democracy is a work in progress

Viewpoints

Responding to a Shaken Faith in Democracy

We are Natasha Raman and Colin Fennelly, two students studying political science, public policy, and law at Dartmouth College. We thoroughly enjoyed writing and researching for The American Leader this past summer. Most Americans grow up believing that American democracy is invincible. We were [...]

Celebrating the Women’s Suffrage Movement

We hold these truths to be self-evident; that all men and women are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; that to secure these rights governments are [...]

Reaching Low Income Communities with High Income Information

Back in March, Robin Stevens Payes, one of the writers contributing to The American Leader, suggested that we do a profile on Lisa Fitzpatrick, a doctor who has a unique approach to improving health outcomes in low income communities. Dr. Fitzpatrick’s work fit well [...]

McConnell, Stimulus, and National Debt: My Biased View

My sister has, at different times in our lives, been an honest and constructive critic of my writing. In fact, though she would not know this, she has been a major influence on how I think about writing. So when she emailed to tell [...]

Looking Through the Lens of the COVID-19 Pandemic

There's nothing like an immediate worldwide crisis to focus the attention and resources of an entire society on figuring out how to solve this common problem. That’s what the coronavirus and the disease it causes, COVID-19, have done. News consumption is up as people [...]

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Leader Profiles

  • Nate Hine and Nellie Pennington: Advocates for Children

  • Don Henninger: Building Trust in Arizona Elections

  • Kendra Abkowitz: Finding Common Ground for Sustainability in Tennessee

Progress Updates

  • Protecting Voting Rights and Our Elections

  • The Great Economy Project Finds Common Ground

  • Bipartisan Hope Isn’t Helping Divided Congress Avoid Debt Crisis

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