The creators of America's constitution and government were among the wealthy aristocrats of their day. When they created their new government, the founders excluded democracy to the extent politically possible at the time. .The great failure of representative democracy is that our supposed representatives do not fairly represent the entire populace. They represent themselves and their wealthy clients first and best." (Rothenberger in: Grinning Planet, 2004) .

             The idea that the republican government in America is largely dominated by the wealthy and elite is called elitism, and it holds that power is concentrated in those who have economic wealth – a small and extremely influential elite whose interests control all aspects of American life from the media to consumer habits to employment and politics. These elite may have minor differences of opinion, but their common interests lead to general consensus and a concentrated push for increased power. The masses have little or no power to influence the outcome of politics, as their votes and even their opinions are entirely shaped by the ruling elite, to their own detriment. There is some evidence for this stance. The elite, in this view point, are defined by wealth.