From many different quarters today come challenges to make America a "fairer" or more democratic place. We see some of these movements from recent books suggesting a new constitutional convention to update our founding document, to challenges to the Electoral College and the many propositions on our ballots. Taken together, however, they challenge the founders' ideal of America as a "republic," not a national democracy, says Davenport. Is a republic still viable or useful today, and if so, how can we keep it?

Davenport's biography includes: Counselor to the Director for External Relations and Research Fellow, Hoover Institution; Former President, Pepperdine University.