By W. Todd Groce, Ph.D.
As the United States approaches its 250th anniversary in 2026, public trust in fundamental American institutions—elections, the law and the courts, the press, and our system of government itself —seems to be at an all-time low. Not a day goes by without a new allegation of election corruption, media bias, “lawfare,” and unconstitutional use of power by our political leaders for personal gain. Some Americans even think democracy has led to unintended consequences and has outlived its usefulness.
To address this pressing issue, as a part of our commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the United States, the Georgia Historical Society has launched a signature US250 project, Restoring Trust in American Institutions: History and the Foundations of American Democracy. Through a series of educational programs, public forums, scholarly publications, digital content, and classroom resources, GHS will use history to educate school children and teachers, leaders from both the private and public sectors, and the general public about the vital role that republican institutions and principles have played in sustaining our government and how America has put its distinctive stamp on what might be called the “pillars of democracy.”
In particular the project will explore the historical origins and growth of these four foundational supports of American democracy: 1.) a free press and how media independent of governmental control has informed the American people, served as a marketplace for ideas, and held our government and our leaders accountable; 2.) the courts and the rule of law and how an independent judiciary has been essential to maintaining the separation of power and our justice system; 3.) the right to vote and how acceptance of election results and the peaceful transfer of power has been the sine qua non of democracy and self-government; and 4.) the U.S. Constitution itself and how our historic fidelity to that document and the system of government enshrined therein has maintained the world’s oldest republic and promoted freedom across the globe.
To kick things off, we have selected the history of the free press as the theme of the 2024-2025 Georgia History Festival (to read more about this, see page 30). New resources have been created for K-12 educators, middle and high school students, as well as scholars of media and legal history, free speech, voting rights, citizenship, immigration, elections, and Constitutional history, much of it based on primary source material in our archives.
Restoring Trust in American Institutions is a fitting and appropriate role for GHS to play in the nationwide commemoration of the founding of our republic. By using the story of our state and nation’s past, we hope to help restore trust in our institutions and remind Americans that we discard our foundational traditions at our own peril. As Winston Churchill once said, “No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed, it has been said that democracy is the worst form of Government except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.”
In the historic struggle between democracy and tyranny, the world needs an America that still believes in the ability of the people to govern themselves. The moral authority of the United States—what Lincoln called “the last, best hope of earth”—has been more powerful than all our vaunted economic strength and military might combined. Together, we can use our country’s unique history to revive our commitment to self-government and fan the flames of liberty for generations to come.