Ken Burns Says Founders Would Be Abjectly Disappointed 250 Years On as Congress Abdicates Power
Updated
Updated · TheWrap · Jul 5
Ken Burns Says Founders Would Be Abjectly Disappointed 250 Years On as Congress Abdicates Power
3 articles · Updated · TheWrap · Jul 5
Summary
Ken Burns said on NBC's “Meet the Press” that the Constitution's drafters would be “abjectly disappointed” by the U.S. in 2026, arguing the gravest failure is Congress surrendering authority meant to check the executive.
Article I was designed as the main bulwark against concentrated power, Burns said, while Article II made the president a manager carrying out Congress's will rather than an office seeking broader authoritarian control.
Burns warned democratic decline can come quickly, pointing to Berlin in 1932 as a cosmopolitan center that became unrecognizable by January 1933, and said authoritarians thrive by keeping people uneducated and consumed by conspiracy.
The 250-year perspective was not wholly bleak: Burns said the founders would also be impressed by expanded rights, while Doris Kearns Goodwin and Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie Bunch argued history shows the U.S. has endured deeper crises before.
If we reject 'sanitized' history, what new national narrative can foster unity and civic pride?
"20 Million Viewers Revisit America's Divided Origins: Ken Burns' 'The American Revolution' and the 250th Anniversary Reckoning"
Overview
As the United States nears its 250th anniversary in 2026, Ken Burns' documentary series 'The American Revolution' offers a fresh look at the nation's founding. The series challenges the idea that America is 'more divided than ever' by showing that the divisions in 1776 were even deeper and more complex. Moving beyond simple patriotic stories, the documentary highlights the roles of indigenous nations and enslaved people, and frames the Revolutionary War as a civil war. By encouraging viewers to reflect on these truths, the filmmakers hope to inspire renewed commitment to the country's founding values.