After the colonists declared their independence, designing a government was next. Three of the founding generation said the new government needed to account for the flaws in human nature.

You know how important the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were to making the United States. But do you know about The Federalist and the crucial role it played in the founding era?

Is the US a democracy or a republic? That’s a misleading question, writes a historian of early America. The values of republicanism and the values of democracy have both been vital to the nation.