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The Rise of American Democracy: Jefferson to Lincoln
by: Sean Wilentz

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Third Party New Price: $18.75

Binding: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 973.5
Format: Bargain Price
Label: W. W. Norton
Manufacturer: W. W. Norton
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 992
Publication Date: October 24, 2005
Publisher: W. W. Norton
Sales Rank: 152686
Studio: W. W. Norton

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Product Description:
A grand political history in a fresh new style of how the elitist young American republic became a rough-and-tumble democracy.

In this magisterial work, Sean Wilentz traces a historical arc from the earliest days of the republic to the opening shots of the Civil War. One of our finest writers of history, Wilentz brings to life the era after the American Revolution, when the idea of democracy remained contentious, and Jeffersonians and Federalists clashed over the role of ordinary citizens in government of, by, and for the people. The triumph of Andrew Jackson soon defined this role on the national level, while city democrats, Anti-Masons, fugitive slaves, and a host of others hewed their own local definitions. In these definitions Wilentz recovers the beginnings of a discontent—two starkly opposed democracies, one in the North and another in the South—and the wary balance that lasted until the election of Abraham Lincoln sparked its bloody resolution. 75 illustrations.

Customer Reviews

Average Rating: out of 5 stars

Rating:

- Monumental view of ante-bellum America
This is a long book on early 19th century America. It covers 1800 to 1860 in slightly less than 800 pages.

The broad theme is the rise of democracy and the decline of aristocratic government. Wilentz is an unabashed partisan of Jefferson. His account prior to Andrew Jackson is good guy Jeffersonians versus bad guy Federalists.

It gets more complicated with Jackson. Wilentz tries hard to be an unapologetic advocate for Andrew Jackson, but he can not quite do it. The group which Wilentz really supports are the radical northern Democrats, the Loco Focos of New York. He sees in them a radical assualt on wealth and privilege, which carries forward Jeffersonian principles to a new era.

The Loco Focos were a local group, who never took national power. The guy running the show was Andrew Jackson, and Wilentz -- as hard as he tries to hide it -- had deeply mixed feelings ... Read More

Rating:

- Flawed
I came to this book with no preconceptions. As I read I began to note problems. Every issue is presented in a one-sided manner. I began writing notes in the margins criticizing the author's views. They started innocuously. As the narrative progressed through the election of 1800 the criticism became more pointed. To the author Federalism collapsed due to its alleged antidemocratic posture in the face of a rising democratic tide. Yet this is not even close. Kurtz's analysis of the collapse of Federalism, emphasizing issues like taxation, the raising of a standing army, etc. is a much better job. More to the point, what evidence is presented that the Federalists, whatever its elitist pretensions, opposed the extension of suffrage or other aspects of "democracy", a term the author does not define? Historians specifically anaylzing that issue have concluded that the expansion of suffrage was not the exclusive province ... Read More

Rating:

- ...reviewers question whether anyone but scholars will slog through the 1000-page tome. --Bookmarks Magazine.
Well I slogged through this massive tome and I'm glad I did.

It's a very rewarding journey from the end of the Federalists through the rise of Jacksonian democracy to the election of Lincoln.

If you're wondering why an American Civil War was almost inevitable from the moment the Constitution was ratified you will find the answer here.

Rating:

- A Wonderful Read covering the paradox of expansion of "American Democracy" and the centrifugal forces that tore America asunder
Sean Wilentz's "The Rise of American Democracy" is a fantastic read covering my favorite period of American History. The general thesis of the book discusses the expansion of democracy in America, beginning with the Federalist Period and concluding with the first shot fired at Fort Sumter in April 1861. Wilentz splendidly details not only how democracy was expanded through this seventy year period, but also the various political, social, and economic forces that contributed to the expansion. Lastly, in my opinion, Wilentz makes a very strong case that the root cause of the Civil War was slavery, plain and simple, as opposed the argument I was taught in high school ("southern states rights").

I also found many of the subtopics covered in the book very relevant to today. For example, the odd Whig coalition of Southern slaveholding aristocrats and northern businessmen strikes me as very similar to today's ... Read More

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