Democracy for Whom? Herrenvolk Origins and the Design of American Exclusion

This paper argues that the United States was founded as a herrenvolk democracy, a system that grants democratic rights to the "master race" while being tyrannical toward all others. By tracing key decisions from the early colonial period through the Declaration and Constitution to the 1790 Naturalization Act, which restricted citizenship to "free white persons," I show that this exclusionary foundation was an intentional choice, consistently upheld against more inclusive alternatives. On the nation's 250th anniversary, with the project of a genuine multiracial democracy still unrealized, understanding this founding design is critical to confronting its legacy.