Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
An eye-opening new history of American political conflict, from Alexander Hamilton to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
In recent years, anxieties over the fate of American democracy have become widespread and intense. The Trump presidency and the failure of many of its supporters to accept the 2020 election result have posed a unique threat to the country's foundational creed. But American democracy is not an achieved system that has now suddenly come under threat--it's better understood as a long, unfinished conversation about how "we the people" can rule. For some, the gulf between political elites and the people is so wide that democracy itself is mainly a myth. For others, the story of American democracy is the steady expansion of political rights, as the country's founding ideals come to be realized--at least until now.
In The Realigners, the historian Timothy Shenk offers an entertaining and provocative reassessment of the American political tradition and its most compelling practitioners, from Alexander Hamilton to Phyllis Schlafly and Barack Obama. In the eighteenth century, the United States was founded as a republic ruled by propertied elites. In the nineteenth century, the expansion of the franchise and advent of mass political parties established a raucous democracy, at least among white males. In the twentieth century, the expansion of rights coincided with democracy's evolution into technocracy, where experts administered a massive state, and liberals and conservatives argued over whose experts would wield power. Today, the limits of both the bureaucratic and the corporate political visions are clear--and radical voices from Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to MAGA-minded nationalists search for new conceptions of what self-governance can mean.
With fresh insight and entertaining detail, Shenk offers an eye-opening new biography of the American political tradition, stressing strife among elites and the volatile mixes and remixes of the democratic idea that define our history. The result is a vital work of political history, rendering present-day strife intelligible as never before.
Synopsis
In recent years, fear for the fate of American democracy has become widespread and intense. The Trump presidency and the failure of many of its supporters to accept the 2020 election result pose a unique threat to the country's foundational creed. But American democracy is not an achieved system that has now suddenly come under threat--it's better understood as a long, unfinished conversation about how "we the people" can rule. For some, the gulf between political elites and the people is so wide that democracy itself is simply a myth. For others, the story of American democracy is the steady expansion of political rights, as the country's founding ideals come to be realized--at least until now.
In The Realigners, the historian Timothy Shenk offers an entertaining and provocative reassessment of the American political tradition, stressing strife among elites and the volatile mixes and remixes of the democratic idea that define our history. In the eighteenth century, the United States was founded as a republic ruled by propertied elites. In the nineteenth century, the expansion of the franchise and advent of mass political parties established a raucous democracy, at least among white males. In the twentieth century, the expansion of rights coincided with democracy's evolution into technocracy, where experts administered a massive state, and liberals and conservatives argued over whose experts would wield power. Today, the limits of both the bureaucratic and the corporate political visions are clear--and radical voices from Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to MAGA-minded nationalists search for new conceptions of what self-governance can mean.
With fresh insight and entertaining detail, Shenk offers an eye-opening new biography of the American political tradition. The result is a vital work of political history, rendering present-day strife intelligible as never before.
Synopsis
An eye-opening new history of American political conflict, from Alexander Hamilton to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
These days it seems that nobody is satisfied with American democracy. Critics across the ideological spectrum warn that the country is heading toward catastrophe but also complain that nothing seems to change. At the same time, many have begun to wonder if the gulf between elites and ordinary people has turned democracy itself into a myth. The urge to defend the country's foundations and to dismantle them coexist--often within the same people.
How did we get here? Why does it feel like the country is both grinding to a halt and falling to pieces? In Realigners, the historian Timothy Shenk offers an eye-opening new biography of the American political tradition. In a history that runs from the drafting of the Constitution to the storming of the Capitol, Shenk offers sharp pen portraits of signal characters from James Madison and Charles Sumner to Phyllis Schlafly and Barack Obama. The result is an entertaining and provocative reassessment of the people who built the electoral coalitions that defined American democracy--and a guide for a time when figures ranging from Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to MAGA-minded nationalists seek to turn radical dreams into political realities. In an era when it seems democracy is caught in perpetual crisis, Realigners looks at earlier moments when popular majorities transformed American life. We've had those moments before. And if there's an escape from the doom loop that American politics has become, it's because we might have one again.
Synopsis
One of The Wall Street Journal's best political books of 2022
An eye-opening new history of American political conflict, from Alexander Hamilton to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
These days it seems that nobody is satisfied with American democracy. Critics across the ideological spectrum warn that the country is heading toward catastrophe but also complain that nothing seems to change. At the same time, many have begun to wonder if the gulf between elites and ordinary people has turned democracy itself into a myth. The urge to defend the country's foundations and to dismantle them coexist--often within the same people. How did we get here? Why does it feel like the country is both grinding to a halt and falling to pieces?
In Realigners, the historian Timothy Shenk offers an eye-opening new biography of the American political tradition. In a history that runs from the drafting of the Constitution to the storming of the Capitol, Shenk offers sharp pen portraits of signal characters from James Madison and Charles Sumner to Phyllis Schlafly and Barack Obama. The result is an entertaining and provocative reassessment of the people who built the electoral coalitions that defined American democracy--and a guide for a time when figures ranging from Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to MAGA-minded nationalists seek to turn radical dreams into political realities.
In an era when it seems democracy is caught in perpetual crisis, Realigners looks at earlier moments when popular majorities transformed American life. We've had those moments before. And if there's an escape from the doom loop that American politics has become, it's because we might have one again.