"A great scholar of the American past, David O. Stewart has brilliantly mined what has come before to guide us in our own, all-too-urgent American present. An important and timely volume." ~ Jon Meacham, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The American Struggle

What did America's founders say about democracy—and can we remain true to their vision for America?

Two hundred fifty years ago, passionate men attempted to create something the world had never seen before: a nation built not on kings or armies, but on ideas where the people ruled.

In The Democracy We Must Keep, historian David O. Stewart takes readers inside the nine key documents that shaped the formation of the United States—from Patrick Henry's thunderous cry for liberty to the carefully crafted design of a government chosen by the people, with limits on all officials holding power under the Constitution.

Through the words of seven visionary founders—Washington, Jefferson, Madison, Hamilton, Gouverneur Morris, and others—Stewart shows how a fragile experiment in self-government took shape.

These men were not saints. They argued passionately. They worried that the new nation might fall apart. Yet together, they forged the principles that must still define American democracy.

That power must be limited.
That leaders must answer to the people.
That individual rights must be protected by law.

As the United States celebrates its 250th anniversary, The Democracy We Must Keep urges readers to rediscover core ideas that built the nation—and to consider what it will take to protect them.

Accessible, engaging, and timely, this book is for anyone who wants to understand how American democracy started, and why it still matters.

"The American experiment was built through action based upon the ideas preserved in our founding documents. In this compelling call to engage with our past to secure our future, David Stewart shows that democracy is not a spectator sport, but a responsibility each generation must uphold." ~ Colleen Shogan, 11th Archivist of the United States, CEO of In Pursuit

"In The Democracy We Must Keep, noted historian David O. Stewart provides an inspiring antidote to America's current dangers of one-man rule and unprincipled government. Alarmed citizens can do no better than read Stewart's compact account of how America's flame of liberty was kindled, and how we must restore it." ~ James McGrath Morris is a New York Times best-selling biographer and author of Pulitzer: A Life in Politics, Print, and Power

"The cause of America is...the cause of all mankind," the pamphleteer Tom Paine wrote in 1776. Grappling with very human sins and flaws, Americans have led the cause of freedom from Valley Forge to Omaha Beach, and promoted human rights from Seneca Falls to Selma. But now a deviant strain of oppression stalks America: What better moment for David O. Stewart, jurist and historian, to bring us The Democracy We Must Keep, a crisp and eloquent reminder of our better selves. "Only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger," John F. Kennedy said. "I do not shrink from this responsibility, I welcome it." So does Stewart, and in his books we find the energy, the faith and the devotion that Kennedy called for. The trumpet summons us again and Stewart, to our good fortune, is a virtuoso. ~ John A. Farrell, Author of Richard Nixon: The Life, Pulitzer Prize finalist