User blog comment:Reximus55/Government Series - Introduction/@comment-32656-20131017090752/@comment-1789156-20131018161026

If you use a dictionary you would find this:

 Democracy 

 Republic 1. a   state   in  which  the   supreme   power   rests  in the  body  of citizens entitled to vote  and  is exercised by representatives   chosen   directly  or  indirectly  b y   them. 2. any  body   of   persons  viewed as a commonwealth.3. a state in which  the   head   of   government   is   not   a   monarch   or   other   hereditary   head   of   state. Even though you yourself may use the words interchangeably, that doesn't mean they are the same thing. And as I've shown, the United States is not a democracy, but a republic, which a sort of deriviative of a democracy.
 * 1) free and equal representation of people: the free and equal right of every person to participate in a system of government, often practiced by electing representatives of the people by the majority of the people
 * 2) democratic nation: a country with a government that has been elected freely and equally by all its citizens
 * 3) democratic system of government: a system of government based on the principle of majority decision-making