By Winston Vance

As of spring 2024, only 22 percent of American adults said they trusted the federal government to act in the public interest. (Pew Research Center, 2024) In contrast, 61 percent reported favorable views of their local governments (ibid). This gap of trust in democracy reflects more than a preference for local leadership. It reveals that people are retreating from centralized systems. Their trust has not disappeared entirely; it has migrated.

In this shifting terrain, local institutions offer visibility, agency, and tangible outcomes. They offer people a way to stay engaged at a time when national institutions often feel overwhelming or disillusioning. Rather than losing faith entirely, many Americans are rebuilding it at home.

Why Trust in Democracy Is Crumbling

A range of interconnected pressures are eroding confidence in national governance. Economic mobility is declining, especially in major metropolitan areas (Chetty et al., 2017). Many Americans lack confidence that current systems will work for them.

Meanwhile, civic literacy is worryingly low. Only 22 percent of eighth-grade students demonstrated proficiency in civics as of 2022 (NAEP). If people do not understand how government functions, they cannot engage with it meaningfully.

Social media has accelerated political awareness while muddying information quality. Platforms often reward polarization and spectacle, instead of careful deliberation. According to Pew, most Americans rely on social media for political news. However, these sources can be untrustworthy (Pew Research Center, 2024).

Federal elections have grown increasingly expensive. In 2020, congressional candidates raised over $4 billion. Some 2024 Senate races are expected to exceed $100 million (OpenSecrets). These numbers reveal a system where donors and lobbyists often hold more sway than voters.

Lastly, the middle class, which once served as a civic stabilizer, is shrinking. Middle-income households dropped from 61 percent in 1971 to 50 percent in 2021 (Pew Research Center, 2024). Economic strain reduces people’s sense of belonging and narrows their bandwidth for civic involvement.

Why Local Still Works

At the local level, trust is stronger. School boards, city councils, participatory budgeting initiatives, and neighborhood groups all offer opportunities for people to act directly. These institutions are smaller, more accessible, and often more transparent.

Young Americans, particularly Gen Z, remain civically minded, even when they are skeptical about national systems. Many take part in activism (online and in person) and mutual aid. Their engagement challenges the idea that disillusionment equals disengagement. Surveys suggest they care deeply about equity and democracy, especially when values feel actionable (Circle, 2025).

This Is Not New

Periods of national disillusionment have historically spurred waves of local activism. During the Progressive Era, figures like Jane Addams and Ida B. Wells led local reforms in housing, labor, and civil rights (McGerr, 2003).

In the 1930s, as the Great Depression deepened, communities built mutual aid networks and cooperatives to meet needs unmet by the federal government. These grassroots efforts paved the way for many New Deal policies (Zinn, 1980).

The Civil Rights Movement, too, was rooted in local organizing. Churches, schools, and student groups mobilized communities before any national momentum developed (Branch, 1988).

After Watergate, environmental justice campaigns surged. Community journalism and public interest law offices also increased. People sought accountability outside traditional channels (Harvard Law School, 2022).

Each time, Americans mobilized around causes and values that mattered to them when national leadership felt remote. These efforts not only strengthened their sense of agency and shared identity, they also fostered civic optimism and collective purpose.

What Can Be Done To Rebuild Trust in Democracy

History offers examples and a path forward. Change can begin with local actions when people:

• Join or attend city council meetings
• Participate in school governance or local boards
• Support independent local journalism
• Engage in mutual aid or neighborhood projects
• Discuss civics with children and neighbors

Though small in scale, efforts such as these help build a culture of civic responsibility. They foster ongoing relationships between individuals and their communities, reinforcing the idea that democratic life thrives through regular, localized involvement.

Where Hope Lives

Democracy emerges in the practical routines of public life. It is present in the deliberation, decision-making, and cooperation that occur within community forums and local institutions.

Trust builds when people recognize that their contributions influence outcomes. While national reforms play a role, they are often sustained by local practices. Consistent involvement at the community level can gradually renew confidence in democratic systems.

Even in the face of systemic challenges, individuals can reinforce civic norms. Actions rooted in everyday environments gain momentum over time, helping to stabilize democratic institutions and affirming the ongoing responsibility of participation.

Sources and Further Reading

Abernathy, Penelope Muse. The Expanding News Desert. Center for Innovation and Sustainability in Local Media, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2018.
https://www.cislm.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/The-Expanding-News-Desert-10_14-Web.pdf

Allen, Danielle. Our Declaration: A Reading of the Declaration of Independence in Defense of Equality. Liveright, 2014.

Branch, Taylor. Parting the Waters: America in the King Years, 1954–63. Simon & Schuster, 1988.

Chetty, Raj, et al. “The Fading American Dream: Trends in Absolute Income Mobility since 1940.” American Economic Review, vol. 107, no. 5, 2017.
https://www.nber.org/papers/w22910

CIRCLE (Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement). How Does Gen Z Really Feel About Democracy? CIRCLE & Protect Democracy, 7 Apr. 2025.
https://circle.tufts.edu/sites/default/files/2025-04/genz_democracy_report_2025.pdf

Harvard Law School. “Watergate-Era Reforms, 50 Years Later.” Harvard Law Today, 17 June 2022.
https://hls.harvard.edu/today/watergate-era-reforms-50-years-later/

iCivics. Civic Education Resources. iCivics.
https://www.icivics.org/curriculum

McGerr, Michael. A Fierce Discontent: The Rise and Fall of the Progressive Movement in America, 1870–1920. Oxford University Press, 2003.

Open Secrets. Congressional Races. OpenSecrets.org.
https://www.opensecrets.org/races/

Pew Research Center. Public Trust in Government: 2024. Pew Research Center, 2024.
https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2024/03/11/public-trust-in-government-1958-to-2024/

Putnam, Robert D. Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community. Simon & Schuster, 2000.

Spade, Dean. Mutual Aid: Building Solidarity During This Crisis (and the Next). Verso, 2020.

Zinn, Howard. A People’s History of the United States. Harper & Row, 1980.
https://www.howardzinn.org/collection/peoples-history/