Executive Branch vs. Legislative Branch In principle, the U.S. is a democratic republic, they govern themselves by choosing their leaders by secret ballot, and these leaders in turn make the rules. Americans started "governing themselves" as a nation on July 4th, 1776, when the Declaration of Independence was signed in Philadelphia by representatives of the thirteen British colonies in North America. That loose union of the states was replaced by the Constitution of the U.…showed first 75 words of 1518 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1518 total…even mentioned in the Constitution, makes law passing far more difficult, resulting in only the passing of laws that have been extremely carefully considered. In the Constitution, the Founding Fathers limit the power of government in many, many ways. Their most important intent was to make the nation less democratic and to keep the government small. The Constitution has accomplished the Founding Fathers' goal until now, and will hopefully continue doing so in the future.