Fights Over American Democracy Reach Back to the Founding Era | Retro Report

From its earliest days, the idea of American democracy has been disputed and contested. Though the founders wanted to experiment with a democratic system in their new country, they were also deeply wary of ceding too much power to the people. This video chronicles the often violent development of American democracy from just after the end of the Revolutionary War through the tumultuous debates over slavery that led to the Civil War. This video segment is an excerpt from The WNET Group’s documentary Preserving Democracy: Pursuing a More Perfect Union.