In the inaugural volume of an eight-book series, renowned historians and political scientists explore what the contested idea of democracy meant to
those who participated in the American Revolution. For some, democracy
represented a particular way to order government, while others understood democracy to be a transformative principle that would serve as the philosophical bedrock of not just the new republic's political institutions but
its social and cultural ones as well.

Examining the democratic culture that was born out of the American Revolution can help us understand the framework within which we continue to debate the structure and purpose of the system of government that binds us together today.