Assessing the Strength of Democracy in the United States

About This Mini-Lesson

US elections in recent years have revealed and exacerbated deep divisions, raising fundamental questions about the strength and fragility of democracy in the United States today. Trust in government and US institutions has been declining over the last fifty years, ¹  and 92% of US voters agree or strongly agree that democracy is facing serious threats today. ²

This mini-lesson provides students with an opportunity to explore and deepen their understanding of the concept of democracy and assess the health of US democracy today. Finally, students consider ways young people can participate and strengthen democracy over time.

• 1Lydia Saad, “Historically Low Faith in U.S. Institutions Continues,” Gallup, July 6, 2023.
• 2Hart Research, “Report: Americans’ Views on Protecting and Improving Our Democracy,” More Perfect, December 21-24, 2023.

Lesson Plans

Activity 1: How Do You Define the Term Democracy? 

Use the Concept Maps teaching strategy to have students generate, sort, and connect their ideas about democracy on a piece of paper. If you have colored pencils or markers, pass them out for the sort and connect stages of the strategy to help students categorize and organize their ideas.

After students have shared their ideas in pairs or small groups, elaborating on their own maps, use the Wraparound strategy to have each student share one idea with the class.

Activity 2: How Can You Assess The Strength of Democracy?

Next, ask students to spend a few minutes brainstorming questions that they would ask to assess the strength of US democracy. They can do this in pairs or small groups. Alternatively, you can have students journal individually first to generate their own ideas before being in discussion with others. You might also prompt them to think about elections, the press, or other US institutions. Let students know that they are only focusing on generating questions at this point and not answering the questions. 

After students generate their own list of questions, ask several volunteers to share their ideas. Then project the following seven “Checklist for a Healthy Democracy” questions: 

1. Free and fair elections – To what extent are elections free and fair? Are democratically elected leaders committed to preserving elections and other democratic processes?
2. Fair and balanced government – Are the branches of government and primary institutions within civil society functioning effectively, trusted, and balancing each other’s power?
3. Respect for the rule of law and equal justice – Is the rule of law upheld in fair and consistent ways and applied equally to all people and branches of the government?
4. Protection of civil and human rights – Do the laws and culture (the unwritten rules of right and wrong, of acceptable and unacceptable behavior) of the country value and protect fundamental civil and human rights for everyone (such as free expression of ideas, freedom of religion, etc.)?
5. Free and open press – Is there a free and open press? Is there a free flow of information from multiple media sources? 
6. Empowered citizens ¹  – Do citizens and civic groups have open pathways to participate in democracy and hold the government and its leaders accountable? Do schools and communities teach young people to value democracy and how to participate in a variety of ways at local, state, and national levels?
7. Inclusive and healthy democratic norms – To what extent do citizens prioritize democracy? Are diverse segments of society able to respect differences and work toward common causes? 

Compare the checklist with the questions that students brainstormed. Then have students work in small groups to discuss and reflect on the following prompts. Highlight for students that they may not necessarily agree on the answers to these questions and that a respectful conversation about their different perspectives is a hallmark of a healthy democracy (see checklist item #7).

• How does your own list compare to the “Checklist for a Healthy Democracy”? What from the checklist would you recommend adding or changing?
• How would you answer the questions on the checklist as you think about democracy in the United States?
• What do you need to learn more about to give stronger answers to the questions? Where can you get that information?

Then, ask students to return to their concept map for democracy and add new ideas or questions that the checklist raised for them.

Activity 3: Who Is Responsible for Upholding Democracy?

Civil rights leader John Lewis wrote the following statement about democracy in a letter that was published after his death:

Democracy is not a state. It is an act, and each generation must do its part to help build what we called the Beloved Community, a nation and world society at peace with itself. ²

Ask students to read this quote and then discuss it in pairs or small groups:

• What do you think John Lewis meant when he said democracy is an act not a state?
• What do you think the term Beloved Community means in this quote? How could thinking about your society as a Beloved Community be a part of building democracy?
• How do you think John Lewis’s definition of democracy is similar to or different from the one you created on your concept map?
• According to John Lewis, each generation is responsible for taking action to support democracy. What actions do you think people in your own generation are taking or can take to create “a nation and world society at peace with itself”?

Finally, ask students to read the rest of John Lewis’s letter, Together, You Can Redeem the Soul of Our Nation. (You can also use the audio version of the letter.) After reading or listening to the letter, ask students to journal in response to the following Say, Mean, Matter prompts:

• Say: Write down a quotation from the letter that stands out to you and relates to strengthening democracy.
• Mean: What does this quotation mean? What makes you think that?
• Matter: Why is this quotation important or significant? What does it reveal about how you and your peers might help strengthen democracy? 

Students can return to their pairs or small groups to share one aspect of what they reflected upon that they feel comfortable sharing. You can also ask a few volunteers to share their thoughts with the whole class in a large group discussion.

• 1Although the term “citizen” is often used to denote legal status, it can also have a broader meaning—a member of the community, a positive contributor to society and civic life—as in the phrase “a citizen of the world.” That more expansive definition of citizenship in a country, available to all people regardless of documentation, is what Facing History & Ourselves means when we use the word “citizen.”
• 2John Lewis, “Together, You Can Redeem the Soul of Our Nation,” Common Dreams, July 30, 2020.