American Democracy

August 1, 2020
The New Yorker staff writer and journalism professor gathers historical texts he hopes will "serve as a spur to political reflection and action" on enduring problems of American democracy. Lemann argues that democracy isn't an outcome but a process--and one that was contentious from the beginning--so it makes more sense to refine it than to pine for a lost halcyon era. Toward that end, his anthology rounds up 21 texts produced over more than 200 years and divided thematically into five sections on "citizenship, equality, governance, money in politics, and protest," each of which deals with an issue that remains pertinent, such as racial injustice, immigration reform, or nuclear proliferation. Most contributors are well-known historical figures who represent diverse perspectives on democracy: Jane Addams, Frederick Douglass, Martin Luther King Jr., Abraham Lincoln, Henry Cabot Lodge, James Madison, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Alexis de Tocqueville, and George Washington. The book as a whole, however, is slanted toward the liberal end of the spectrum. Lemann offers an excerpt from Justice John Paul Stevens' dissent in the Citizens United case without the counterweight of a concurring opinion from a more conservative jurist, and he makes his anti-Trump stance clear on the first page, which faults the president for "spending money without congressional approval, selectively enforcing immigration laws, undermining the independence of federal agencies and unilaterally ordering assassinations overseas, even of American citizens." That uneasy mix of ageless texts and pointed topical commentary makes it difficult to envision a broad readership for this anthology. The book should find a natural home in lower-level college courses on American democracy, but the 2020 presidential election could make some of the material sound dated. Oddly enough, Lemann leaves the impression that he would love to have to revise parts of his work before the metaphorical ink has dried on the first edition. A solid, left-leaning collection of pieces by thought leaders of yesteryear on how democracy works--or doesn't.

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August 24, 2020
“Nearly all the essential aspects of our democracy have been in dispute from the very beginning,” writes journalist Lemann (Transaction Man) in this edifying survey of American political history. Seeking insights on the topics of citizenship, equality, the purpose of government, the influence of money on politics, and the efficacy of protest, Lemann collects writings from a diverse array of lawmakers, activists, judges, founding fathers, philosophers, and presidents. The section on citizenship, for example, includes George Washington’s 1790 letter to a Jewish congregation in Newport, R.I.; an excerpt from Frederick Douglass’s “What to the Slave is the 4th of July?”; suffragist Elizabeth Cady Stanton’s last public speech; Senator Henry Cabot Lodge’s 1896 call for immigration restrictions; and progressive writer Randolph S. Bourne’s WWI-era argument for a multicultural America. Lemann draws incisive links to present-day debates and provides useful historical context in introductions to each section, though readers may wish for editorial notes in the selections themselves (explaining, for instance, the work of immigration rights activist Mary Antin, whom Bourne references in his essay). Still, this illuminating and well-conceived anthology offers essential insights into how debates over the nature and practice of American democracy have evolved.