It's Election Day in America and the survival of liberal democracy is said to be on the ballot. What does this mean? Has the United States ever been a democracy where all enjoy political freedom and economic rights? In this episode, historians Sean Wilentz and James Oakes delve into the history of political conflict in America, the progress and regress of democracy and liberty, a story of liberalism competing and coexisting with illiberalism. 

Recommended reading:

The Rise of American Democracy by Sean Wilentz

Freedom National: The Destruction of Slavery in the United States, 1861-1865 by James Oakes