Preserving Democracy: Pursuing a More Perfect Union
Follow the pursuit of democracy from the Revolutionary War through recurring cycles of civil rights progress and backlash, the 2021 Capitol riot and beyond. Explore the impact of voter rights and a civics curriculum on engaged and informed citizens.
Premieres on January 6
at 8PM
Follow the pursuit of democracy from the Revolutionary War through recurring cycles of civil rights progress and backlash, the 2021 Capitol riot and beyond. Explore the impact of voter rights and a civics curriculum on engaged and informed citizens.
Preserving Democracy: Pursuing a More Perfect Union Episodes
![Preserving Democracy: Pursuing a More Perfect Union Image](https://image.pbs.org/video-assets/P4H4Fjp-asset-mezzanine-16x9-c8bPfbL.png.crop.780x439.jpg)
Preserving Democracy: Pursuing a More Perfect Union
S1 Ep1 | 1h 55m 10s
Follow the pursuit of democracy from the Revolutionary War through recurring cycles of...
Preserving Democracy: Pursuing a More Perfect Union Extras
![Preserving Democracy: Pursuing a More Perfect Union Image](https://image.pbs.org/video-assets/aIX56BP-asset-original-RNPQFjc.jpg.crop.780x439.jpg)
Democracy’s strange compromise
S1 Ep1 | 6m 12s
Experts discuss times in history when the nation and democracy were at the brink.
![Preserving Democracy: Pursuing a More Perfect Union Image](https://image.pbs.org/video-assets/Wbjj4Gh-asset-original-10Bc7av.jpg.crop.780x439.jpg)
“Most democracies die at the ballot box”
S1 Ep1 | 4m 1s
Experts discuss the worldwide erosion of democracy in recent years.
![Preserving Democracy: Pursuing a More Perfect Union Image](https://image.pbs.org/video-assets/UxPrLc4-asset-original-2v4GAKt.jpg.crop.780x439.jpg)
How the two major U.S. political parties formed
S1 Ep1 | 6m 30s
Experts discuss the long history of the two political parties in the U.S.
![Preserving Democracy: Pursuing a More Perfect Union Image](https://image.pbs.org/video-assets/hAbESCR-asset-original-nQGbaBp.jpg.crop.780x439.jpg)
Political violence throughout American history
S1 Ep1 | 6m 21s
Experts recall instances of violence throughout history aimed at crippling the Republic.
![Preserving Democracy: Pursuing a More Perfect Union Image](https://image.pbs.org/video-assets/0ExmGRP-asset-original-DaHsTsY.jpg.crop.780x439.jpg)
America’s long, bitter fight for equal voting rights
S1 Ep1 | 4m 26s
“The fiercest fights of our history have been to keep other people from voting.”
![Preserving Democracy: Pursuing a More Perfect Union Image](https://image.pbs.org/video-assets/J0laQFh-asset-original-DcbVKik.jpg.crop.780x439.jpg)
“We don't want just the veneer of a democracy”
S1 Ep1 | 8m 45s
The U.S. wasn’t the first democracy, nor is it the first nation to have issues with it.
![Preserving Democracy: Pursuing a More Perfect Union Image](https://image.pbs.org/video-assets/g0ovyuI-asset-original-4bjIESk.jpg.crop.780x439.jpg)
American Democracy's “Achilles Heel”
S1 Ep1 | 5m 20s
Experts discuss one of American democracy’s biggest vulnerabilities: race relations.
![Preserving Democracy: Pursuing a More Perfect Union Image](https://image.pbs.org/video-assets/oIagDJa-asset-mezzanine-16x9-uNgFBPJ.jpg.crop.780x439.jpg)
Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) Discusses Jan. 6, 2021
S1 Ep1 | 1m 36s
Representative Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) Discusses January 6, 2021 with Margaret Hoover.
![Preserving Democracy: Pursuing a More Perfect Union Image](https://image.pbs.org/video-assets/CeXxUJV-asset-mezzanine-16x9-nCG2ooi.jpg.crop.780x439.jpg)
Democracy is a lot more fragile than many thought
S1 Ep1 | 51s
The January 6 Capitol Riots revealed that democracy is more fragile than many realized.
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