“A republic if you can keep it”

–Benjamin Franklin’s response to Elizabeth Willing Powel’s question: “Well, Doctor, what have we got, a republic or a monarchy?”

September 17, 1787

Photo illustration of a decommissioned American flag

American democracy under threat

Statue of Liberty, a colossal neoclassical sculpture gifted to the U.S. by France to commemorate their alliance and American independence. Completed in 1886, the statue depicts Libertas, the Roman goddess of liberty, holding a torch and a tablet inscribed with the date of the Declaration of Independence, with her foot resting on a broken shackle to symbolize freedom from oppression

American Democracy, Art, Political

A monarchy or a republic?

State of American democracy July 5, 2026