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The American experiment

Helle C. Dale

Former Senior Fellow, Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom

The American experiment was unique and improbable in 1776, when Thomas Jefferson penned the Declaration of Independence and the American colonies defied Britain, the most powerful nation on earth at the time. As we look around the world at how difficult it is for democracy and freedom to take hold and flourish, America seems like a political miracle.

In 1787, when the Founding Fathers had hammered out the U.S. Constitution in Independence Hall in Philadelphia, Benjamin Franklin told an inquiring woman what the gathering had produced, "A republic, madam, if you can keep it." Jefferson also knew how great the American experiment's appeal would be to others. "The flames kindled on the 4th of July, 1776, have spread across too much of the globe to be extinguished by the feeble engines of despotism; on the contrary, they will consume the engines and all who work them." The self-evident truth that "all men are created equal; endowed by their creator with the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" remains the powerful philosophical and moral foundation of a successful foreign policy no less than it is the foundation of the American republic itself. Yet, as we are seeing today, the advance of freedom and democracy is not a straight path, but one that also sustains setbacks.

Americans have kept their republic and built it to be strong, but it will only remain so under constant vigilance. The bombing scare in Britain, where an ineffectual bomb was detonated in Glasgow airport and several other plots unfurled in London, helps remind us that freedom's enemies are as determined as ever. After a full decade of progress following the end of the Cold War, democracy is still under attack and retreating in other parts of the world. The Muslim Arab world presents a persistent and difficult challenge; China continues on its own path, which it hopes will prove that freedom and economic prosperity do not have to go hand in hand; Russia is taking the road toward a kind of authoritarianism of the past; in Africa, democracy's progress has been uneven to say the least; and some countries in Latin America are seeing autocratic populism resurging.

President Bush's ambitious declaration of the advance of freedom and democracy to be his banner causes has run into a tempest of radical terrorist opposition in Iraq and elsewhere in the Middle East, calling into doubt a once promising Iraq policy. Ironically, those on the left who in the past declared themselves democracy's champions have responded with cynicism to the goal of bringing freedom to oppressed nations. Advancing the American model of governance is regarded by some both here and in Europe as naive and imperialist. This is a sad state of affairs.

A Pew Research Center poll released last week on global views of America illustrates the problem. Public rejection of American democracy is prevalent in most countries. This may reflect opinions about the way in which the United States has implemented its pro-democracy agenda, and also about America's democratic values themselves. In 43 of 47 countries surveyed, a majority say that the United States promotes democracy mostly where it serves its interests, rather than as a matter of principle. Even more unfortunately, this cynicism also includes 63 percent in the United States itself. Only 45 percent of Americans have faith in American leadership in the world.

How to restore faith in the American political system -- and in its importance as a model for democracy to be exported and shared -- will, for the most part, be the job of the next president of the United States. Meanwhile, history will likely look more favorably on the vision of Mr. Bush than we see today. By comparison, the star of President Reagan has been ascending since he left office, and it is worth recalling that the Berlin Wall fell during the presidency of Mr. Reagan's successor, the current President Bush's father. Mr. Reagan's vision of worldwide freedom earned him scorn at the time, whereas history has vindicated him.

As Mr. Reagan stated at Yorktown in 1981, "Our Declaration of Independence has been copied by emerging nations around the globe, its themes adopted in places many of us have never heard of. Here in this land, for the first time, it was decided that man is born with certain God-given rights. We the people declared that the government is created by the people for their own convenience." As powerful as that message is, it has to receive constant reinforcement from those who remain convinced of its promise.

Helle Dale is director of the Douglas and Sarah Allison Center for Foreign Policy Studies at the Heritage Foundation.

First appeared in The Washington Times

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The American Experiment

Dialogues on a dream.

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About The Book

About the author.

David M. Rubenstein is the New York Times bestselling author of How to Invest , How to Lead , The American Experiment, and The American Story . He is cofounder and cochairman of The Carlyle Group, one of the world’s largest and most successful private equity firms. Rubenstein is Chairman of the Boards of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the Council on Foreign Relations, the National Gallery of Art, the Economic Club of Washington, and the University of Chicago. He is an original signer of The Giving Pledge and a recipient of the Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy and the MoMA’s David Rockefeller Award. The host of PBS’s History with David Rubenstein, Bloomberg Wealth with David Rubenstein, and The David Rubenstein Show: Peer-to-Peer Conversations on Bloomberg TV and PBS, he lives in the Washington, DC, area.

Product Details

• Publisher: Simon & Schuster (September 7, 2021)
• Length: 464 pages
• ISBN13: 9781982165734

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Raves and Reviews

“Influential Americans talk about the nation’s past and future. . . . These conversations—warm, engaging, and informative—help Rubenstein point up America’s particular qualities that “have made the whole American Experiment work” even though, facing significant challenges, the country has fallen short.” — Kirkus Reviews “In this fascinating compilation of interviews with historians, musicians, athletes, journalists, and other notables of our times, David Rubenstein paints what he calls the genetic picture of this country, and why it has succeeded—so far.” — Nina Totenberg, Legal Affairs Correspondent, NPR “David Rubenstein is a deeply committed citizen and patriot, and a keen observer of human nature with a passion for history. As fellow citizen experimenters, he is suggesting we all engage in thinking about the past and present in order to forge a future that fulfills the promise of America.” — Yo-Yo Ma, Cellist “In this timely and important book David Rubenstein explores the lessons of the past that will help us through this historically challenging time. It is just the right book at exactly the right time.” — Tom Brokaw, author of The Greatest Generation “David Rubenstein’s insatiable curiosity and intellect bring out the best from those with whom he is in conversation, evoking rich interactions and making history entertaining. The American Experiment captures the essence of the American leader and the pivotal moments in our country’s history.” — Deborah F. Rutter, President, John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts “An extraordinary opportunity to marvel at the United States—and to understand her principles so that we might advance them in service to the republic.” — Lawrence Bacow, President, Harvard University “In this brilliant book, we hear from the best minds in the country about the unfinished voyage of American life. A must-read to understand our unique nation, its extraordinary legacy, and our collective future!” — Admiral James Stavridis, 16th Supreme Allied Commander at NATO and author of Sailing True North: Ten Admirals and the Voyage of Character “David Rubenstein has a unique ability to ask the right penetrating questions that elicit illuminating answers from fascinating people who paint a complete and detailed picture of the American experiment from all sides. As the country’s pre-eminent patriotic philanthropist, David is now doing even more to preserve American history with this important project.” — Bret Baier, Chief Political Anchor, Fox News & New York Times bestselling author “At this turbulent moment in our nation’s history, this captivating dialogue about the meaning of democracy and the American dream provides much needed inspiration and hope. What a terrific book!” — Doris Kearns Goodwin “A truly amazing new book. The American Experiment is urgently needed especially during this very strenuous moment in our American history.” — Wolf Blitzer “A stirring reminder of what our ‘American experiment’ has achieved so far and what’s at stake as we move forward.” — Katie Couric “A dazzling set of conversations that inspire and illuminate. David Rubenstein highlights the salient features of the American experiment, an experiment so novel that when it began most serious observers thought it would collapse in a few years.” — Fareed Zakaria “At a time when listening is harder and divisions run deeper, David’s interviews soar above the noise. They are hopeful, inspiring, and rigorously authentic.” — Valerie Jarrett “A book that forces America to look in the mirror. It’s a reality pill.” — LL COOL J

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The American Experiment: Dialogues on a Dream Hardcover – September 7, 2021

• Print length 464 pages
• Language English
• Publisher Simon & Schuster
• Publication date September 7, 2021
• Dimensions 6.13 x 1.3 x 9.25 inches
• ISBN-10 1982165731
• ISBN-13 978-1982165734
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• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Simon & Schuster (September 7, 2021)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 464 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1982165731
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1982165734
• Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.2 pounds
• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.13 x 1.3 x 9.25 inches
• #621 in Democracy (Books)
• #1,238 in Political Philosophy (Books)
• #2,280 in Essays & Correspondence (Books)

About the author

David m. rubenstein.

David M. Rubenstein is Co-Founder and Co-Chairman of The Carlyle Group, a global investment firm managing more than $300 billion.

Mr. Rubenstein is the host of The David Rubenstein Show: Peer-to-Peer Conversations on Bloomberg TV and PBS and Bloomberg Wealth with David Rubenstein on Bloomberg TV; and the author of The American Story: Conversations with Master Historians, published 2019, How to Lead: Wisdom from the World's Greatest CEOs, Founders, and Game Changers, published in 2020, and The American Experiment: Dialogues on a Dream, published in 2021 (all published by Simon & Schuster).

Mr. Rubenstein is Chairman of the Boards of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the Council on Foreign Relations, the National Gallery of Art, and the Economic Club of Washington; a Fellow of the Harvard Corporation; a Trustee of the University of Chicago, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Johns Hopkins Medicine, the Institute for Advanced Study, the National Constitution Center, the Brookings Institution, and the World Economic Forum; and a Director of the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Mr. Rubenstein is an original signer of The Giving Pledge and a recipient of the Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy and the MoMA’s David Rockefeller Award.

Mr. Rubenstein is a leader in the area of Patriotic Philanthropy, having made transformative gifts for the restoration or repair of the Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, Jefferson Memorial, Monticello, Montpelier, Mount Vernon, Arlington House, Iwo Jima Memorial, the Kennedy Center, the Smithsonian, the National Archives, the National Zoo, the Library of Congress, and the National Museum of African American History and Culture. Mr. Rubenstein has also provided to the U.S. government long-term loans of his rare copies of the Magna Carta, the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution, the Bill of Rights, the Emancipation Proclamation, the 13th Amendment, the first map of the U.S. (Abel Buell map), and the first book printed in the U.S. (Bay Psalm Book).

Mr. Rubenstein, a native of Baltimore, is a 1970 magna cum laude graduate of Duke University and graduated in 1973 from the University of Chicago Law School, where he was an editor of the Law Review.

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November 27, 1860

• New York Daily Tribune

New York New York

The American Experiment

/ 16 Months to Sumter

/ The American Experiment

The material on this page is provided for use as a primary source through which to understand the period and the historical context in which it was produced. Historians recognize the importance of maintaining documents that might no longer align with the ideas and values of an individual or organization reproducing those documents.

The social, and especially the political institutions of the United States, have, for the whole of the current century, been the subject in Europe, not merely of curious speculation, but of the deepest interest. We have been regarded as engaged in trying a great experiment, involving not merely the future fate and welfare of this Western continent, but the hopes and prospects of the whole human race. Is it possible for a Government to be permanently maintained without privileged classes, without a standing army, and without either hereditary or self-appointed rulers? Is the democratic principle of equal rights, general suffrage, and government by a majority, capable of being carried into practical operation, and that, too, over a large extent of country?

The more populous and wealthy the United States have become, and the higher the position to which they have risen in the scale of national importance, with the greater confidence has it been maintained, on the one hand, that our institutions rest on a solid and permanent basis, and on the other, that they are destitute of inherent strength and cohesion, and that the time of explosion and disruption is rapidly approaching.

It cannot be doubted that the news of the present extraordinary position of affairs in the Southern States, consequent upon the result of the late Presidential election, will produce among the European advocates of democratic government and popular rights very serious alarms as to what is to become of us; while, among the advocates of monarchy and aristocracy, the threatened secession of the Cotton, if not of the entire body of the Slaveholding States, will be regarded as the first step toward the entire breakdown of our whole system of republican government.

It ought, however, to be borne in mind that the threatened disruption of the Union does not originate at all from the democratic element of our politics or social condition. It is the element of negro slavery, confined exclusively to a portion only, and that the smaller portion, of the States, that has given occasion to all the existing trouble. This element of negro slavery not only conflicts with the democratic idea by stripping the negro population of all rights whatsoever; at the same time it paralyzes and degrades the great mass of the white population; so that, whatever may be the letter of constitutions and laws, it creates a narrow aristocracy, which, in the local affairs of the Slaveholding States, has everything its own way. Not content to rule at home, this slaveholding aristocracy now undertakes to dictate to the other States also, not merely their laws and their Presidential candidates, but even their opinions on questions of religion and morals, so far, at least, as the question of slaveholding is concerned. It is not the development of democratic ideas or institutions that has brought on the present difficulties; it is the collision which has taken place between democracy on the one hand, and this foreign element and doubly aristocratical institution of negro slavery on the other. Suppose it should turn out that, under these circumstances, the Slaveholding States should determine to separate from the Union. That might prove the incompatibility of Slavery with the well-working of a Government based on democratic principles, but it would be very far from proving, or even indicating, the failure of our American experiment. Whatever happened to the Slaveholding States after this separation, in the broad extent of the Free Labor States the experiment of republican government on democratic principles would still go on; nor is there anything in our past history or present position to induce serious misgivings as to the result.

It has often been urged that with the increase of wealth and population our existing popular system of government would become impracticable, and that a great class would arise, of mere laborers, destitute of property, to whom the right of suffrage could not be safely entrusted. Our experience thus far does not give any countenance to this view. Take the State of Massachusetts, for instance: With a constant increase in population and wealth, her institutions and government have conformed more and more to the democratic idea; nor does there seem any danger to her existing political institutions, even if that increase should continue indefinitely.

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About the National Archives

Welcome Remarks for the American Experiment: Dialogues on a Dream

Greetings from the National Archives’ flagship building in Washington, DC, which sits on the ancestral lands of the Nacotchtank peoples. I’m David Ferriero, Archivist of the United States, and it's my pleasure to welcome you to today’s conversation with David M. Rubenstein about his new book, The American Experiment: Dialogues on a Dream.

The American Experiment is the third work in a trilogy that includes How to Lead and The American Story. It is based on conversations with some of our nation’s greatest minds—Pulitzer Prize–winning historians, diplomats, music legends, sports giants—and looks into the inspiring story of America as a grand experiment in democracy, culture, innovation, and ideas.

Before we begin, I’d like to tell you about two programs you can view later this month on our YouTube channel.

On Friday, September 17, at 1 p.m., John Kowal and Wilfred Codrington III, authors of The People’s Constitution , will discuss how generations have reshaped our founding document—the U.S. Constitution—amid some of the most colorful, contested, and controversial battles in American political life.

And on Tuesday, September 21, at 3 p.m., we will commemorate the upcoming 100th anniversary of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier with a program presented in partnership with Arlington National Cemetery. “Here Rests in Honored Glory” is a two-part look at National Archives records related to Arlington National Cemetery and the tomb. Part one will feature motion picture, cartographic, and photographic records.

David Rubenstein is a true friend of the National Archives. He knows the importance of making the documents of government available to the public so that all Americans know their rights, responsibilities, and shared history. His personal copy of the Magna Carta is the anchor of our Records of Rights exhibit housed in the David M. Rubenstein Gallery. In 2011, he received the National Archives Foundation's Records of Achievement award for giving countless Americans the opportunity to learn about our country through documents. His generosity has inspired many others to support the work of the Archives, and for that, we are grateful.

David Rubenstein is the New York Times bestselling author of How to Lead and The American Story. He is co-founder and co-executive chairman of The Carlyle Group, and Chairman of the Boards of Trustees of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and the Council on Foreign Relations. He is an original signer of The Giving Pledge and a recipient of the Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy and the MoMA’s David Rockefeller Award. He is also the host of The David Rubenstein Show on Bloomberg TV and PBS.

Joining David in conversation today is author and historian Michael Beschloss, an award-winning historian, bestselling author, and Emmy winner. He is on the Board of Directors of the National Archives Foundation, a trustee of the White House Historical Association, and former trustee of the Thomas Jefferson Foundation.

Now let’s hear from David Rubenstein and Michael Beschloss. Thank you for joining us today.

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8 Great Strides for Freedom in U.S. History

By: Sarah Pruitt

Updated: September 21, 2023 | Original: June 29, 2018

The founding fathers set a high standard of ideals for the new nation to live up to back in 1776. But from the very beginning, debate about the best way to do that has been an inherent part of the American experiment. Since its founding, the United States has had both high and low moments on its road to ensuring freedom and equality for its citizens. Take a look back at eight moments in history when the nation made strides toward ensuring life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness—for all.

1. The Declaration of Independence

More than a year after fighting broke out between colonial militia and British forces in April 1775, the Continental Congress in Philadelphia finally decided to declare the independence of the North American colonies. The main goal of the Declaration of Independence , adopted on July 4, 1776, was to present the colonists’ grievances against Great Britain, but it would be Thomas Jefferson’s introductory words (“We hold these truths to be self-evident; that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights…”) that would echo most strongly through generations to come.

2. The Bill of Rights

After several failed attempts at creating a government, a 1787 convention is called to draft a new legal system for the United States. This new Constitution provides for increased federal authority while still protecting the basic rights of its citizens.

In the earliest years of the new nation, many people opposed the Constitution because they thought it gave the federal government too much power over its people. As soon as the new U.S. Congress met, it began debating a number of constitutional amendments, the first 10 of which were ratified in December 1791 as the Bill of Rights . By guaranteeing certain fundamental rights—including freedom of speech and religion, the right to bear arms and the right to a fair trial—against infringement by the federal government, the Bill of Rights greatly expanded the civil liberties of Americans, with implications that are still being debated today.

3. The Abolition of Slavery

By 1862, President Abraham Lincoln had become convinced that freeing the South’s slaves was critical to the Union effort to win the Civil War. Though the Emancipation Proclamation , which took effect the following year, applied only to the slaves in Confederate states, Lincoln made it clear in his historic Gettysburg Address that the Union now fought to provide a “new birth of freedom” rather than simply bring the South back into the fold. Passage of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution in 1865 abolished the institution of slavery, and granted liberty to more than 4 million black men, women and children formerly held in bondage.

4. ‘Yearning to Breathe Free’— The Era of Immigration

“Give me your tired, your poor/Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,” the poet Emma Lazarus imagined the Statue of Liberty saying to the world in her famous sonnet “The New Colossus.” From 1880 to 1920, more than 20 million immigrants came to the United States seeking freedom and new opportunity.

Whether they were fleeing religious persecution (Eastern European Jews), hunger and poverty (Italians), or war or revolution at home (Armenia and Mexico), the United States welcomed these new arrivals—with the notable exception of people from Asian countries, whose entrance was strictly limited by laws such as the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. This relatively open-door policy ended with the onset of World War I, and in the 1920s a series of new laws would be introduced to limit immigration.

5. The 19th Amendment

Some 72 years after the national women’s rights movement launched at Seneca Falls , ratification of the 19th Amendment in 1920 finally gave women the right to vote. Despite setbacks and internal divisions in the decades after the Civil War, the suffrage movement gained momentum in the early 20th century, as protesters were arrested, imprisoned and in some cases went on hunger strikes for the cause.

After Tennessee became the last necessary state to ratify the 19th Amendment in August 1920, women across the country headed to the polls to exercise their long-awaited right to cast their ballots in the presidential election that fall.

“People of western Europe…the hour of your liberation is approaching,” General Dwight D. Eisenhower , supreme commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force, announced in a speech broadcast via radio on June 6, 1944 .

By the end of that day, some 156,000 American, British and Canadians forces had landed simultaneously on five beachheads in northern France, beginning the Allied invasion of Western Europe during World War II. As Eisenhower’s speech had predicted, the triumphant landing marked the beginning of the end for Adolf Hitler’s Nazi forces, which would surrender unconditionally less than a year later.

7. The Civil Rights Act of 1964

After years of struggle and setbacks, advocates for equality celebrate the passage of sweeping legislation that prohibits racial discrimination.

In 1963, as civil rights activists protesting segregation and voting restriction across the South met with violent opposition , and hundreds of thousands of people marched on Washington to demand “Jobs and Freedom,” President John F. Kennedy introduced the first major civil rights legislation since Reconstruction.

After JFK’s assassination that November, his successor Lyndon B. Johnson took up the cause, doggedly pushing the bill through stiff Democratic opposition in Congress. On June 2, 1964, Johnson signed into law the Civil Rights Act , which ended the segregation of public and many private facilities, and outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex or national origin.

8. Freedom to Marry

On June 26, 2015, the Supreme Court issued a landmark ruling declaring that the Constitution guarantees to same-sex couples the freedom to marry . The case that led to this milestone achievement for the gay rights movement, Obergefell v. Hodges, began when same-sex couples sued in Ohio, Michigan, Kentucky and Tennessee, declaring that their states’ bans on gay marriage were unconstitutional.

In a decision that echoed the Court’s 1967 verdict in Loving v. Virginia , which struck down state laws banning interracial marriage, Justice Anthony Kennedy declared that the freedom to marry was one of the most fundamental liberties guaranteed to individuals under the 14th Amendment , and should apply to same-sex couples just as it does to heterosexual couples. “They ask for equal dignity in the eyes of the law,” Kennedy wrote. “The Constitution grants them that right.”

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Why Franklin, Washington and Lincoln considered American democracy an ‘experiment’ – and were unsure if it would survive

Research Associate Professor of History, University of Tennessee

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Thomas Coens does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

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From the time of the founding era to the present day, one of the more common things said about American democracy is that it is an “experiment .”

Most people can readily intuit what the term is meant to convey, but it is still a phrase that is bandied about more often than it is explained or analyzed.

Is American democracy an “experiment” in the bubbling-beakers-in-a-laboratory sense of the word? If so, what is the experiment attempting to prove, and how will we know if and when it has succeeded?

Establishing, then keeping, the republic

To the extent you can generalize about such a diverse group , the founders meant two things, I would argue, by calling self-government an “experiment.”

First, they saw their work as an experimental attempt to apply principles derived from science and the study of history to the management of political relations. As the founder John Jay explained to a New York grand jury in 1777 , Americans, acting under “the guidance of reason and experience,” were among “the first people whom heaven has favored with an opportunity of deliberating upon, and choosing the forms of government under which they should live.”

Alongside this optimistic, Enlightenment-inspired understanding of the democratic experiment, however, was another that was decidedly more pessimistic.

Their work, the founders believed, was also an experiment because, as everyone who had read their Aristotle and Cicero and studied ancient history knew, republics – in which political power rests with the people and their representatives – and democracies were historically rare and acutely susceptible to subversion. That subversion came both from within – from decadence, the sapping of public virtue and demagoguery – as well as from monarchies and other enemies abroad.

When asked whether the federal constitution of 1787 established a monarchy or a republic, Benjamin Franklin is famously said to have answered: “ A republic, if you can keep it .” His point was that establishing a republic on paper was easy and preserving it the hard part.

Optimism and pessimism

The term “experiment” does not appear in any of the nation’s founding documents, but it has nevertheless enjoyed a privileged place in public political rhetoric.

George Washington, in his first inaugural address , described the “republican model of government” as an “experiment entrusted to the hands of the American people.”

Gradually, presidents began to talk less of a democratic experiment whose success was still in doubt than about one whose viability had been proven by the passage of time.

Andrew Jackson, for one, in his 1837 farewell address felt justified in proclaiming, “Our Constitution is no longer a doubtful experiment, and at the end of nearly half a century we find that it has preserved unimpaired the liberties of the people.”

Such statements of guarded optimism about the American experiment’s accomplishments, however, existed alongside persistent expressions of concern about its health and prospects.

In the period before the Civil War , despite participating in what in hindsight was a healthy, two-party system, politicians were forever proclaiming the end of the republic and casting opponents as threats to democracy. Most of those fears can be written off as hyperbole or attempts to demonize rivals. Some, of course, were sparked by genuine challenges to democratic institutions.

The attempt of Southern states to dissolve the Union represented one such occasion. In a July 4, 1861, address to Congress, Abraham Lincoln quite rightly saw the crisis as a grave trial for the democratic experiment to survive .

“Our popular Government has often been called an experiment,” Lincoln observed. “Two points in it our people have already settled – the successful establishing and the successful administering of it. One still remains – its successful maintenance against a formidable internal attempt to overthrow it.”

Vigilance required

If you tried to quantify references to the democratic “experiment” throughout American history, you would find, I suspect, more pessimistic than optimistic invocations, more fears that the experiment is at imminent risk of failing than standpat complacency that it has succeeded.

Consider, for example, the popularity of such recent tomes as “ How Democracies Die ,” by political scientists Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt, and “ Twilight of Democracy ,” by journalist and historian Anne Applebaum. Why this persistence of pessimism? Historians of the United States have long noted the popularity since the time of the Puritans of so-called “Jeremiads” and “declension narratives” – or, to put it more colloquially, nostalgia for the good old days and the belief that society is going to hell in a handbasket.

The human-made nature of our institutions has always been a source of both hope and anxiety. Hope that America could break the shackles of old-world oppression and make the world anew; anxiety that the improvisational nature of democracy leaves it vulnerable to anarchy and subversion.

American democracy has faced genuine, sometimes existential threats. Though its attribution to Thomas Jefferson is apparently apocryphal, the adage that the price of liberty is eternal vigilance is justly celebrated.

The hard truth is that the “experiment” of American democracy will never be finished so long as the promise of equality and liberty for all remains anywhere unfulfilled.

The temptation to give in to despair or paranoia in the face of the experiment’s open-endedness is understandable. But fears about its fragility should be tempered with a recognition that democracy’s essential and demonstrated malleability – its capacity for adaptation, improvement and expanding inclusivity – can be and has historically been a source of strength and resilience as well as vulnerability.

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2025 AASLH ANNUAL CONFERENCE

2025 aaslh annual conference | cincinnati, ohio | september 10-13, 2025, 2025 theme: the american experiment, what is the aaslh annual conference, serving history practitioners everywhere, fellowships and scholarships, upcoming annual conferences, the american experiment  |  in partnership with ohio local history alliance.

The 2025 AASLH Annual Conference, in partnership with Ohio Local History Alliance , will take place as the history field makes the final preparations to kickoff off the 250th commemoration of the founding of the United States. The 2025 conference theme, inspired by AASLH’s Making History at 250: The Field Guide for Semiquincentennial , is an opportunity to broadly explore one of the guide’s themes, The American Experiment . For many in the American colonies in 1776, independence from Britain represented a “leap into the dark” into an unknown future. The leaders of the founding era did not have all the answers. Though their innovations of representative democracy and rights-based constitutionalism were transformative, they knew the nation was a revolutionary experiment. Like many experiments, the United States has had many fits, starts, shortcomings, and outright failures. Indigenous dispossession and chattel slavery, Jim Crow and segregation, systemic racism, and many others. Yet, with each failure, Americans have challenged the status quo; driving new forms of experimentation to bring the United States closer to its lofty goal of a “more perfect union.”

The 1776 revolutionary experiment benefited mostly white males with property. In the years since, unheard voices emerged for the ideals laid out in the Declaration of Independence. Women, Black Americans, Indigenous Peoples, people with disabilities, and immigrants have contributed their voices, lived experiences, and diverse perspectives to The American Experiment . As we approach America 250, we history practitioners can help the public at large explore the origins of our civic institutions, think critically about how they’ve changed, and how they will actively shape our nation for the next 250 years.

The role of history organizations as vibrant hubs of civic and community conversation is more important than ever. How might we partner with our communities to understand and address the pressing issues of today and the future? How can we empower our audiences to consider the effects of The American Experiment and engage in civic participation? What “leaps into the dark” are we taking now, and what can we learn from our own experiments and share with each other to advance our field?

The concept of experimentation does not presume success. We hope that conference attendees will further embrace the theme of experimentation to talk about our own leaps in the dark even if they were unsuccessful. While it is always great to hear about our successes, we also learn a great deal from our failures. Let us be brave and highlight our spectacular failures in ways that advance our learning and our knowledge in a way that advances the field.

It is fitting that the 2025 AASLH Annual Conference is in Cincinnati. The city was founded in 1788, but the Shawnee, Miami, and other indigenous people inhabited the land along what is now the Ohio River long before white men settled the area now known as southern Ohio. The city is named for the Society of the Cincinnati, which commemorated Roman general Cincinnatus as a hero of republican citizenship who gave back his military authority to retire peacefully. An outpost of the Northwest Territory after the forced removal of indigenous tribes, Cincinnati grew quickly from frontier town to “Paris of the West.” It boomed in the 19th century, fueled by westward expansion, bustling river traffic, and waves of new immigrants. By 1850, Cincinnati was the sixth largest city in the United States. The Ohio River, dividing free Ohio and slave-holding Kentucky, was a significant border for many freedom-seekers, even as it was also a conduit for the internal slave trade. Cincinnati became a destination for Black individuals escaping enslavement and a locus for the Underground Railroad and Abolitionist movement.

Later in the city’s history, railroads supplanted boats, and Cincinnati became a hub of reinvention. Today, Cincinnati’s colorful neighborhoods and thriving arts scene benefit from a resilient economy. In addition to the first professional baseball team and Skyline Chili, the city is home to Kroger, Procter & Gamble, Kenner Toys, Bicycle playing cards, and King Records. The city teems with museums, theaters, and public art—from the Taft Museum of Art and Cincinnati Museum Center in Union Terminal to the Harriet Beecher Stowe House and the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center . The city’s proud brewing history, once decimated by Prohibition, has come roaring back, and craft brews and farm-to-table cuisine fill beautiful historic buildings city-wide. The inscription of Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks , eight nearby monumental mound sites, to the UNESCO World Heritage list in 2023 is bringing international attention to this vibrant region.

One constant among all this change is that Cincinnati has always been a borderland at the nexus of east and west, north and south, free and enslaved, red and blue. This mix of influences has helped Cincinnati keep constantly experimenting and evolving and makes it a place where people of difference can encounter each other and work together to create change. Cincinnati is, in all ways, a city that defines, contributes to, and reflects The American Experiment .

We are excited for you to join us in Cincinnati as we encourage discussion about our democracy and civic institutions and how they can help strengthen understanding, inspire action, and reveal ways that all of us can participate in and shape the ongoing American experiment.

The AASLH Annual Conference is an in-person experience that engages and connects history professionals and volunteers and inspires them in their work. We encourage every attendee’s full participation in the sessions, workshops, tours, and discussions. Each session type is categorized so that attendees can see the level of participation it involves. Before you propose a session, think carefully about how it will engage your audience.

We hope the Annual Conference becomes a transformative moment for all, a chance to go deep, to reenergize, to build professional relationships, and to focus on a sense of place and history in the host city. In formal and informal spaces, participants will work through challenging discussions and learn new practices. While there will be an emphasis on communal events to build shared experience, we will offer multiple opportunities for personalized learning, in tours, workshops, and sessions.

AASLH envisions its Annual Conference as an opportunity to invigorate and promote our field’s honest approach to history. AASLH and its members, wherever they live and work, believe that whole history belongs to all of us.

Honest, inclusive approaches to history and other liberties are under fire in states and localities around the country. Periodically holding the AASLH Conference in these areas allows us, as a professional community, to show support for our colleagues who are working in challenging environments and to learn from their experiences. AASLH’s purpose, especially as we approach the nation’s 250th anniversary, is to share with people of all backgrounds and beliefs the entire sweep of our common history and its centrality to our continued progress toward “a more perfect Union.”

AASLH is committed to ensuring that our conference is a welcoming, respectful, intellectually stimulating, and safe event for all who attend. We have a robust policy on conference safety and responsibility, and we will strive to make it possible for all attendees to navigate their way through a fulfilling conference experience.

We hope you will join us in Cincinnati in September and add your voice to the chorus of those working to make history more meaningful to all people.

Annual Conference Fellowships and Scholarships

The Cinnamon Catlin-Legutko Memorial Scholarship, Douglas Evelyn Diversity Fellowships, and Small Museums Scholarships are the three programs that AASLH offers to assist those who would like to attend the AASLH Annual Conference. Applications for all scholarships and fellowships will open in spring of 2025.

Cinnamon Catlin-Legutko Memorial Scholarship

Cinnamon Catlin-Legutko will be best remembered because she used her power to change lives, inspire movements, and challenge the status quo for the better. In memory of Cinnamon and her generational impact on museums, historic sites, and public history, AASLH has created a special scholarship in her name to advance her legacy of transformational change across the museum community. The fund will provide one $1,000 scholarship for the AASLH Annual Conference which includes a full conference registration. The remainder of funds can be used for ticketed events or travel costs. Eligible applicants include those working in small museums, as either full-time or part-time paid or volunteer employees and who are institutional or individual members of AASLH; and Indigenous persons and those employed as staff members with a tribal organization, program, or collection. Click here for guidance on what constitutes a small museum.

Douglas Evelyn Diversity Fellowship

The Douglas Evelyn Diversity Fellowship is named in honor of Douglas Evelyn, AASLH president from 1992-1994, and recognizes Evelyn’s strong support of AASLH’s professional development mission. A primary objective of the Douglas Evelyn Diversity Fellowship is to increase culturally diverse participation at the AASLH Annual Conference and in all the association’s programs. The scholarship covers full registration and a $750 travel stipend. Ticketed events with an extra fee are not included in the scholarship but can be covered with a portion of the travel stipend. AASLH will offer up to five full conference scholarships for culturally diverse attendees.

Small Museums Scholarship

AASLH’s Small Museums Committee is offering scholarships to any AASLH members who are full-time, part-time, paid, or volunteer employees of small museums. The $850 scholarship will cover the cost of registration and the Small Museums Luncheon. Any remaining funds can be used to offset travel and/or lodging expenses. To qualify, the applicant must work or volunteer for a museum with a budget of $250,000 or less and either be an individual member of AASLH or work for an institutional member.

September 16-19, 2026: Joint Annual Conference with National Council on Public History in Providence, Rhode Island

September 20-23, 2027: Annual Conference in Madison, Wisconsin

2025 Annual Conference

Organization:, partner organizations:, resources available for planners:.

The American Experiment

Dialogues on a dream.

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Table of Contents

• Rave and Reviews

About The Book

About the author.

David M. Rubenstein is the New York Times bestselling author of How to Invest , How to Lead , The American Experiment, and The American Story . He is cofounder and cochairman of The Carlyle Group, one of the world’s largest and most successful private equity firms. Rubenstein is Chairman of the Boards of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the Council on Foreign Relations, the National Gallery of Art, the Economic Club of Washington, and the University of Chicago. He is an original signer of The Giving Pledge and a recipient of the Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy and the MoMA’s David Rockefeller Award. The host of PBS’s History with David Rubenstein, Bloomberg Wealth with David Rubenstein, and The David Rubenstein Show: Peer-to-Peer Conversations on Bloomberg TV and PBS, he lives in the Washington, DC, area.

Product Details

• Publisher: Simon & Schuster (September 7, 2021)
• Length: 464 pages
• ISBN13: 9781982165734

Raves and Reviews

“Influential Americans talk about the nation’s past and future. . . . These conversations—warm, engaging, and informative—help Rubenstein point up America’s particular qualities that “have made the whole American Experiment work” even though, facing significant challenges, the country has fallen short.” — Kirkus Reviews “In this fascinating compilation of interviews with historians, musicians, athletes, journalists, and other notables of our times, David Rubenstein paints what he calls the genetic picture of this country, and why it has succeeded—so far.” — Nina Totenberg, Legal Affairs Correspondent, NPR “David Rubenstein is a deeply committed citizen and patriot, and a keen observer of human nature with a passion for history. As fellow citizen experimenters, he is suggesting we all engage in thinking about the past and present in order to forge a future that fulfills the promise of America.” — Yo-Yo Ma, Cellist “In this timely and important book David Rubenstein explores the lessons of the past that will help us through this historically challenging time. It is just the right book at exactly the right time.” — Tom Brokaw, author of The Greatest Generation “David Rubenstein’s insatiable curiosity and intellect bring out the best from those with whom he is in conversation, evoking rich interactions and making history entertaining. The American Experiment captures the essence of the American leader and the pivotal moments in our country’s history.” — Deborah F. Rutter, President, John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts “An extraordinary opportunity to marvel at the United States—and to understand her principles so that we might advance them in service to the republic.” — Lawrence Bacow, President, Harvard University “In this brilliant book, we hear from the best minds in the country about the unfinished voyage of American life. A must-read to understand our unique nation, its extraordinary legacy, and our collective future!” — Admiral James Stavridis, 16th Supreme Allied Commander at NATO and author of Sailing True North: Ten Admirals and the Voyage of Character “David Rubenstein has a unique ability to ask the right penetrating questions that elicit illuminating answers from fascinating people who paint a complete and detailed picture of the American experiment from all sides. As the country’s pre-eminent patriotic philanthropist, David is now doing even more to preserve American history with this important project.” — Bret Baier, Chief Political Anchor, Fox News & New York Times bestselling author “At this turbulent moment in our nation’s history, this captivating dialogue about the meaning of democracy and the American dream provides much needed inspiration and hope. What a terrific book!” — Doris Kearns Goodwin “A truly amazing new book. The American Experiment is urgently needed especially during this very strenuous moment in our American history.” — Wolf Blitzer “A stirring reminder of what our ‘American experiment’ has achieved so far and what’s at stake as we move forward.” — Katie Couric “A dazzling set of conversations that inspire and illuminate. David Rubenstein highlights the salient features of the American experiment, an experiment so novel that when it began most serious observers thought it would collapse in a few years.” — Fareed Zakaria “At a time when listening is harder and divisions run deeper, David’s interviews soar above the noise. They are hopeful, inspiring, and rigorously authentic.” — Valerie Jarrett “A book that forces America to look in the mirror. It’s a reality pill.” — LL COOL J

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Book Review: ‘America First’ is a resonant history of FDR’s fight against isolationist movement

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Historian H.W. Brands’ “America First: Roosevelt vs Lindbergh in the Shadow of War” barely mentions former President Donald Trump or the 2024 election. But it could be one of the most relevant books to read for this year’s presidential campaign.

Brands has written a resonant history of how Roosevelt fought behind the scenes — and eventually publicly — against the “America First” movement whose name was later appropriated by Trump, who is seeking a return to the White House in this year’s election.

The book chronicles how aviator Charles Lindbergh became the charismatic face of the “America First” movement that arose in the wake of the WWI and urged against the United States’ intervening overseas as Adolf Hitler rose to power.

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“Their policy was really ‘America alone,’ at a time when the United States needed all the help it could get in dealing with the existential challenge of militant fascism,” Brands writes.

The book also displays how Roosevelt maneuvered around Lindbergh during his rise, trying to avoid aggravating the aviator’s followers as the U.S. inched closer toward involvement in Europe. Brands tells how Lindbergh’s rhetoric fueled his rise as “America First” spokesman but also led to his downfall, culminating in a 1941 speech widely condemned for its antisemitism.

Brands shows great restraint in avoiding for most of the book in drawing parallels between Roosevelt’s fight with isolationists to today’s politics, and some conservatives’ opposition to spending more on overseas wars. But his straightforward history is an important guide for understanding the legacy of the movement that Lindbergh led.

AP book reviews: https://apnews.com/hub/book-reviews

September 24, 2024

Scientist Nuke an Asteroid in a Lab Mock-Up

Experiment shows that a nuclear explosion could save the planet from a deadly asteroid impact

By Jonathan O'Callaghan & Nature magazine

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Science Photo Library/Andrzej Wojcicki/Getty Images

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The team used Sandia’s vast Z machine, which uses magnetic fields to produce high temperatures and powerful X-rays, to fire X-rays at two mock asteroids about the size of coffee beans. “About 80 trillion watts of electricity flow through the machine at about 100 billionths of a second,” says Moore. “That intense electrical surge compresses argon gas into a very hot plasma millions of degrees in temperature, and that emits a bubble of X-rays.”