Reference to America as “an experiment in democracy” or a “great experiment” conjures up contradiction. America has existed for nearly 250 years. How can something centuries old still be an experiment? Or could this idea be a warning as to the fragile nature of what our Founding Fathers had created?

As we explore the phrase as part of America’s Future series on our country’s founding documents, laws, traditions, symbols and icons, we are reminded that our founders were men of faith and deeply suspicious of human nature. As former royal subjects of Britain, they were well aware that all governments would tend toward tyranny if unchecked, and that it would be the depth of this new nation’s citizens’ love of liberty and freedom over generations that would be tested time and time again.

The phrase first appears to be found in a 1790 letter by the father of our great country, George Washington to Catharine Macaulay, a British historian and advocate of liberty, following her visit to America in 1784-85, when she stayed with Washington and his family at Mount Vernon and met with many of the Founding Fathers and veterans of the War of Independence.

In the letter to her, Washington wrote: “The establishment of our new Government seemed to be the last great experiment for promoting human happiness.” Later, Thomas Jefferson, known as the Father of the Declaration of Independence and a primary author of the U.S. Constitution, used the word “experiment” in reference to the birth of the nation when he wrote in 1804, “No experiment can be more interesting than that we are now trying, & which we trust will end in establishing the fact that man may be governed by reason and truth.”

What these visionary leaders meant by “experiment” is the fact that America, having been created as a new nation founded on individual rights and limited government, had never been done before. The idea that free men could both protect their freedom while establishing a government that could function effectively was unheard of. Certainly, they knew that nation states come and go. And yet, they were willing to risk everything, even their lives, on this experiment because of their great love of liberty and deep desire that a government of the people, by the people, and for the people could endure the test of time.

On July 4, 2026, America will celebrate its 250th anniversary of independence. The cautionary words of those courageous fighters for freedom so many years ago still ring true for our nation today. At America’s Future, we embrace our Founding Fathers foresight in their warning to never quit the fight for freedom and dedicate our work so that this great experiment – called America – survives for future generations to carry the torch of freedom onward. 

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