Say what? American democracy is older than European democracy?

Yes, in fact, it is--if these countries themselves have any say in the matter. In this article, Secretary of State Clinton is, in my opinion, being unfairly criticized for her alleged "faux pas" in Europe. She claimed that American democracy is older than European democracy, apparently forgetting ancient greece (moan)--and that's about it. England, it seems, was not a democracy by the end of the 18th century, according to their national archives: "At the end of the 18th century Britain was not a democratic nation. With fewer than one in eight Englishmen entitled to take part in elections, only a fraction of the people in Britain had the right to vote. If you were a woman or working-class you were excluded from the electoral process, and so were most middle-class men. Among the elite ruling class, many were opposed to change and had no desire to alter Britain's ancient 'constitution', since political reform would mean they had to give up some of their privileges." This would make Great Britain about as democratic as, oh say, Vietnam. (N.B. While there was not universal suffrage in the US, working class white men did have the right to vote--which arguably represents the first true modern deviation from an aristocracy/monarchy.)

Of course, Americans patriots may have stolen and refined a lot/all of these European ideas, but the credit then still goes to the US for implementing them well first. So yes, modern European democracy is younger than American democracy, and don't even think about mentioning France. And Ancient Greece... hah...