A government of the people, by the people, and for the people, was the goal of the founding fathers, but what happens when the people decide to break their own rules?

One of the key aspects of the American government is federalism–which is the idea of having two governments over the same territory. America is a country that prides itself on states’ individual right to govern as they choose, there are still some ground rules for the federal government to ensure a functioning democracy, said Dr. Kate Masur, professor of history at Northwestern University.

“Creating a multiracial democracy, a true democracy in which people of all different kinds have a voice is very difficult. People who seek to create multiracial democracy with fairness and justice in this country always face serious opposition,” Masur said.

January 6, 2021, tore a hole in American democracy, and ensuring that doesn’t happen again has been a focus of lawmakers, scholars and everyday Americans alike.

A Washington Post-University of Maryland poll released last week found the majority (55%) of Americans believe the Capitol riot was an “attack on democracy that should never be forgotten.”

“The attack that day has left a lasting mark on American democracy — but we know that a majority of Americans see political violence as a problem and overwhelmingly reject it,” said Joanna Lydgate, CEO of States United Democracy Center.

Here’s how to protect American democracy from the chaos of Jan. 6:

Enforce the 13th, 14th and 15th amendments

To understand the future, it helps to look at what we’ve already learned from the past. Looking to the post-Civil War Reconstruction period can help us better understand what it means to have a democracy where all citizens have an opportunity to share their input on how the government should lead us.

Looking at the 13th, 14th and 15th amendments can give us a good reminder of what American elections are built on.

As a professor of 19th Century history who has studied the impacts of the Civil War and Reconstruction period on the American way, Basur said there are lessons that we must take from the 13th, 14th and 15th amendments if we want to keep democracy.

Jan. 6 was not the first time politicians decided they would simply contest the results of an election because their preferred candidate did not win. Today, there are 128 sitting members of congress who voted to overturn the 2020 election results, according to data published Friday from States United’s research and analysis of election deniers.

The results of the 1876 election were also contested by lawmakers. Historians have referred to this election between Republican Rutherford B. Hayes and Democrat Samuel J. Tilden as one of the most contentious presidential elections in American history. It was also the second of five presidential elections where the winner did not win the popular vote, but did win the electoral college vote.

What’s useful for us today is understanding what came after that election – reconstruction and the creation of several key amendments to the constitution that continue to protect civil rights today.

Those amendments, namely the 13th, 14th and 15th amendments, which were created during this period of civil war and reconstruction, are crucial to our understanding of democracy and civil rights today, Masur explained.

Aside from the bill of rights, these are the most powerful pieces of civil rights law we have. The 14th Amendment has been used in defense of the right to gay marriage and the right to reproductive choice.

“All of the ways that the Supreme Court has been rolling back these federal guarantees of individual rights, including around voting rights, but also around the right to reproductive health care are rollbacks that are essentially in some ways attacking the promises of reconstruction,” she said.

Confront misinformation

Misinformation was and continues to be a major factor in American perspectives of the Jan. 6 insurrection, according to a new Washington Post-University of Maryland poll.

The poll, published Jan. 1, found a quarter of all Americans believe the FBI worked to instigate the insurrection. The difference in opinion was evident across party lines with 34% of Republicans saying the FBI organized and encouraged the insurrection, compared with 30% of independents and 13% of Democrats.

This claim about the FBI’s alleged involvement has been promoted by right-wing social media and news media organizations despite federal law enforcement’s repeated denial of this theory.

Social media companies, especially the former far-right version of Twitter known as Parler, where many insurrectionists made and discussed their plans for the insurrection, have also taken action on misinformation.

Parler, which operated off Amazon’s web hosting service, was taken down from the internet and from smartphone app stores in the days following the insurrection. The app has remained offline.

However, other right-wing Twitter dupes, including former President Donald Trump’s Truth Social, have popped up and continue to be feeding groundings for misinformation.

“Misinformation is a much bigger problem than anything that first grade or eighth grade teachers can really confront, although they can do a lot,” Masur said. “It’s got to come down to more government regulation that finds a middle ground between restricting speech and distinctions between what is true and what is not true.” Masur said.

Codify ethical ways to contest an election

In considering how or what can be done to safeguard American elections, Masur pointed to the Electoral Count Act of 2022.

While the reminders of the importance of democracy often uttered in reporting on Jan. 6 are often stark and sobering, there are real changes lawmakers have taken to clarify election rules and hopefully prevent the chaos of the insurrection from happening again on American soil, Masur said.

Masur admitted the electoral college isn’t a very democratic institution, but she added it was created to hopefully protect against the chaos of 1876. The election of that year was so close that congress created an electoral commission to officially decide the winner of the election.

This body then became what we know as the electoral college today–the very votes insurrectionists were trying to keep from being counted.

After Jan. 6, lawmakers felt it was important to clarify the role of the electoral college and the role of the vice president in the certification of electoral votes. Former Vice Pres. Mike Pence became a target for insurrectionists and election deniers who chanted “Hang Mike Pence” outside the capitol building.

“It’s in everyone’s interest to try to clear up some of these ambiguities so that when another election comes along, there are certain avenues for contesting the election and ways that are unethical and illegal will be closed down,” Masur said.

That’s where Masur said we can learn from what the federal government did during the Reconstruction period.

“The idea that there should be a federal baseline for certain individual rights is such a powerful and important idea in American history. And that idea was forged during Reconstruction. It remains extremely important today and it’s under attack,” she said.

Looking forward to accountability

An increasing number of states are challenging Trump’s candidacy in 2024. Holding the former president accountable for his role in the Jan. 6 insurrection is essential for protecting American Democracy, Lydgate said.

“Accountability is the best tool we have to prevent another attack, and another threat to our free, fair, secure elections. The efforts to hold Donald Trump and others accountable are critical to protecting the will of the voters — it’s how we uphold the rule of law,” she said.

The ongoing Jan. 6 trials

If you’re looking for additional information about the ongoing January 6 trials and reviews, check out this list: