Why was direct democracy not practical during the 19th century?

Why was direct democracy not practical during the 19th century?

1. The populations were much larger and diverse than that of Ancient Greece

   • The size of the state was often too large for all of the people to assemble together.

2. Most people remained illiterate and uneducated. Expecting them to reach important political decisions was unrealistic.

3. There was a fear that the minority groups would suffer discrimination at the hands of the majority.

   • The interests of the landowners, merchants and businessmen would be swamped by that of the ordinary people, who were numerically superior.
     • Only a minority of people owned their own property, they feared tyranny of the non-property owning class.