Georgia Historical Society’s new program: Restoring Trust in American Institutions

As the United States approaches its 250th anniversary on July 4, 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. 

This is not a partisan issue. Americans of all political persuasions are concerned about what they perceive as an erosion in the norms of conduct and the pillars that sustain how free people govern themselves. Young people are especially disillusioned with democracy. According to one recent poll, nearly half of all Americans under the age of 30 have given up on the idea of self-government.

To address this pressing need, 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, special exhibits, and classroom resources, the Georgia Historical Society will educate school children and their teachers, leaders from both the private and public sectors, and the general public about the vital role that democratic institutions play in sustaining a republican form of government and how America has put its unique stamp on the concept of democracy. 

To that end, the project will explore the four historic pillars of self-government. Appropriately, we launched the project with the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: how has a press free from governmental control informed the American people, served as a marketplace for ideas, and held our government and our leaders accountable? 

The second pillar is the courts and the rule of law: how has an independent judiciary been essential to maintaining the separation of powers and ensuring a just and orderly society where everyone is equal before the law and accountable for their actions? 

The third pillar is the right to vote and the transfer of power in a democratic system: What does history say about how the franchise has been expanded to include more Americans, the fairness (or a lack of it) in elections, and about how Americans have handled the results of elections? 

And finally, how has our historic fidelity to the U.S. Constitution and the system of government enshrined therein helped to maintain the world’s oldest republic and promote freedom across the globe? What does history have to say about the association between self-government and faithfulness to a document rather than to an individual? 

To accomplish these objectives, Restoring Trust in American Institutions will tell the stories of the many leaders and organizations, both private and public, that have shaped the evolution of these foundational institutions and norms. It will restore a historical consciousness that is central to our identity as Americans.

We can no longer assume that our fellow citizens understand their nation and how our political system works. We must be deliberate about reminding them. As one former university president told the Wall Street Journal, “If we’re going to pass on the meaning of America to the next generation, it doesn’t happen in the bloodstream. You actually have to teach what America is to the next generation.” 

The project is central to the Georgia History Festival, our annual K-12 education program that reaches about 250,000 students statewide through their teachers. Starting last year and continuing for the next three, the theme of each Festival will focus on one of these four pillars of democracy. 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, largely 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 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 Revolution launched in Philadelphia nearly 250 years ago is not a distant historical event, but an ongoing idea grounded in the principles of the Declaration of Independence that continues to live in each of us, driving us to expand the boundaries of human freedom. 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.