A recently released title by noted historian and Boston College Professor of History Heather Cox Richardson, Democracy Awakening takes us on a long journey backwards and forwards in the ~250 years of the United States experiment in democratic self-governance. Clocking in at just over 300 pages, it's incredible just how much discussion, detail, and historical context Richardson manages to pack into a compelling narrative rollercoaster of our times.
Part 1 (the first third) of the book takes us on a journey from the Great Depression of the 1930's and the subsequent New Deal era of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, right up to the historic election and two-term presidency of Barack Obama. Despite this section being bookended with Democratic presidents, it is the Republican party that Richardson shines the spotlight on, as she details the party's embrace of the earlier era's white supremacist southern Democracts, and their gradual takeover of the party. Many key events and people are detailed as we fly through the years: The attack on WWII veteran Isaac Woodard and the beginnings of the Civil Rights Movement, the establishment of the 'Liberal Consensus' of the post-WWII years, The 1964 Civil Rights Act and 1965 Voting Rights Act, Nixon's Southern Strategy, The Reagan Revolution, the fall of the USSR, The Bush years and Neoconservatism, and finally, the Republican obstructionism of the Obama years.
The second section of the book covers the election of Donald Trump and the crystalization of the Republican Party and American Conservatism into an openly facistic, white-supremacist embracing movment. Diving into much more detail of the four years (that certainly felt like a decade at least), Richardson documents key events in the Trump presidency that swung the cultural conversation, shattered preestablished norms, and nearly resulted in the overthrow of American democracy.
I will note it may be difficult to read through this bit, given how fresh the end of the Trump presidency still feels, but Richardson does a good job laying out the details in her signature calm yet compelling style -- it's like if NPR partnered with HBO -- and the result is a fascinating read. Of course, I still had to pause at the bit detailing the insurrection of January 6th, 2021 -- quite apart from the shocking acts of depravity and disregard for our nation's democratic system, I'm still angry that a bunch of facist idiots are now associated with my birthday.
*AHEM* anyway...
The final part of Democracy Awakening treads historical ground once again, tying many moments and key figures (including Lincoln and the Founding Fathers) into the narratives of today. Drawing on a continuous line, Riachardson lays out the defining moments in American History, when those fighting for equal rights and protection under the law called upon the USA to fufill the promises of the Declaration of Independence. The book ends on a discussion of current events, and notes that is is up to us to decide and act to write the future -- stating quite clearly, that we are in one of these defining moments once again.
Perhaps it's my LOTR-obsession brain drawing parallels, but I can't help but be reminded by this of a certain bit of wisdom dropped by an old man in a pointy hat...
The takeaway that in the end we are all responsible (not at fault, but responsible) for the future direction of America, is a powerful notion. The promise of the the USA, that the people of a nation have a right to choose their government, was a radical notion when it was proposed -- and despite the lip service it is now paid, has never been a certain thing. However imperfectly the United States has lived up to that promise, it is the standing firm of those who champion the rights of all that has pushed us forward in the past -- and so must it be once more.
Detailed, sourced, and explained in a refreshingly factual manner, Richardson's narrative lays out the descent of the Republican party from a legitimate participant in democracy to its state today, the undercurrent, ebb and flow of social progress of the past 100 years, and how it is all sown into the very fabric of the United States, down to the beginning. A thorough and compelling read from the author of the acclaimed newsletter Letters from an American.
At the time of writing, Democracy Awakening sits at #8 on the New York Times Bestseller list for Nonfiction -- congrats Professor Richardson! A worthwhile read for anyone yearning for a levelheaded and contextualized understanding of the times we are living through in America.
