Before the American Revolution, Native nations guarded their societies against tyranny

By: Kathleen DuVal, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, The Conversation

Outlets: The Conversation

Published: November 17, 2025

Words: 1,265

Last Updated: 1 week ago

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When the founders of the United States designed the Constitution, they were learning from history that democracy was likely to fail – to find someone who would fool the people into giving him complete power and then end the democracy.

They designed checks and balances to guard against the accumulation of power they had found when studying ancient Greece and Rome. But as I discuss with Ken Burns in his new documentary, “

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