Like the liberals of the nineteenth century, the founders of the United States were clearly not advocates of pure "democracy," in the sense of unlimited rule by the majority. Although the U. S. government was to be vested in the people, its functions were limited by the Constitution, which also contained many checks designed to deter officials from issuing arbitrary edicts or passing legislation impetuously. Only the historically uninformed, who have been taught incorrectly that this country was intended to embody the principle of "democracy," are baffled by such institutions as the Electoral College, which clearly were never intended to serve as vehicles of undiluted democratic power.