Publisher's Synopsis
While many Americans despair of the current state of U.S. politics, most assume that the 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 damage to U.S. democracy, but it has survived - so far.
