

Four Threats : The Recurring Crises of American Democracy (Hardcover)
Key item features
An urgent, historically-grounded take on the four major factors that undermine American democracy, and what we can do to address them.
While many Americans despair of the current state of U.S. politics, most assume that our system of government and democracy itself are invulnerable to decay. Yet when we examine the past, we find that the United States has undergone repeated crises of democracy, from the earliest days of the republic to the present.
In Four Threats, Suzanne Mettler and Robert C. Lieberman explore five moments in history when democracy in the U.S. was under siege: the 1790s, the Civil War, the Gilded Age, the Depression, and Watergate. These episodes risked profound—even fatal—damage to the American democratic experiment. From this history, four distinct characteristics of disruption emerge. Political polarization, racism and nativism, economic inequality, and excessive executive power—alone or in combination—have threatened the survival of the republic, but it has survived—so far. What is unique, and alarming, about the present moment in American politics is that all four conditions exist.
This convergence marks the contemporary era as a grave moment for democracy. But history provides a valuable repository from which we can draw lessons about how democracy was eventually strengthened—or weakened—in the past. By revisiting how earlier generations of Americans faced threats to the principles enshrined in the Constitution, we can see the promise and the peril that have led us to today and chart a path toward repairing our civic fabric and renewing democracy.
Specs
- Book formatHardcover
- Fiction/nonfictionNon-Fiction
- GenreHistory
- Publication dateAugust, 2020
- Pages304
- EditionStandard
How do you want your item?
About this item
Product details
An urgent, historically-grounded take on the four major factors that undermine American democracy, and what we can do to address them.
While many Americans despair of the current state of U.S. politics, most assume that our system of government and democracy itself are invulnerable to decay. Yet when we examine the past, we find that the United States has undergone repeated crises of democracy, from the earliest days of the republic to the present.
An urgent, historically-grounded take on the four major factors that undermine American democracy, and what we can do to address them.
While many Americans despair of the current state of U.S. politics, most assume that our system of government and democracy itself are invulnerable to decay. Yet when we examine the past, we find that the United States has undergone repeated crises of democracy, from the earliest days of the republic to the present.
In Four Threats, Suzanne Mettler and Robert C. Lieberman explore five moments in history when democracy in the U.S. was under siege: the 1790s, the Civil War, the Gilded Age, the Depression, and Watergate. These episodes risked profound—even fatal—damage to the American democratic experiment. From this history, four distinct characteristics of disruption emerge. Political polarization, racism and nativism, economic inequality, and excessive executive power—alone or in combination—have threatened the survival of the republic, but it has survived—so far. What is unique, and alarming, about the present moment in American politics is that all four conditions exist.
This convergence marks the contemporary era as a grave moment for democracy. But history provides a valuable repository from which we can draw lessons about how democracy was eventually strengthened—or weakened—in the past. By revisiting how earlier generations of Americans faced threats to the principles enshrined in the Constitution, we can see the promise and the peril that have led us to today and chart a path toward repairing our civic fabric and renewing democracy.
Specifications
Book format
Fiction/nonfiction
Genre
Publication date
Warranty
Warranty information
Similar items you might like
Based on what customers bought
Strong to the End: The Simple Service and Sudden Sacrifice of the Martyrs in Haiti, (Paperback) $14.58
$1458current price $14.58Strong to the End: The Simple Service and Sudden Sacrifice of the Martyrs in Haiti, (Paperback)
Washington's Revolution: The Making of America's First Leader, (Paperback) $13.59
$1359current price $13.59Washington's Revolution: The Making of America's First Leader, (Paperback)
14 out of 5 Stars. 1 reviewsDemocracy Amid Crises: Polarization, Pandemic, Protests, and Persuasion, (Paperback) $17.33
$1733current price $17.33Democracy Amid Crises: Polarization, Pandemic, Protests, and Persuasion, (Paperback)
Democracy for Sale: How Corporate Greed is Corrupting Democracy and Endangering the Planet, (Paperback) $17.33
$1733current price $17.33Democracy for Sale: How Corporate Greed is Corrupting Democracy and Endangering the Planet, (Paperback)
For the People: Fighting Authoritarianism, Saving Democracy, (Paperback) $16.02 Was $19.09
$1602current price $16.02, Was $19.09$19.09For the People: Fighting Authoritarianism, Saving Democracy, (Paperback)
The Presidents and the People: Five Leaders Who Threatened Democracy and the Citizens Who Fought to Defend It, (Paperback) $13.90
$1390current price $13.90The Presidents and the People: Five Leaders Who Threatened Democracy and the Citizens Who Fought to Defend It, (Paperback)
American Democracy Suicide or Revolution: The Life and Death Struggle Between Democracy and Despotism, (Paperback) $16.51
$1651current price $16.51American Democracy Suicide or Revolution: The Life and Death Struggle Between Democracy and Despotism, (Paperback)
The Presidents and the People: Five Leaders Who Threatened Democracy and the Citizens Who Fought to Defend It, (Hardcover) $14.99
$1499current price $14.99The Presidents and the People: Five Leaders Who Threatened Democracy and the Citizens Who Fought to Defend It, (Hardcover)
America's Democracy Betrayed: Solutions to Fight Back, (Paperback) $15.99
$1599current price $15.99America's Democracy Betrayed: Solutions to Fight Back, (Paperback)
Surviving American Healthcare: Advocating for Yourself or Someone You Love Paperback 098541801X 9780985418014 Valerie Conrad $15.95
$1595current price $15.95Surviving American Healthcare: Advocating for Yourself or Someone You Love Paperback 098541801X 9780985418014 Valerie Conrad
Pre-Owned One Person, One Vote: A Surprising History of Gerrymandering in America (Hardcover) 0593315863 9780593315866 $6.71
2 optionsAvailable in additional 2 options$671current price $6.71Pre-Owned One Person, One Vote: A Surprising History of Gerrymandering in America (Hardcover) 0593315863 9780593315866
Dynamics of American Politics: U.S. Public Policies, (Paperback) $10.64
$1064current price $10.64Dynamics of American Politics: U.S. Public Policies, (Paperback)
Back Bay Readers' Pick C Street: The Fundamentalist Threat to American Democracy, (Paperback) $21.27
$2127current price $21.27Back Bay Readers' Pick C Street: The Fundamentalist Threat to American Democracy, (Paperback)
63.8 out of 5 Stars. 6 reviewsSaving Democracy: From the Warnings of 2016 to the Urgency of 2025, (Paperback) $16.82
$1682current price $16.82Saving Democracy: From the Warnings of 2016 to the Urgency of 2025, (Paperback)
Democracy Unchained: How to Rebuild Government for the People, (Paperback) $13.39
$1339current price $13.39Democracy Unchained: How to Rebuild Government for the People, (Paperback)
The Bitter End: The 2020 Presidential Campaign and the Challenge to American Democracy, (Paperback) $11.99
$1199current price $11.99The Bitter End: The 2020 Presidential Campaign and the Challenge to American Democracy, (Paperback)
Biblical Civics: A Twelve-Week Study on God and Government, (Paperback) $15.99
$1599current price $15.99Biblical Civics: A Twelve-Week Study on God and Government, (Paperback)
Present Dangers: Crisis and Opportunity in America's Foreign and Defense Policy, (Hardcover) $21.46
$2146current price $21.46Present Dangers: Crisis and Opportunity in America's Foreign and Defense Policy, (Hardcover)
Pre-Owned No Democracy Lasts Forever: How the Constitution Threatens the United States (Hardcover) 1324091584 9781324091585 $10.72 Was $12.62
$1072current price $10.72, Was $12.62$12.62Pre-Owned No Democracy Lasts Forever: How the Constitution Threatens the United States (Hardcover) 1324091584 9781324091585

