| Term used to insult American democracy in the 1800's. It was true enough, back then. People claimed that their democracy was a meaningless travesty because "We, the people" really referred only to "We, the white males". The heavy permeation of racism and sexism in American society those days permitted this outrageous infraction of many American citizens' fundamental Constitutional rights.
Several attempts were made to dislodge the White Man's Democracy. The passing of Amendment XIII in 1868 removed slavery from the United States, and Amendment XIV certified that all citizens are subject to the same rights as anyone else. However, intimidation prevented blacks from voting, and segregation laws in the South made democracy almost as ridiculous as it was before. In addition, the treatment of women as non-citizens was pretty ridiculous.
Amendment XIX, passed in 1920, granted women the rights of suffrage, finally giving some semblance of meaning to the phrase "We, the people". Some people regard women voters as the cause of the election of Warren Harding, a pretty crappy president, apparently because he looked good, but oh well, this is supposed to be a democracy. Still, blacks in some Southern states were denied the right to vote, due to the racist attitude of the governments in those states, using state sovereignity as an excuse for their behavior.
The civil rights movements in the 1960's and 1970's finally got rid of that entire load of bullshit and forced those states to allow blacks to vote freely without the fear of intimidation and retaliation. The right to vote was finally realized for all citizens of America, not just white males.
Today, the term White Man's Democracy is used by liberals who still believe that white males are in control of the whole country. Hey, even if they are, you voted them in, blame yourselves. Also, advocates of forced redistribution of wealth and affirmative action always quote the false existence of the White Man's Democracy. I think the true culprit is the political apathy of the United States. You have the power to vote, go and use it. | 
