Amna Nawaz
@PBSNewsHour·5.3M subscribers·62.2K videos
Why U.S. democracy was called the 'Great Experiment'
Posted
July 3, 2026
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3,634
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July 3, 2026
3,634
421
11.59%
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2:21Now PlayingIn July of 1776, the Second Continental Congress voted to sever political ties with Great Britain and declare independence.
The Declaration of Independence set in motion the "great experiment" of a government that derives its "just powers from the consent of the governed," as the Founding Fathers spelled out.
"At the time, if they looked around the world, governments were ruled by monarchies and military dictators. There really wasn't much else," presidential historian Lindsay Chervinsky said. "So they knew they were doing something that no one alive had seen."
Watch part of Judy Woodruff's conversation with Chervinsky and presidential biographer Ron Chernow, as part of her Crossroads: America at 250 report.
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