Democracy Awakening

Heather Cox Richardson argues that there are two Americas: one interested in equality, the other in hierarchy. But it's not that simple.

Richardson’s work is as much about the contradictions of our shared past as it is an urgent call to action around the current authoritarian crisis.

One interpretation presents the country as irredeemably tainted by its past. Another contends that the United States has also tended toward egalitarianism.

There have always been two Americas. One based in religious zeal, mythology, and inequality; and one grounded in rule of the people and the pursuit of equality.

Reconstruction-era opponents of racial equality popularized the charge that protecting civil rights would amount to the end of capitalism.

To Heather Cox Richardson, the battle for our history is the battle for our democracy. And we may be nearing the endgame.