A More Perfect Union

Democracy as a Consequence

Ken Burns explores how democracy emerged not as a founding goal but as a byproduct of the American Revolution. While the founders initially envisioned a republic for elites, the sacrifices of ordinary soldiers — immigrants, laborers, and the disenfranchised — forced a broader stake in the new nation. The ideals of equality evolved from the brutal reality of war, not abstract intention.

Democracy as a Consequence

1m 45s

  • A More Perfect Union: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    A More Perfect Union

    S2025 E1 - 55m 5s

    A MORE PERFECT UNION examines America’s founding and the ideas and values articulated 250 years ago. It features Ken Burns and Sarah Botstein, co-directors of THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION, and Yuval Levin of the American Enterprise Institute, in conversation with Jeffrey Rosen of the National Constitution Center and Melody Barnes of UVA’s Karsh Institute of Democracy.

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