A Verdict on the American Experiment

Success or failure? Here is your answer.

Armando Simon | July 4, 2026

From the very beginning, and for a century afterward, Americans often referred to their country as an experiment.  And for very good reason.

At the time, almost all civilizations were monarchies.  Indeed, many Europeans expected Washington to become king of the colonies, or at the least dictator, and were surprised when he did not even try.  They were just as surprised when he stepped down from the presidential office, thereby cementing a peaceful transition of power.  (A minority of Americans also considered a monarchy out of habit.)

The type of government the Americans had concocted was a novelty.  Initially, soon after declaring independence without achieving it, they cobbled together the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union; in a reaction against authoritarian government, they created a government without any authority.  After independence, it proved worthless — what James Madison referred to as “in fact nothing more than a treaty of amity of commerce and of alliance, between so many independent and sovereign states.”  The Dutch Republic, the Amphictyonic League, and the Swiss confederacy were similarly organized, with mixed outcomes.  Indeed, some in the states’ governments thought of declaring war on others over boundaries and trade.  It must be kept in mind that people considered themselves Americans and Virginians (or Georgians, etc.); they still do.

They tried again.  But what to create?  The reader should not make the common mistake of thinking the present form of government was inevitable and logical.  It could........

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